With autumn, my favorite season, upon us, I wanted to make a warm your soul, something hearty and stick to your ribs kind of meal, so what better than some red wine braised short ribs? I have been on a mission for years to teach my sons how to cook, and this goal was the initial inspiration behind this blog and website. I typically spend hours shopping, prepping, chopping, cooking, and cleaning, so this evening, I decided to share the wealth with my son Carter and his friends Daniel and Jun. I have made this a few times this past year in my Instapot, but I wanted to go old school with my Staub dutch oven tonight.

Ingredients

5 lbs bone-in short ribs – or 2-3 per person

3 yellow onions diced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 celery stalks chopped

All-purpose flour – I prefer almond or coconut these days, depending on what protein I am cooking

1 tbs tomato paste

1 bottle of red wine – D2 for tonight

10 sprigs of broad leaf/Italian parsley

4 springs oregano

2 bay leaves

8 sprigs of thyme

1 head of garlic sliced halfwise

4 cups of beef stock

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Working in 2 batches, brown short ribs on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer short ribs to a plate. Pour off all but 3 Tbsp. drippings from pot.

Step 2

I had Carter man the stove and brown the meat while Jun and Daniel chopped the vegetables and prepared the herbs.

Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onions are browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until well combined and deep red, 2–3 minutes. Stir in wine, then add short ribs with any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium and simmer until wine is reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Add all herbs to pot along with garlic. Stir in stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven.

Since we are civilized gentlemen, while waiting for the ribs to cook, we had a proper Espresso Martini.

Step 3

Cook until short ribs are tender, 2–2½ hours. Transfer short ribs to a platter. Strain sauce from pot into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from surface of sauce and discard; season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls over mashed potatoes with sauce spooned over.