Sunday Dinner: Short Rib Ragu

I saw this sauce on Chicagoan Toni's food blog, Have a Bite, in December of last year. I had intended to make it right away, but, to quote Ronny Cammareri, "things happen." When her post first went up, she hadn't included the recipe in it, and it was available only on a site you have to be a member to access. I expressed a desire to try the dish, and she kindly sent me the recipe. I'm so very glad she did, because it's divine if you go in for meaty sauces. Next time, I want to try it with pappardelle, as Toni did.

There are many steps in the preparation of this sauce, so pick a day when you have the time and inclination to do it; otherwise, you might develop a condition my friend Carmel calls "chef's remorse." I was afflicted with that condition on a recent weekend, and I don't want the same fate to befall you!

Here is the recipe from the Fine Cooking Web site.

Short Rib Ragù
From Molly Stevens, Fine Cooking 77

3 to 4 lb. meaty bone-in beef short ribs, preferably English style
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 oz. thickly sliced pancetta (about 3 1/4-inch-thick slices) or 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 heaping cup)
1 celery stalk, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms
3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Tbs. tomato paste
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 300°F.

Cook the ribs:
Trim away any excess fat from the top of each rib down to the first layer of meat, but don’t remove the silverskin or tough-looking tissue that hold the ribs together or onto the bone. Pat the ribs dry with paper towels, and season them with salt and pepper.

Hold on. First of all, take a look at these beef short ribs:These came from Triple S Farm, and they have nothing whatsoever to do with the neatly cut and packaged little short ribs one finds in the grocery store. Zounds! Those are some hunky short ribs.

Let us continue.

Heat the oil in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven (or other heavy pot with a lid) over medium heat until hot. Add only as many ribs as will fit without touching, and brown them on all sides, turning with tongs until nicely browned, 3 to 4 min. per side. Transfer to a platter, and continue until all the ribs are browned.Pour off and discard most of the fat from the pot. Return the pot to medium heat, and add the pancetta or bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta or bacon has rendered some of its fat but is not crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrot, mushrooms, and garlic, and season with salt and pepper.Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 min. Add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes, and cook for 2 min., stirring. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium-high, stir to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot, and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a simmer.

Transfer the ribs to the oven:
Return the short ribs (and any juices) to the pot in a single layer, nestling them into the sauce. Crumple a large sheet of parchment and smooth it out again. Arrange it over the pot, pressing it down so it nearly touches the ribs, allowing any overhang to extend up and over the edges of the pot. Set the lid in place, and transfer to the oven. Braise, turning the ribs with tongs every 45 min., until fork-tender and the meat is pulling away from the bone, about 2-1/2 hours.

Make the ragù:
Use tongs or a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the ribs to a shallow baking dish or wide bowl. Set aside until just cool enough to handle. Skim any visible surface fat from the braising liquid and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. If the tomatoes haven’t broken up, break them up with a wooden spoon. If the sauce seems watery, increase the heat to medium-high and simmer to thicken. If not, keep it warm. Taste for salt and pepper.When the beef is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and the bands of connective tissue that encircled the bones. Chop the meat into bite-size chunks or pull into large strips. Return the meat to the sauce, and keep warm until ready to serve, or if making ahead, cool and refrigerate.The finished ragù can be refrigerated, covered, for up to three days.