I’ve spent the last few weeks obsessing over short ribs — their bones, specifically. Just about every braised short rib recipe I’ve seen displays the rib bones prominently attached to the meat, a boon for presentation as well as a certain cavemanlike satisfaction. Yet every time I’ve cooked short ribs in a pot of red wine and stock, the bones have gleefully swum off into the braising liquid, leaving their meaty counterparts to sit, blob-like, on the plate.
How, then, to braise short ribs to shreddy tenderness while retaining the bone? How do you cook them until they’re soft but not too soft, and serve them in a not-so-blobby way?
The answer is to lean into the dinosauric appeal of the bone, and buy massive short ribs. (Long ribs?)
If you’re able to get a sheet of English-cut ribs from a butcher, about 6-8 inches long with each rib attached to the next, you’ll have the first step down. (And these will need to be from a butcher; no supermarket, or even specialty grocer, tends to sell them like this.) By avoiding the conventional 3-4 inch square cut and slicing these length-wise into spare ribs, the bones will stay intact during braising.
Of course, that is only the first step. You should sear the ribs all over and brown them aggressively, but afterwards, don’t submerge them completely in liquid. If you position them on their sides — exposing half of the meat and half of the bone — and bring the water line, so to speak, about a half inch from covering them, this will also help to retain the bone.
As a reminder, you’ll also want them to taste good. You could use any variety of liquids, aromatics, and umami bombs to braise in, but I like to use a stout beer like Guinness to amp up the ribs’ beefiness; it’s less fruity and tannic, obviously, than red wine. I’ve also been taking a cue from my fiancée’s dad, who grills outrageously good flanken-cut short ribs marinated in oyster sauce and lots of onions. This is a killer combination for beef, and it works just as well in braising. A bunch of other “secret” ingredients — Worcestershire, tomato paste, soy sauce, honey, black vinegar, Better than Bouillon — are very effective additions, too, but you can mix and match with what’s in your kitchen.
The final step: after you’ve cooked these for three hours, blast the hell out of them at 500 degrees F. This will crisp them up and amplify all those charred bits of beef and fat. Serve them in all their bone-in glory, like any proper caveman would.
Beer-Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
A sheet of 6-8 inch short ribs (there will likely be 3 ribs), cut length-wise into individual ribs; ask your butcher to not cut them horizontally into smaller squares, and make sure you have a pot that fits them. Trim any excess fat and salt them very generously overnight in the fridge, uncovered.
1 large Spanish onion, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 head of garlic sliced cross-wise
1 tbsp tomato. paste
2-3 tbsp Better Than Bouillon, beef flavor
12 oz Guinness or other stout beer
2-3 chunks of celery
2 bay leaves
2-3 peels/chunks of orange and/or lemon
Handful of thyme sprigs
3 tbsp oyster sauce
Optional: generous splash of Worcestershire, soy, vinegar and honey
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large Dutch oven, sear the ribs on all sides in a small amount of neutral oil, until they are deeply browned and crispy. Set aside and clear out the pot (the ribs will have more than enough fat during cooking). Tie the ribs to their bones using butcher’s twine (optional).
Add a splash of olive oil to the pot and set over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, tomato paste, celery, bay leaves, herbs, and citrus. Cook until onions are translucent.
Add the oyster sauce, beef bouillon, and any other umami ingredients you’re using. Stir vigorously and cook another 10 minutes or so.
Add the beer and bring to a boil for about 20 minutes. (The rest of the alcohol will cook off in the oven.)
Add the ribs to the pot. Position them on their sides (neither the meat-end nor the bone-end), so that both meat and bone are exposed. Add just enough water for the liquid to be about a half inch from submerging the ribs. You want to keep them slightly exposed, not underwater.
Cover, place in the oven and cook for approximately 3 hours. Once the meat is fork-tender, pull it from the oven. At this point, it is ideal to remove the ribs, strain the liquid, and place the strained liquid in the fridge overnight. The next day, you can easily remove the fat that has accumulated on top and then reduce the liquid into a sauce.
Before serving, warm the ribs through in some of their cooking liquid (if they have chilled overnight) and set the oven to 500 degrees.
Cook them at this temperature for 10-15 minutes, making sure to turn them once or twice throughout. You want them deeply charred but not burnt, so keep a close eye; make sure the fatty bits, in particular, are charred and crispy. You can do this in the Dutch oven or on a wire-rimmed sheet pan.