Braised Short Ribs with Semolina Pearls, Fall Roots, and Mushrooms
Short ribs – what a delicious cut, and fun to cook – crank the heat and sear the crap out of them to get a dark, rich crust, then simmer them gently until they’re so tender, that big bone slides right out of the meat.
I found a recipe for braised short ribs in the cookbook of The Red Cat, a popular, casual neighborhood restaurant in NYC. There they load up the dish with several different delicious, sautéed vegetables like baby carrots, baby beets and turnips, and mushrooms, as well as Israeli couscous, and make a sort of stew of the whole thing.
Cooking the vegetables separately keeps them firm, so that they hold their shape and can be used as garnish. It also provides textural contrast to the short ribs, which become so tender you could almost eat them with a spoon.
The Israeli couscous is really cool too – I had never cooked with it before. The little dots soak up the sauce and become shiny balls of flavor. Their white color is also a nice color contrast against the darkly seared meat.
I made one change to the recipe. Rather than reserving only a portion of the cooking liquid for use in the stew – and discarding the rest – I reduced down all the liquid (after straining it) to a stew consistency, which gave me a more flavorful, concentrated broth. However, the liquid became a little sweet as it reduced – this is from the caramelization of the meat and vegetables. I corrected this by adding a little red wine vinegar, which balanced the flavor nicely.
Heat & Knives
The Recipe
Source: The Red Cat Cookbook
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
4 pounds bone-in short ribs, about 8 ribs
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
½ onion, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme, plus 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
2 cups robust red wine, such as Shiraz or Zinfandel
6 cups white chicken stock
2 cups veal stock
1 beefsteak tomato, coarsely chopped
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 ounces cipollini onions
5 ounces baby carrots, trimmed and peeled
5 ounces baby golden beets, trimmed (if using larger beets, peel and halve or quarter them)
5 ounces baby white turnips, trimmed (if using larger turnips, peel and halve or quarter them)
5 ounces button mushrooms, larger ones halved
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sliced parsley
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Pour ¼ cup of the canola oil into a heavy-bottomed roasting pan and heat it on two stovetop burners over high heat. Season the ribs with salt and pepper, carefully add them to the pan without crowding, and sear on all sides, approximately 7 minutes per side. Don’t be shy – go ahead and let them develop a nice dark crust.
Transfer the ribs to a plate and pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the carrot, chopped onion, celery, and garlic, and cook until softened but not browned, approximately 4 minutes. Add the sprigs of rosemary and thyme and the wine, bring to a boil, and boil until reduced by half, approximately 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, veal stock, and tomato. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Return the ribs to the pan. (If the liquid does not cover the ribs, add more chicken or veal stock, or water.) Cover with foil and braise in the oven for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender and pulls away from the bone with the tug of a fork. As the ribs braise, periodically check on them to be sure the liquid isn’t boiling aggressively; it should be at the mildest of simmers. If it’s boiling violently, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees; if it isn’t bubbling at all, raise it by 25.
Meanwhile, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the couscous and boil until al dente, approximately 8 minutes. Drain, toss with the extra-virgin olive oil, and set aside.
After the ribs have been braising for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, cook the vegetables: Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a wide, deep, heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the cipollini onions and baby carrots and saute until cooked through and tender to a knife-tip, approximately 12 minutes. Transfer the onions and carrots to a bowl, pour the oil out of the pan, and add 2 tablespoons fresh canola oil. Heat over medium-high heat, add the beets and turnips, and saute until tender to a knife-tip, approximately 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the onions and carrots. Replace the oil as before with 2 tablespoons fresh oil, and heat over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until just softened, approximately 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the bowl with the other vegetables and set aside.
When the ribs are done, use tongs or a slotted spoon to set them aside. Pour the braising liquid through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl and discard the solids. Transfer the reserved cooked vegetables to a pot, add just enough braising liquid to make a nice, stew-like sauce (about 1 ½ cups liquid), and stir in the couscous. Stir in the chopped thyme and butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon some of the couscous over each of 4 plates, making sure to get a good mix of vegetables in each spoonful. Top with the ribs, garnish with parsley, and serve.
Note to the cook: Israeli couscous isn’t really a grain; it’s pearls of semolina that resemble couscous, so I refer to it as “semolina pearls” in many of my recipes.
