Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

1. In a cast iron pot (I used my Dutch oven) add enough oil to go 1/4 inch up the sides. Over medium-high heat heat oil.

2. Add a handful of flour to a plate and dredge each short rib on all sides, shaking off excess flour.

3. When oil is hot (you can tell it’s hot when a sprinkle of flour sizzles in it) add short ribs to the pot making sure not to crowd them (I did this in 2 batches). Cook 1-2 minutes on each side so that a crust forms.

4. Remove ribs from the oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining ribs if you did this in batches. When done, pour out remaining oil that’s in the pot and wipe it clean.

5. Preheat oven to 250 F.

6. Add enough vegetable oil to the pot to coat the bottom and heat it over medium-high heat. Add half the onions, cooking until softened. Add a dash of salt.

7. Add half the carrots and all the celery (wrap remaining carrots and onions and refrigerate for later). Cook the veggie mixture for 5-7 minutes until vegetables start to caramelize.

8. Add tomato paste and stir to combine.

9. Add ribs back to the pot. It’s OK to have them overlap at this point.

10. Add wine, the head of garlic, bay leaves, dash of salt, brown sugar and peppercorns.

11. Bring to a simmer and cover the pot with the lid ajar or make a lid out of parchment paper to place over the contents (I did both).

12. Place in the oven and cook for 4 hours.

13. Remove pot from oven and remove the ribs. Strain the braising liquid into a bowl and discard the solids.

14. Sear the mushrooms by placing them in a single layer on a hot dry pan and pressing down on them with a spatula for 1-2 minutes. Flip them over and repeat for another 1-2 minutes. Then remove them from the heat.

15. Melt the butter in the cast iron pot over medium heat and add the reserved onions and carrots (the ones that you put in the refrigerator earlier). Cook 5-7 minutes, then add ribs and mushrooms to the pot.

16. Add the strained braising liquid to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over medium-low heat for just a few minutes, until carrots are cooked through to your liking (use a fork to test them).

17. To make the gremolata combine the parsley, minced garlic and lemon zest in a small bowl.

18. Serve the ribs with mashed potatoes or egg noodles, sprinkled with the gremolata.

Recipe adapted from Michael Ruhlman .