This sauce. It is one of those sauces you just want to eat over and over. It is pure comfort. It is the type of sauce you want to share with friends and family on a chilly and slow Sunday. It has a long and slow cook time, but relatively shorter active prep time, making it easy to make when company is around. It also saves well (and in my opinion, gets even better after a few days), so it can be prepped ahead of time or on the weekend for a quick and easy meal during the week.
After the short ribs bake and are tender, the sauce will look a bit broken and not the creamy, luscious sauce of the final product. Don’t worry–skim the fat from the top, add the cream and meat, and it will all come together beautifully.
Short Rib White Ragu
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
- 4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 small to medium size carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 parmesan rind (optional)
- 1½ cup milk
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- Cooked pasta and parmesan shaves, for serving
Instructions
- Remove short ribs from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes (this is a good time to be dicing vegetables). Tie thyme and rosemary sprigs together in a bunch using kitchen twine. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a large dutch oven or oven-safe pot over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Generously season short ribs with salt and pepper. Add short ribs to the hot oil, and sear, about 2-4 minutes per side, until browned evenly (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan). Place short ribs on to a plate and set aside.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add onions, carrots, and celery to the pan. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are soft, fragrant, and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, and cook another 5 minutes. Add in the tied herb bunch (from above) and the bay leaves. Add chicken stock and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add parmesan rind, then the milk. Return short ribs and any juices to the pot. Cover and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 3 to 3.5 hours, until meat is very tender and shreds easily with a fork.
- Remove from the oven. Take meat out and shred. Remove herb bundle and bay leaves from the pot. Skim fat from the top and discard. Add cream. If sauce is too thin, simmer gently until thickened and reduced to desired consistency. Return meat to the sauce, stirring to combine.
- Serve with pasta of choice and top with parmesan, or refrigerator to use over the next 3-4 days.
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