Cosy Classic: Beef Short Rib Bourguignon
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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, it's designed to give you plenty of time to relax - a few minutes of work up front, then a hands-off 3½–4 hours in the oven.

Ingredients

  • 5–10 shallots
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil*
  • 1 beef short rib (serves 4–5; count the ribs — around 1.2kg)
  • 3 carrots, halved
  • 4–5 lengths of celery (about 4cm each)
  • 400g button mushrooms (optional)*
  • 1 bulb of garlic, top trimmed and some paper removed
  • 1 stalk rosemary
  • 1 small bunch thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 cups red wine
  • 2 cups boiling water (or beef stock)
  • To thicken if required: 25g butter and 1 teaspoon plain flour

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
  2. Put the shallots in a bowl, cover with boiling water and let sit for ten minutes until the skins soften, then peel.
  3. Season the fat on the short rib with salt, rub over the olive oil and sear until the fat browns — a BBQ hotplate is easiest (or the stovetop, depending on your pan).
  4. Add everything to a large roasting pan (or slow cooker)* and season generously with salt and black pepper. Cover tightly with foil or a lid to form a seal.
  5. Braise in the oven for 4–4½ hours.

To serve

  1. Lift the meat out to rest, covered with foil and a tea towel. You'll cut it into rib-sized portions to serve.
  2. Lift out the vegetables and fish out the herb stalks.
  3. Assess the sauce. If it needs thickening, return the pan to the heat (where you seared the rib). Soften the butter, mix it with the flour into a paste, drop into the sauce in small chunks and stir as it melts, simmering for 1–2 minutes.
  4. Serve with your favourite side, the braised vegetables and a good ladle of sauce.

Notes

*I skipped the bacon here, as it really only works with lardons and I always forget to buy them. I do save my bacon fat in a cup in the fridge (old school, I know), so I used that to brown the rib — olive oil is of course fine. If searing on the BBQ hotplate, just rub olive oil and salt in before you sear.

*Mushrooms absorb liquid, so if you use them you're less likely to need to thicken the sauce.

*If you use a slow cooker, halve the wine and stock — slow cookers have far less evaporation than ovens.

The Pairing

A cosy classic wants a good red — a Pinot Noir in the Burgundian spirit, or a hearty Syrah. The simplest move is to pour the same bottle you braise with. Browse the Pinot Noir collection.