
If you are looking for a flavourful ragu to eat with your favourite pasta or gnocchi, look no further. This is a perfect fall meal and after prepping, you can sit back, relax and wait until it is ready to serve. I like to cook my ragu low and slow for many hours until the short ribs are tender, fall off the bone and shred perfectly. It is a cozy meal for a cold fall evening and is sure to impress friends and family. If you are looking for a way to cook short ribs and an excuse to head to your local butcher, keep reading.
Method
Braised Short Rib Ragu Pasta 10 Steps
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Step 1
Use paper towel to pat short ribs dry. 2 pounds was about 4 large short ribs but your butcher may cut it differently. Depending on the size of your short ribs, cook time will vary. Season with 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper.
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Step 2
In a large heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven, add olive oil and sear your ribs. Searing is very important to develop flavour so you want to make sure each side is a nice deep brown. This step is not meant to cook the ribs. Set aside ribs.
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Step 3
After searing remove most of the fat except for about 1 tablespoon. Add the diced onion, carrot, salt and pepper and sautée until vegetables are soft and start browning. This may take anywhere from 5 minutes to 10 minutes depending on your pot.
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Step 4
Next add your tomato paste, and sautée until it is darkened.
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Step 5
Add your red wine and make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove all the browned bits. This is where a lot of the flavour comes from. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until liquid is reduced by half.
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Step 6
Pour in the crushed tomatoes, beef stock, mustard, bay leaves and thyme and stir.
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Step 7
Place your short ribs in the pot and submerge. Simmer on low covered for about 3 hours. Simmer for an additional 2 hours on low with the lid partially covered. Alternatively, you can place Dutch oven in crock pot at 250°F for 5-6 hours until the short ribs are tender. Discard any fat on top of the ragu if necessary and add up to 1 cup of water if ragu gets too thick.
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Step 8
Place ribs on cutting board and shred with fork. Discard the bones and return shredded meat to ragu.
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Step 9
Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary and simmer for an additional 15 minutes over low heat.
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Step 10
Cook your pasta as per cooking instructions, I used paccheri which is similar to rigatoni and serve with the sauce. Reserve a bit of pasta water to help coat the pasta in ragu and serve hot. Add chili flakes, fresh chopped parsley and grated Parmesan to finish!