Red Wine Short Ribs

Red Wine Short Ribs are knock your socks off flavour packed yum! Easy to prepare with a long cook time, we are talking delicious fall off the bone ribs that melt in your mouth. With a flavorful red wine sauce they are the perfect weekend comfort food. Short ribs in red wine sauce are Winner Winner holy cow, insanely delicious dinner!

Recipes like the Italian Short Ribs, Beef Osso Bucco and Garlic Pepper Beef allow us to do more with beef than cooking a steak.

The Mongolian Beef Noodles, Beef Pesto Pasta and Fettuccine Bolognese are budget friendly recipes that use beef mince or steak strips.

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:

• Comfort food: as well as being seriously indulgent at the same time! This recipe is weekend cooking at its finest.
• Minimal effort: so we do use a little elbow grease at the start of the recipe when preparing the vegetables and searing the ribs. Yet when that is done, it is 3 hrs of cook time that is pretty much hands free!
• Taste and texture: there is the juicy soft beef meat falling of the bone, the chewy tender mushrooms, the stringy leek and fennel and drizzling red wine sauce in the bowl. It is hands down satisfaction in a meal. Also known as serious yum 😍.
• Flavor sensation: cooking any meat for a long time is pretty much guaranteed to produce juicy, tender meat. This recipe does that plus the combination of vegetables and wine sauce turns the process of cooking short ribs into a home run.
• Sophisticated dinner: as much as it is nice to go out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, the joys of home sweet home call for homemade. These meaty beef flavorful short ribs are are knife and fork worthy that tick the 'Winner, Winner special occasion dinner box'.

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Olive oil: we use this to brown the ribs on the stove before we oven bake them. This allows us to lock in flavour.
• Salt and black pepper: we season both sides of the ribs before we brown them with the salt and a little bit of pepper.
• Worcestershire sauce: a great ingredient to add a little oomph to recipes. Always a tricky one to spell though, haha 🤣👌.
• Bay leaf: we add these to the dish moments before popping it into the oven. These leaves are known for their aromatic flavour and great for meat based recipes.
• Oregano: one of the 2 dried herbs that we use for the recipe. A pantry staple that is always handy to have in the cupboard.
• Thyme: the 2nd dried herb used in the recipe. Chosen for its excellent pairing with mushrooms and fennel. It is another great pantry staple herb.
• Fennel: an excellent vegetable to cook with and performs well when using both fresh fennel and dried fennel. Aromatic vegetables like fennel are popular with pork recipes, yet also work a treat with beef recipes.
• Leek: a great ingredient to use, related to the garlic, chives, shallot and onion family. These are also a fantastic complementary flavor to the mushrooms.
• Tomato paste: adds a thick, rich robust tomato component, yet does not overwhelm the entire flavors of the recipe.
• Garlic: chunky minced is my preference. Or you can use fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped and thrown in.
• Button mushrooms: the 1st of the 2 types of mushrooms that we use for the recipe. These delightfully small mushrooms hold their own with the beef and also melt like butter in your mouth, changing colour over the course of their cook time.
• Swiss Brown Mushrooms: the 2nd type of mushroom used in the recipe. These are larger than the button mushrooms and help to create another mushroom texture within the dish.
• Beef short ribs: available at the grocery store (meat section) or local butcher. They look a lot different to a rack of pork baby back ribs. They are much shorter, having been cut into small square or rectangular portions. They can be a little bit of an expensive cut of beef, but are also often on 'special', so keep your eye out if you are sticking to your budget.
• Beef broth (also known as beef stock): this balances the wine, so that the sauce is a combination of liquids with a multitude of flavours.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the short ribs recipe. We start by seasoning both sides of the beef ribs with salt and pepper then browning them on the stove.

• Season with salt and pepper (Photo 1)
• Brown both sides (Photo 2)
• Cook vegetables (Photo 3)
• Add garlic, herbs and tomato paste (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Red Wine Short Ribs

Start by removing the beef short ribs from the packaging and using paper towel to pat them dry.

Next, place the ribs in one flat layer onto a chopping board. Use salt and black pepper to season both sides.

Then place a large saute pan (or large Dutch oven, either works and needs a lid) onto the stove, turn the heat to high, drizzle in the olive oil and swish it around in the pan.

Use kitchen tongs to place the ribs into the pan and allow to brown for 3 minutes.

Then use the tongs to flip the ribs to the other side. Allow the 2nd side to also brown for 3 minutes.

Once done remove the browned short ribs and place them onto a chopping board lined with paper towels.

Then without rinsing or cleaning the bottom of the pan (including not removing any brown bits from the bottom of the pan) add the sliced leeks, fennel, chopped mushrooms and whole button mushrooms.

Allow these to cook for 2-3 minutes. Move them around during this time using a wooden spoon.

