Beef Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta
I caught wind of a sale on beef short ribs from Falvo’s Meat Market a few weeks back, so I figured, “why not try them?” (I have never actually tried to cook short ribs before)
I adapted a recipe from Anne Burrell of Food Network fame.
Here’s my ingredients:
I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and got my trusty miniature food chopper ready to chop the hell out of the aromatics.
I peeled the onions, carrots, and garlic, and washed the celery, and then used the chopper to get them all into little bits.
I started heating my large, oven-safe pot on the stove on medium-high. I added about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and browned the short ribs (that I copiously seasoned with salt and pepper) on all sides.
Once all of the ribs were browned, I added the chopped aromatics (with some salt and pepper) to the pot and fried them until all the moisture was gone.
I added the tomato paste (with some salt and pepper), and cooked it for a few more minutes to brown the paste. Then I added a few cups of the red wine, and cooked it down until the moisture was gone.
The short ribs all went back into the pot with enough water to barely cover the ribs. I also added the bunch of thyme (which I tied with some string for easy extraction) and a few bay leaves. I covered the pot, and put it in the oven for 3 hours.
Once I pulled these out of the oven, I allowed the pot to rest while I got to work on fixing up some polenta.
By “fixing up,” I mean, rehydrating a box of instant polenta and doping it with good butter and parmigianno cheese.
Once the polenta was ready…
To serve the dish, I simply served the beef, which was now fully tender and had all fallen from the bone, over the polenta with some of the reduced braising liquid.
For my first time cooking this cut of beef, I think it came out good. I don’t know that I’d even do anything differently next time. Along with the polenta, the meat and braising liquid had lots of great flavor and texture.
It was a nice, hearty meal.
(I am open to your suggestions for good — non-instant — polenta that I could find locally. I didn’t check Honest Weight, and I know it’s hard to find local polenta that’s GMO free — that’s why I use the imported stuff — but that’s not so important to me if it tastes good.)
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