The Best Braised Beef Short Ribs in Your Life with Creamy Root Vegetable Mash

These are a treat.  Since I have been confided to the house with a pulverized ankle my cooking style has entirely changed.  I used to be in a tearing hurry ALL the time, no time to simmer or slow cook.  Now there's all day to simmer and slow cook and the results not only smell wonderful but taste pretty darn good too - these ribs are proof.  I braised them for about 3 1/2 hours on a low heat during the afternoon, whipped up some veggie mash (parsnips and potatoes and way too much butter) and had a happy family when they came home that evening. And the lovely thing about these luscious ribs is - they're SOOO easy to make.

Braised Beef Short Ribs.

4-5 lbs of bone in beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1/2 cup tomato ketchup

¼ cup of Dijon mustard

1/3 cup of soy sauce

¼ cup of red wine

32 oz beef stock

1 tablespoon of room temperature unsalted butter

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Heat the oven to 325F

Trim the ribs of any excess fat.

Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper and a touch a cumin.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot. 

Brown the ribs until they have a nice crust, give yourself plenty of time, this can take up to 30 minutes with 5 lbs of ribs.  You will probably need to do this in batches, cover the browned ribs with aluminum foil while you are working on the next batch.

When the ribs are browned, keep them covered with foil while you saute the onion and carrots for approximately 5-8 minutes.

Add the sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, wine and mustard, combine thoroughly. 

Place the ribs back into the pot.  Gently pour over the beef stock.  Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer.  Cover with a tight fitting lid. 

Place in the oven and bake for approximately 3 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bones.

Remove from the oven, spoon the ribs out of the pot and place on a warm serving platter, cover with foil.

Skim off any fat from the sauce in the pot. 

In a small bowl mix the butter and the cornstarch to a paste.  Add a tablespoon of the sauce to the cornstarch mixture and combine well.  Add this back to the sauce.  Stir thoroughly and simmer for 5 minutes.

To serve, place the mashed root vegetable on a large platter, lay the short ribs on top of the mash, spoon over the sauce and sprinkle with parsley.

Mashed Root Vegetables.

4 large baking potatoes

4 large parsnips

1 stick of butter

 4 oz heavy cream or whole milk

Salt and pepper

Peel the potatoes and parsnips and cut into medium sized chunks.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil.  Add the potatoes and parsnips cook until very tender.

Drain, add the butter, salt, pepper and cream and mash until fluffy.  Add more butter or cream if needed.