Once done, add the dried oregano and thyme. Then transfer in the tomato paste and minced garlic. Stir these and allow to cook for 1- 2 minutes.

We are building flavor from this layering of ingredients where we keep adding not subtracting.

• Add the Worcestershire sauce (Photo 5)
• Then add the vegetable broth (Photo 6)
• Next pour in the red wine (Photo 7)
• Place the browned beef ribs in with the vegetables (Photo 8)

Once the vegetables are cooked, it is time to start to create the rich red wine sauce for the ribs. Do so by adding the Worcestershire sauce, followed by vegetable broth and then pour in the red wine.

Next transfer the seared brown short ribs back into the pan.

Then place the bay leaves into the centre of the pan. Pop the lid on and place the pan into the preheated oven on the middle shelf.

The wine sauce will reduce as the ribs cook, so we top it up on the hour, every hour for the 3 hours of cook time 😉👍.

The long cook time helps to break down the connective tissues in the beef ribs and the braising liquid helps to ensure tender, melt in your mouth beef.

• Cook the ribs for 1 hr, add more broth (Photo 9)

Use oven mits to remove the sauté pan after 1 hour of cooking. Place it on a heat proof surface and use an oven mit to remove the lid.

Pour in additional vegetable stock, followed by additional wine as seen in the photos above and below.

• Then pour in more red wine (Photo 10)

Repeat this same top up of wine and stock at the 2 hour cooking mark. You can also ensure that the ribs are still bone side up, meat nestled in the juices and vegetables during this time.

• Cook for 1 more hr, repeat broth and wine, then cook 1 hr (Photo 11)

Use tongs to gently push the short ribs a little further into the mixture if they have risen up a lot.

The total cook time in the oven for the ribs is 3 hours.

After this time, you can again use the oven mits to remove the pan, place it on a heatproof surface and remove the lid.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

We use creamy polenta sometimes when serving the Italian Short Ribs, yet for this recipe it is nice to switch it up and pair with potatoes.

I make the Garlic Butter Potatoes, add a little bit more butter and milk then portion into bowls. The main difference being I peel the potatoes if serving that recipe as a 'mash'. This results in creamy mashed potatoes which are a no brainer.

The Horseradish mash is another option you can try.

Or the Duck Fat Roast Potatoes, Skin on Roast Potatoes or Creamy Garlic Potatoes will work on the side.

When plating the braised beef ribs you can scoop some of the vegetable mixture out as well as the sauce and drizzle it over the top.

Fresh herbs as shown in the photo above help finish the presentation side of the dish 👌. I use parsley as I also love the pops of bright green and how they contrast with the burgundy colour wine sauce.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• For a different trio of vegetables that will work try carrots, celery ribs and onion (I use them when making the Italian Short Ribs).
• Or add prunes as an alternative with lovely soft texture.
• A dry red wine works best. I use a Pinot Noir when making the recipe. The specific bottle is a lighter in calories than standard Pinot Noir and is very smooth without sediment. You could also use a merlot, shiraz or cabernet sauvignon.
• The Worcestershire sauce has a savory flavour. You can omit it and use the equivalent amount of apple cider vinegar for a sweeter flavor if you wish too.
• Other herbs that will work are dried rosemary or dried parsley.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• A pair of kitchen tongs are the easiest way to handle the ribs. We have to flip them and transfer them and using the tongs will keep your hands free.
• Ensure that the oven is preheated when you place them into the oven so that they begin cooking straight away.
• Set a timer for the initial hour and then 2nd hour as you need to top up the vegetable stock and red wine volumes at these hourly intervals.
• The best wine to braise short ribs is the one that you have a glass of when cooking. 1 for you, 1 for the dinner recipe and repeat 🤣.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good red wine for short ribs?

Pinot Noir is an excellent red wine for short ribs. Alternative options are Merlot or Shiraz. Lean towards dry as opposed to sweet wines.

What side dishes go with red wine braised short ribs?

The best sides dishes for red wine braised short ribs are mashed potato, polenta, roast potatoes and steamed green vegetables.

Do you braise short ribs covered or uncovered?

Braise the short ribs in a large saute pan with lid. Keeping the lid on during the cook time ensures a moist cooking environment resulting in juicy, tender beef ribs.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

Never worry about what to put on the table for dinner when you have many options up your sleeve offering variety through protein, cook time and ingredients. Here are some more recipes I hope you will love:

• Crumbed Lamb Cutlets
• Mexican Ribs
• Meatballs and Polenta
• Pulled Brisket (Baked then Grilled)
• Sticky Pork Ribs
• Oven Baked Pork Ribs
• Dutch Oven Pulled Pork
• Slow Cooker Pulled Lamb
• Kottbullar (Swedish Meatballs)
• Meatball Tray Bake

Its time to get our ribs on my friend! There is a need to be short about it 🤣👌. You can also find all of my dinner recipes in the one spot.

Adrianne

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