It’s starting to get cold here in Chicago, that means less grilling and more braising. My first braise of the season was a batch of beef short ribs. One of the most flavorful cuts. Nice and fatty, lots of bone marrow, what could be better?
First, I browned them in a big pot with some olive oil to get some nice color then set them aside. Then I added onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. After about 5 minutes, when the veggies were translucent, I dumped in two cups of red wine and let it boil for a few minutes. I added three cups of beef stock, a quarter cup of balsamic vinegar, two bay leaves, a tablespoon of coriander seeds, and a bunch of thyme. Let it come to a boil and added salt and pepper. Then I returned the short ribs, covered the pot tightly, and put into a preheated oven at 250 degrees.
After 5 hours in the oven to took the pot out and removed the short ribs. The meat was tender that the bones fell right off, it sent tingles down my spine. I put the meat in a dish and tented it with foil to keep it from losing moisture and strained the braising liquid into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature allowing the fat to rise to the top. I scraped off the fat and returned the liquid to a pot and boiled for about 45 minutes so it could reduce. Then I added a little corn starch slurry to thicken it up to a more velvety texture and added a bunch of chopped parsley. There was my gravy.
I made some creamy garlic mashed potatoes along with quickly stir-fryed carrots, onions, and haricots vert to serve alongside.
Once everything was ready I put the short ribs back into the oven at 400 for 10 minutes to reheat them and then plated everything up. It was one of the best short ribs I’ve ever eaten in my life! The perfect thing for a chilly night.
Dan Bites 
That sounds great!