Total Umami! Beef Short Rib Ragu with Southern Grits
Try this delicious way to knock the chill off - winter comfort food
Ingredients
- 1000 grams beef short ribs - bone in
- 250 grams smoked bacon - diced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 large onion - diced
- As Needed neutral oil - for sautéing
- 18 grams garlic - minced
- 750 ml red wine - 1 bottle
- 225 grams carrots - diced
- 100 grams celery - diced
- 1 can peeled whole tomatoes - 28 oz can
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 240 ml beef stock
- For Garnish fresh chopped parsley
- For Garnish freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 4 servings grits - I use the 5-minute style
- 225 grams unsalted butter - ~2 sticks
- 120 ml heavy whipping cream - more if you want, you do you
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F - 190C
- In a Dutch oven (or large oven-proof pot) slowly sauté the bacon over low heat, rendering the fat without burning the meat.
- After the bacon bits are crispy, remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
- Add the onion to the bacon fat and caramelize the onions over medium to medium-high heat.
- After the onions have caramelized, add the carrots and celery and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Once the garlic hits your nose, add the entire bottle of wine, less any you quality checked.
- Set to a simmer and allow the wine to reduce by half.
- While the wine is reducing, in a separate fry pan, set to medium heat, heat the neutral oil and sauté the short ribs until they develop a beautiful caramelization, ensuring these are well-browned on all sides. Set aside.
- Hand crush the canned peeled whole tomatoes in a bowl.
- Once the wine is reduced by half, add the crushed tomatoes to the pot.
- Add the browned ribs to the pot and pour the beef stock over.
- Bring it all to a simmer, cover with a lid and place in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
- While the ragu is cooking, prepare the grits according to the package directions.
- Once the grits have thickened, turn off the heat and add the butter all at once.Begin stirring immediately, not stopping, until the butter has completely emulsified into the grits.
- Add the heavy cream, stir to combine. Set the heat to low to hold the grits until ready to plate.
- Once the ragu is cooked, remove from the oven. Take out the ribs and remove the beef fat on top of the ragu.
- For plating; you can either serve the ribs whole, or shred the ribs removing the bone and any cartilage.
- Add a serving of grits to your bowl. Ladle ragu on top and place the short rib on top of that.
- Garnish with crispy bacon bits (made earlier), freshly grated parmesan cheese, and freshly chopped parsley.
Video
Notes
Pasta or polenta can be substituted for grits. Pappardelle is a popular pasta choice.