Fall recipe: Braised short ribs pair well with a red

Red wine braised short ribs with  brown butter sweet potato puree, wilted garlic spinach and braise reduction

For the braised short ribs

2 pounds of short ribs portioned out into

      8-ounce pieces, lightly salted and left out of

      refrigeration for a half hour

Two medium-sized carrots peeled and cut into

      half-inch pieces

3 ribs of celery, chopped

1 medium yellow onion, diced large

3 cloves of garlic, pressed

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

4 bay leaves

2 cups of red wine

2 cups of beef stock

Salt and pepper

Heat a medium-sized sauce pot over medium-high heat with 90/10 blended oil. Once the pot is hot, sear all sides of the short ribs until they are golden brown. Remove short ribs and place into a braising pan. Turn the heat on the pot down and add all of the mirepoix (diced vegetables). Sweat the vegetables until they are tender. Add red wine and stock to deglaze. Pour mixture over the short ribs in the braising pan. Add the thyme sprigs, bay leaves and a teaspoon of kosher salt. Cover the braising pan and place in a 325-degree oven for 3 hours.

For the sweet potato puree

1 cup of unsalted butter

5 large sweet potatoes

2 teaspoons of salt

Using a fork, poke holes in all the sweet potatoes. Place on sheet pan and roast for 45 minutes. Test the potatoes with a toothpick. If you can push it through the potato with no resistance, it is ready to be removed. I would recommend using an oven mitt to hold the potatoes and a fork to pull the skin off so you only have the roasted inner potato left. It can be tricky to do, but the best results require a hot potato to make a smoother puree. Place your butter in a pan and slowly heat on medium-low until the butter solids start turning brown. At that point, you can remove the butter from the stove. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.

For the wilted spinach

12 ounces of baby spinach

3 cloves of crushed garlic

1 tablespoon of butter

In a large sauté pan, sweat the garlic in oil over low heat for about 3 minutes. Add the spinach, gently stirring it with a wooden spoon. Once it starts becoming darker in appearance and wilted looking, turn off the heat and add the butter, stirring until the spinach looks shiny. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

For the braise reduction

Remove the short ribs from the braising pan and set aside. Remove the rest of the contents from the braising pan and place into a large sauce pot. Place on the stove and bring to a simmer. Once a quarter of the liquid has evaporated, strain off the vegetables and place the short ribs and liquid back into the pot to slowly reheat the ribs. Once they are hot, they are ready to serve. Don’t forget to taste all of your food for seasoning!