Recipe: Jason Wilson's Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

Serves 6

Allow about 1 pound of short ribs per serving. Wilson calls for ribs that are cut 3 inches thick; this allows a nice 2-rib portion. If you can only find ribs cut 2 inches thick, allow 3 or 4 ribs per serving.

Wilson recommends a Bordeaux-style blend of cabernet and merlot for the marinade; a Washington one worked for me. Note: If you do not make your own veal stock, use beef broth enriched with gelatin.

6 pounds beef short ribs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 bottles (1.5 liters) good red wine

1 bunch (about 12 stems) fresh thyme

1 bunch (about 12 3-inch sprigs) fresh rosemary

1 bunch (about 12 stems) fresh sage

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and roughly cut

1 celery rib, cut into 2-inch chunks

3 cloves garlic, peeled

4 cups homemade veal stock or canned beef broth enriched with 1 packet of unflavored gelatin

2 ounces dry porcini mushrooms

1. Put the ribs on a sheet pan and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Let them sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. In an airtight container large enough to hold the ribs, combine the wine and the herbs. Pack in the ribs, seal the container, refrigerate and marinate 24 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lift the ribs out of the marinade and sear them in the hot oil, turning until all sides are dark brown, about 10 minutes in all. Meanwhile, pour the marinade in a stainless-steel sauce pot and cook over medium-high heat until half the marinade has boiled away.

4. Transfer the browned ribs to a roasting pan and in the skillet where the ribs were browned, sauté the onion, carrot and celery until the vegetables begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, and sauté until the cloves just begin to color; do not let them brown. Pile the vegetables into the roasting pan with the short ribs and ladle about 2 cups of the boiling marinade into the skillet to deglaze it. Pour the wine from the skillet into the roasting pan, then pour in the veal stock or enriched beef broth and the dried porcini mushrooms.

5. Cover the roasting pan first with baker's parchment, then with aluminum foil to make a seal. Put the covered pan in the preheated oven and bake until the meat is tender enough to fall off the bone, about 4 ˝ hours.

6. Transfer the short ribs from the pan to a baking sheet and re-cover them with the parchment and foil; let them rest in a warm oven while you prepare the sauce. Strain the pan juices into a saucepan, then skim off as much of the fat as you can. You should have about 3 cups of rich pan juice. Serve each short rib in a large soup or pasta bowl with a half cup of the sauce.