Cosy Classic | Beef Short Rib Bourguignon

The most complicated part of this recipe is having the right-sized casserole or stove-friendly roasting pan to fit the short rib.  

Once your equipment is sorted this recipe is designed to give you plenty of time to chillax—a few minutes of work up front, followed by hands-off 3 1/2 - 4 hours in the oven.

5-10 shallots

1 tablespoon of olive oil*

1 beef short rib (serves 4-5 people, count the ribs, needs to be around 1.2kg)

3 carrots, halved

4-5 lengths of celery (about 4cm each)

400 g button mushrooms (optional)*

1 bulb of garlic, top trimmed and some of the paper removed

1 stalk of rosemary

1 small bunch of thyme

2 bay leaves

3 cups of red wine

2 cups of boiling water (or beef stock)

To thicken if required: 25 grams of butter, and 1 teaspoon of plain flour.

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C
2. Put the shallots in a bowl and cover with boiling water, let sit for ten minutes until the skin is soft and they are easy to peel. Peel
3. Season the fat on the short rib with salt, rub over the olive oil and sear until the fat browns up. A BBQ hot plate is easiest.  (Depending on your stove type and roasting pan you may be able to do this on the stovetop).
4. Add everything to a large roasting pan, (or slow cooker)* and give it a generous season with salt and black pepper. Cover with foil (or a lid) to form a tight seal.
5. Pop it in the oven to braise for 4-4.5 hours.

To serve:

1. Lift the meat out and set it to rest, cover with foil and a t-towel. You will be cutting it into rib-sized portions to serve.
2. Lift the vegetables out and fish out the herb sticks.
3. Assess the sauce. If it needs to be thickened a little, return to the pan to the heat (where you seared the short rib). Soften the butter, then mix the butter and flour into a paste.  Drop this into the sauce in small chunks and stir as it melts, simmer stirring for 1-2 minutes to thicken.
4. Serve with your favourite side with the braised vegetables and a good ladle of the sauce.

Notes: 

* I skipped the bacon in this recipe as it only really works with lardon and I always forget to buy these.   I do however save my bacon fat in a cup in the fridge (old school I know), so I used that instead to brown the short rib.  Olive oil is of course fine.   I you are searing on the hotplate of your BBQ, just rub olive oil and salt into it before you sear.

*Mushrooms will absorb liquid, if you are using these you are less likely to need to thicken your sauce.

*If you choose to cook this dish in your slow cooker appliance, please halve the wine and stock.  Slow cookers have much less evaporation than ovens.