Tender, fall-off-the-bone short ribs and root vegetables braised in red wine and bone broth over rutabaga purée makes for true gourmet comfort food.
Meat and potatoes — it's the stuff on which many of us are raised. American comfort food! But if you're watching your lectins, you know potatoes are out. Rutabagas are an easy and tasty swap to keep you on track. Cooked up in butter and milk and pureed with a little cream cheese for a smooth, slightly sweet foundation for the hero of this dish, braised short ribs.
Just look at those glossy glazed short ribs, falling away with tender succulence. Soaked in savory, beefy wine sauce and braised, then glazed, to perfection, these short ribs rival the ones you get at the restaurant — that is if you can find them on the menu. Em's in Salt Lake City, Utah has them, as does Myrtle Rose in Park City. And when I eat there, that's what I order every time.
But why wait to eat out when you can have these melt-in-your-mouth babies at home? Read more to see how they're made.
The Recipe
LFG Braised Short Ribs
4 Grassfed, Bone-in Beef Short Ribs 2 inches thick
Salt and Pepper
1 Sweet Onion peeled and quartered
2 Orange Carrots peeled and sliced
2 Yellow Carrots peeled and sliced
2 Celery Stalks sliced
2 Garlic Cloves peeled and sliced
1/2 Bottle Dry Red Wine (pick a nice one; you'll be drinking the other half with dinner)
6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 Fat Sprig Rosemary
1 1/2 Grassfed Beef Bone Broth
2 t Salt
Fresh Rosemary Garnish
Rutabaga Puree (instructions are on another LFG blog page)
2 Large Rutabagas
1 Cup Grassfed Whole Milk
2 T Grassfed Butter
1/2 t Salt
1 t Fresh Chives chopped
1 t Fresh Thyme chopped
1 t Fresh Rosemary chopped
2 T Grassfed Cream Cheese
Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a Dutch oven (Le Creuset) on medium-high burner. Generously salt and pepper the fat sides of the short ribs. Place them fat side down in the pan. No need for oil, as the fat will render pretty fast. Sear all sides of the short ribs until they are nicely browned and crispy. This should take about 2 minutes on each side. Next, drop in the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and brown them in the beef fat. At this point, you can season the vegetables with 2 t salt as they are browning. Once the veggies are slightly tender and browned, pour in the wine and scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan that the beef and veggies may have left. Add the bone broth. Drop in your herb sprigs. You can tie them together to make it easier to remove later. Bring the whole thing to a boil. Taste the broth to make sure it's properly seasoned.
Cover and cook in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Ribs should be tender with bone still on. At this point, you can begin making the rutabaga puree and finish while the ribs are braising.
Next, uncover and braise the ribs in the oven for another 45 minutes to an hour, turning ribs over a few times so that all sides feel the love from the sauce. We're going for a reduction here as well, so pay attention to the sauce color and viscosity. When it thickens and darkens, you know you're ready for the next step.
Once you've achieved the sauce reduction, remove the pot from the oven. Turn the oven to broil. Pluck out the herb sprigs. With a slotted spoon, lift all the vegetables out and put into a serving bowl and cover to keep hot. With a long tongs, turn the meat so that wet sides are up. Now place the pot, with the ribs and reduction uncovered under the broiler. Turn meat every minute until all sides sizzle with the glistening glaze. Remove from oven.
To plate, spoon some rutabaga puree in the center and place the braised short ribs on top. Spoon the carrots, celery and onion to the side and garnish with fresh rosemary.
Pair with the other half of the dry red wine you used for the sauce. It will totally bring out the flavor and you'll be like OH MY GOD!
Enjoy!