Braised short ribs are perfect for a low maintenance show-stopping, hearty holiday dinner. These short ribs are slowly braised with aromatic vegetables and red wine, until meltingly tender. They are then shredded and served with fresh pasta tossed with butter, Parmesan and black pepper. Even better, they can be made ahead and simply reheated when it’s time to eat.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 4 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 to 4 1/2 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large carrot, finely diced
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and finely diced
- 4 ounces pancetta, finely diced (about 1/3 cup)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
- 1 28-ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 3 sprigs sage
- 4 fresh bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- Chopped fresh parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
- Fresh Tagliatelle (Recipe Follows)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- Kosher salt
- 4 large eggs, plus 3 egg yolks
- 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Coarsely ground pepper
Instructions
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and remove the top rack; preheat to 375˚ F. Season the short ribs generously all over with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the short ribs in 2 batches and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Remove the short ribs to a plate; pour off all but 1/4 cup of the drippings.
- Add the carrot, onion, fennel and pancetta to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are coated and the paste is brick red, about 2 minutes.
- Add the wine to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by about two-thirds, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth and return to a simmer. Meanwhile, wrap the rosemary, sage, bay leaves and whole peppercorns in an 8-inch square of cheesecloth; tie closed. Add the bundle to the pot. When the mixture comes to a simmer, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Return the short ribs to the pot. Cover the pot, transfer to the oven and braise until the meat is very tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, 2 1/2 hours to 2 3/4 hours.
- Carefully put the pot back on the stove and remove the lid. Discard the cheesecloth bundle. Remove the short ribs to a baking sheet using tongs and discard the bones. Break up the meat into large chunks. Return the meat to the pot along with any liquid from the baking sheet and stir to combine; season with salt and pepper. Spoon off any fat that pools on top.
- To serve, top the short ribs on the tagliatelle with parsley, Parmesan and pepper.
- Pulse the flour and a big pinch of salt in a food processor to combine. Whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks and olive oil in a bowl. Slowly add the egg mixture to the food processor with the machine running to form a rough, sticky dough.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead several times, sprinkling with flour if sticky, until the dough is smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside to rest 30 minutes.
- Set up your pasta maker. Unwrap the dough and cut into 6 pieces; press each into a rectangle. Cover 5 pieces and set aside. Lightly flour the remaining piece of dough and run it through the widest setting of the pasta maker. Fold in half and feed it through the same setting. Move to the next setting and feed the dough through this setting twice, lightly flouring as needed (do not fold). Repeat until you’ve reached the third-to-last setting. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick but not transparent. If it’s too long to manage, cut it in half crosswise. Lightly flour the dough and set aside. Repeat with the remaining 5 pieces of dough.
- Attach the tagliatelle or fettuccine cutter to your pasta maker. Feed each dough sheet through the cutter, gathering the strands on the other side. Lightly sprinkle the strands with flour and form into loose nests.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl and toss with the butter and reserved cooking water. Stir in the Parmesan and a generous amount of coarse pepper; season with salt. Serve with more Parmesan.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 1460 |
| Total Fat | 112 g |
| Saturated Fat | 47 g |
| Carbohydrates | 54 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 51 g |
| Cholesterol | 356 mg |
| Sodium | 1449 mg |
Reviews
Making this now for our Christmas dinner and made it last year too. Takes a while to prepare the ingredients and then doing the stove top cooking prior to putting it into the oven to braise, but so worth it in the end. The leftover sauce freezes very well for another Winter day dinner.
Made this the other night with half bone-in ribs and half boneless because that’s what the marketing had. I think I prefer the boneless because it’s easier to shred and you don’t have to remove the membrane from the meat near the rib bone. This is a very rich dish. Alot of strong flavors going on here however, it all comes together nicely.. I served this over baked, baby gold potatoes and it was delicious. Going to try leftovers over basmati rice. This recipe is a keeper.
I too just made this for Christmas – only change I made was putting all the veggies in the food processor and letting it do the work for me! It was delicious and pretty easy to make. My sister made the homemade pasta. Everyone loved it!
Just made this for Christmas – it was delicious, everyone loved it! Taking time to brown the ribs on all sides is worth every minute. Used store bought fresh pasta, not ready to make my own yet. This recipe is a keeper! Has anyone tried freezing it?
Currently making this now. My house smells amazing, I’m excited to try it. Does anyone know if I half the recipe should I also shorten the braise time?
Soooo delicious! We saw it in the magazine and decided to test it out before Xmas dinner. We didn’t make our own noodles (no pasta maker here. Subbed in Pappardelle from the store. Totally will be making again!!