Hello and welcome to another episode of Dad’s Cooking. Today I’ll be sharing a flavorful braised beef short ribs recipe that we’ll serve on top of some delicious and creamy mashed potatoes.
The preparation of this meal is a bit more time consuming but it’s worth every last minute of it and I can guarantee that everyone to who you’ll serve this not only will enjoy it but they’ll also want the recipe for it.
In case you want a visual guide to go along with the written recipe make sure to visit my YouTube channel. Let’s get cooking.
INGREDIENTS
- Beef Short Ribs – 4pcs
- Carrots – 3 pcs
- Celery Stalk – 2-3 stalks
- Red Onion – 2 pcs
- Garlic Cloves – 4-6 cloves
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Fresh Thyme to taste
- Dried Bay Leaves 2pcs
- Vegetable Stock 1L
- Pork Fat / Vegetable Oil – 2-3 Tbsp
- Potatoes
- Butter
- Milk
Start by seasoning the short ribs with salt and pepper. Make sure all sides are well covered. Rough chop the aromatics, red onions, carrots, celery and garlic.
Warm a pan on medium heat using a high smoke point oil or in my case pork fat, brown the short ribs on all sides.
Once the short ribs are nice and brown all on sides, remove them from the pot before adding in the aromatics. We are not looking to fully cook the veggies, just add some colour and proceed to add back the meat.
Top it up with vegetable stock, you can use any type of stock you prefer or even water. Add some fresh thyme and a couple of dried bay leaves before moving this pot of deliciousness to the oven. Leave at 160C for anywhere between 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
When meat is cooked and tender, remove from pot and shred by hand. As an optional step, since the short ribs where a bit on the fatty side. I went ahead and removed some of the big chunks of fat.
What you are left in the pot is pure gold, so do not dispose of it, strain the liquid from the veggies and reduce the liquid to make a delicious sauce. The veggies you can eat as a snack or use them as extra sides when serving.
You can reduce the braising liquid just after straining. My advice would be to leave it to cool down fully, then remove the excess fat before the reduction. The reduction process is fairly simple. Add the liquid to a sauce pan and boil on medium to low heat until it thickens up. When you are satisfied with the reduction add you meat back and make sure it’s coated well, then set aside until serving.
Before plating up, prepare the mashed potatoes. Nothing special here, mash boiled potatoes, add butter, milk, salt to taste and combine until you have a nice smooth creamy consistency. My only tip for the mashed potatoes, if you have the time and willing to do it. Warm up your milk with some rosemary, thyme, peppercorn and bay leaves before incorporating with the rest of the ingredient. This simple step will elevate your mash to the next level.
I hope you’ll enjoy this meal so make sure to give this recipe a try and let me know in the comments on how it went. For a visual guide check out this video on my YouTube channel.
Until the next time, take care and bon appetite.