A Sunday Feast - Short Ribs, Veggies, Polenta

I have only made short ribs once before.  It was the day before Easter, 2010 and it was the first time that my parents met the in laws.  The meal was delicious and everyone got along.  The only down side was that I ended up clogging the sink.  It was a complete disaster.  We literally used every dish in our house and had company coming over the next morning for brunch.  

The late night trip to Wallgreen's for Draino did not fix anything.  Thankfully the plumber was able to come the next morning to replace our garbage disposal and half the pipes under the sink.  

This time around I was able to cook short ribs without any disasters.  They were paired with creamy polenta and baked Brussels sprouts.  It may not look pretty in the picture below, but was definitely tasty.  

For a delicious Sunday dinner (enough for 4) you will need: 

4 bone in short ribs

2 onions

3 carrots

3 celery stalks

6 sprigs of thyme

3 sprigs of rosemary

4 cloves of garlic

1 750 ml bottle of red wine

3 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

flour for dredging

salt and pepper

For the polenta

1 cup of polenta (not the instant kind, look for it in bulk at Whole Foods)

4 cups of water (for more flavor use stock)

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

For the veggies

1 lb of Brussels sprouts

1/3 cup halved almonds

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

Of course I made some sauteed mushrooms...

4 cups of chopped mushrooms (any kind you have)

1 shallot

olive oil

salt and pepper

Short ribs are the perfect weekend dish to make, since it takes hours to braise the meat.   To get started, preheat the oven to 325 and trim the excess fat off the ribs.

Season generously with salt and pepper.

Roughly chop the veggies and set aside.

Lightly flour the short ribs, make sure to shake off the extra flour.

Heat the oil in a large pot or even better a Dutch oven if you have one.  

Brown the meat in batches on all sides (really all 4 sides).  You only want to sear the meat, a couple of minutes on each side.

Transfer the meat to a bowl and brown the rest.

Add the veggies to the same pot, scrapping up the brown bits.  Cook the vegetables until soft and fragrant, 8 minutes or so, add the garlic halfway through.

Next, add the herbs, stock, salt, pepper and a cup or two of the wine.

Then add the ribs back into the pot in a single layer and cover with the remainder of the wine.  Make sure the ribs are fully covered by at least an inch.  If the wine doesn't cut it, feel free to top off with water if needed.  Bring to a boil, cover, and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours (until the meat is super tender and falling off the bone).

Now you have plenty of time to do something else while the short ribs cook away in the oven.  I decided to go to the gym to preemptively work off some of my forthcoming calories.

The rest of the dish takes about 45 minutes to finish.  First, wash the Brussels sprouts and cut in half.   

Use a food processor (or a knife if you don't feel like using the food processor) to roughly chop the Brussels sprouts.  If using the food processor, just pulse a couple of times.

The food processor works really well for this recipe.  The small pieces get nice and crispy and the large pieces are perfectly tender and delicious.  Mix in a bowl with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place on a baking sheet in a flat row to be broiled later.

Next, scrub and prep the mushrooms.  I used a mix between oyster and cimini.

Next, slice the shallot.

Finally, get working on the polenta.  The key to polenta is is to keep the heat low and to stir, seriously continuously stir for a long time...  A little tedious but worth the effort.

Add 4 cups of water or stock to a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add the polenta and stir with a whisk to incorporate.  Then switch over to a wooden spoon for the remainder.

The polenta generally takes about 30 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low and be patient.  Also, be brave because the polenta will bubble up, burst, and burn you at some point.  After cooking for about 10 minutes add a cup of milk and incorporate.  When the polenta is creamy and coats the back of the spoon you should be good to go.  Add a nub of butter and some parmesan cheese to round out the dish.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.   

Around the same time as the polenta is coming around, hopefully the timing is right and the short ribs are about ready.  The liquid should have reduced significantly and the meat should be tender and falling off the bone.

Remove the ribs with tongs, place in a bowl and cover with aluminum foil.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes while you tie up the rest of the meal.  Make sure to turn the oven up to broil for the veggies.

Strain off the cooking liquid and add to a pot to make the sauce.

Reduce the stock over high heat.

While the meat rests, the polenta gets creamy (you're still stirring) and the sauce reduces, heat another pan with some olive oil and add the mushrooms.  Don't forget to season and cook over medium heat.  

Seriously, there's a lot going on here, especially for a small kitchen like ours.   

Once the sauce reduces by at least half, make a quick roux to thicken it up.  If you haven't made a roux before, it's a super simple base to a lot of sauces.  It's just equal parts butter and flour.  Take 1 tablespoon of each and cook in a small pan.

Don't brown the roux too much, just cook until the butter is melted and the flour is cooked a bit.

Add the roux to the reduction sauce to round it out.

After cooking the mushrooms halfway through, add the shallots.

The Brussels sprouts only take about 5 minutes to cook.  Broil them for about 3 minutes, then add the almonds and cook for another 2-3.   The small leaves should be nice and crispy and the rest should be softened but not mushy.

To serve, spoon some polenta over a place.  Place a rib on top of the polenta and top with the mushrooms and reduction sauce.  Add some Brussels sprouts on the side.  Again, maybe not the prettiest plate, but everything was delicious on its own and as a whole.  Make sure to pair the dish with a great glass of red wine to end the weekend. 

This being a 3 hour endeavor, I started off listening to Arcade Fire.  When the real cooking was going on though (the last 30 minutes) I opted for the ever popular Moondance by Van Morrison.  A great compliment to a great meal at the house.