Braised Short Ribs: A Solstice Treat

A couple of years ago HH and I started a tradition of celebrating the winter solstice, which falls on December 21st or 22nd.  Usually this means that we open our gifts to each other and make an especially nice dinner to enjoy.  This year HH was adamant that we try braised short ribs and mashed potatoes.  Since I was in the middle of a two-week winter break, I had plenty of time to prepare the meal which needed to be started in the afternoon in order to be ready by dinnertime. 

After looking at 10+ recipes online I settled on this one, mostly because it was only a one-day process, we had all the ingredients needed, and it would use up some of the CSA veggies that we hadn't been able to put to use yet.  Instead of carrots and celery, I substituted parsnips and celeriac which are very similar in taste and texture. 

I had never used short ribs before, so when I opened the package I wasn't sure what to expect.  The beef is from a cow that my parents purchased at their local county fair and was butchered nearby as well.  The cuts were much fattier than I expected, and I don't know if that's normal or not. 

 

The first step was to cut the ribs into chunks and sear the outside over high heat until everything was nice and brown.  This took multiple batches because they couldn't all fit in the dutch oven at once. 

After the meat was browned and removed from the pan, I added all of the cut up veggies and spices to the dutch oven and sauteed them for a bit.  Then, I added the meat back in along with nearly an entire bottle of wine cut with some water, and the additional seasonings.  The whole pot was then allowed to cook in the oven for a couple of hours.

 

When the meat was cooked through and the liquid had reduced a bit, everything came out of the oven.  The liquid was transferred to a pan on the stovetop and allowed to reduce to make a thick sauce.  Meanwhile, the ribs were put under the broiler to crisp up along the edges. 

Like I said, the ribs were served with mashed potatoes with the sauce poured on top of everything.  The meat was very tender and juicy, and the sauce was delicious.  Some of the pieces were a little too fatty to easily enjoy, but other than that the food was pretty good for a special occasion meal.