Braised Short Ribs with Smoked Olives

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 6 servings
  • Total: 4 hr 45 min (includes cooling time)
  • Active: 1 hr
Once you learn the fundamentals of braised short ribs, you can experiment with different vegetables, herbs and spices. I included two umami flavor boosters here, anchovies and tamari, but you can omit them if you don't have them on hand. You will still have a classic, rich and delicious meal to keep you warm through winter. My pommes puree is loaded with butter and milk, but the real key is using Yukon gold potatoes. This is the last thing I do when serving a big holiday meal, because they have to be eaten right away. And remember, serve warm and not piping hot, because if they get too hot, the butter will separate.
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Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 yellow onions, cut into eighths

2 medium carrots, cut into thick slices

2 medium parsnips, cut into thick slices

2 large leeks, washed thoroughly and cut into thick slices

Kosher salt

4 heads garlic, halved crosswise

3/4 cup smoked olives

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

8 sprigs fresh rosemary

8 sprigs fresh thyme

2 fresh bay leaves

6 thick center-cut bone-in short ribs, each about 3/4 pound

4 oil-packed anchovies

One 750-milliliter bottle red wine

2 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons tamari

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Pommes Puree, recipe follows, or cooked egg noodles, for serving

Pommes Puree:

3 pounds large Yukon gold potatoes

2 cups heavy cream, warmed

1 pound (4 sticks) European-style salted butter, diced and kept cold

Kosher salt

Chopped fresh chives, for garnish

Directions

Special equipment:
a potato ricer
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the Dutch oven is hot but not smoking, add the onions, carrots, parsnips, leeks and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, smoked olives, coriander seeds, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Remove the vegetables to a bowl.
  3. Sprinkle all sides of the short ribs with salt. Heat a Dutch oven over high heat with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sear the short ribs on all sides. Add the vegetables back to the pan, along with the anchovies, wine, beef stock and tamari to just cover the ribs and bring to a simmer. Place the cover on the Dutch oven and transfer to the oven. Simmer the ribs, turning them every 30 minutes, until they are tender and fall apart with no resistance, about 3 hours.
  4. Remove the ribs to a platter. Let the braising liquid cool so the grease floats to the top. Skim and discard the grease with a large spoon. Place the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce for 5 minutes, then add the sherry vinegar. Plate the short ribs with Pommes Puree or egg noodles, using the reduced braising liquid as a sauce.

Pommes Puree:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. On a parchment-lined sheet pan, arrange the potatoes in an even layer. Bake the potatoes until tender, about 45 minutes. Let the potatoes cool slightly until able to be handled but still hot. Peel the potatoes.
  3. Add one potato at a time to a ricer and rice the potatoes into a pot. Add the warm cream to the potatoes and some pieces of butter. Whisk until smooth. Continue to add most of the remaining butter, whisking piece by piece, reserving 1 to 2 tablespoons to finish. Season the potatoes with salt.
  4. Fill a small Dutch oven with hot water to warm it up. Dump the water and transfer the potatoes to the pot. Top with the remaining butter and garnish with the chives.

Let's Get Cooking!

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GeekiePixie

Since so many have said that the episode doesn't read right in comparison to the episode, I just went back and rewatched it and took detailed notes. I'm sharing them here in case anyone else wants to benefit from my notes. (I am not a professional cook nor cook book writer, so please take that into account.) <br /><br />rewatched episode - my notes from GZ's presentation of this recipe:<br />pre-heat oven to 325 degrees<br />do not use skinny ribs &amp; make sure to season the ribs with a lot of salt then sear all sides in the braiser/dutch oven - use very little extra fat to sear off so you have lots of rendered beef fat for next steps<br />sear each rib on all sides to a crispy (GZ's word) exterior on all sides then set aside on a plate<br />tie off the fresh rosemary and thyme with butcher's twine to make it easy to fish them out later-tie the bundle to the pot/pan handle, then add the vegetables and sweat in the rendered beef fat - add whole peppercorns and whole coriander then salt the veg - you want salt now to help veg release its juices and make a tastier braising liquid<br />add the anchovies, stir to "melt" into the mix, then the olives<br />once all veg and aromatics are in the pot, add the wine-should be a good wine you'd drink-GZ used a Beaujolais (characterized as a dry wine, with little to no sweetness, and simple, fruity notes)<br />add the ribs back to the pot - do not crowd the meat-nestle on top of the veg, not pushed down <br />add the tamari (or soy if don't have tamari) and then the beef stock-only enough stock to come up to 1/2-3/4 side of the ribs-do not cover the meat with liquid or it will not braise<br />cover the pot and cook at 325 for approximately 3 hours<br />when it comes out, "kiss" the top with a little fresh red wine and a touch of sherry wine vinegar<br />remove the herb bundle<br />Pommes puree:<br />bake the potatoes in their jackets and remove the potatoes to a pot once you can handle them (if must boil, start with cold water, not already hot/boiling water)<br />warm milk on stove before potatoes come out-cube butter and keep it cold<br />rice (I'm lazy and don't own a ricer, so I'll mash well) potatoes and put back into pot/dutch oven, keep the potatoes warm over low heat on the stovetop-add lots of salt to the potatoes so it's seasoned throughout the dish-add some of the milk then lots of butter, then mix well-want it wet since you know it'll seize some before it hits the plate<br />serve the ribs and veg over the potatoes (when GZ did braised ribs on the Rachael Ray Show, he served them over egg noodles)

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