red wine-braised short ribs [instant pot]
Where pot roast is the signature of many an Italian-American grandmother, it is more of a deep winter food, the beefiest of all beef stews. But, while very similar, I think of short ribs as more of a wedding venue dish, associated with the most special of special occasions largely because they lend themselves well to catering conditions.
Every so often, though, you want to feel special without the occasion. And that’s when we buckle down and make short ribs at home.
It’s not a recipe I make often, for good reason. It’s rich, meaty, and requires more effort than I’m usually willing to put in—even with the Instant Pot, which takes the overall cook time down from nearly 4 hours down to just 1 1/2. It requires a side to really be complete, which I don’t usually like to bother with. But it’s so undeniably impressive with its tender shreddy texture and dramatic presentation—who doesn’t like a bigass BONE on the plate?—that it can uplift a decidedly un-special Sunday into something bordering on significance. Almost.
recipe
Tender wine-braised short ribs in less time and with minimum effort, designed to be put in the Instant Pot and then left alone til dinner.
Effortful time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Budget 2 ribs per person; the sauce is easily enough for 8 ribs
you need
6 meaty bone-in beef short ribs, about 10 oz each
1 tsp salt
Black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 celery rib, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. double concentrated tomato paste in a tube (use 2 tbsp. if using a can)
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
10 dried porcini mushrooms, optional but recommended
1 1/2 cups beef broth; I use Better Than Bouillon
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
make it
Pressure-cooking the short ribs
Brown the short ribs. Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté-High. Once hot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Salt and pepper the short ribs. Place 3 ribs carefully into the insert—you will need to do this in two batches. Brown aggressively on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the first batch to a plate and repeat with the second batch.
Prep your soffrito. While the short ribs are browning, chop the carrot, onion, and celery that will act as your flavor base. You can very roughly chop these, you’ll strain them out later. Smash some garlic. Measure out your wine. Add the porcini mushrooms to your beef broth.
Cook the soffrito. Once all the short ribs are browned, switch your Instant Pot to Sauté-Medium. Add the onions, celery, and carrot to the remaining fat in the pot. Sauté these for 5 minutes, until the onions are softened and the carrots have browned a little. Add the smashed garlic and sauté 1 minute longer.
Add your tomato. Stir in the flour and tomato paste to the pot, moving quickly so they don’t burn, and sauté for 2 minutes. You want all the white flour cooked out; the tomato paste should be rusty and caramelized.
Deglaze with red wine. Turn the Instant Pot off. Deglaze with the red wine, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom. Add the short ribs back to the pot, then pour over your broth (including the soaking porcinis). Season with thyme. Tuck in two bay leaves.
Cook the short ribs. Cover, seal, and set the Instant Pot to Pressure-High, 1 hour. Let this cook, then allow it to naturally release for 15 minutes before manually releasing any remaining pressure.
Depressurize. When it’s time to open it, VERY carefully use tongs to remove the short ribs from the pot and transfer them to a plate. They will want to fall apart at this stage, so make sure you grab them around the center of the rib to keep them intact. Cover these in foil to keep warm.
Making the sauce
Strain your sauce. You can do this with a bowl and seive, ladling sauce into it from the Instant Pot a little at a time. You can also get one of these things, like I have, which both strains and separates the fat and is incredibly useful for all sorts of braises.
Reduce your sauce. Pour the strained sauce into a deep skillet—you can use a saucepot, but the larger surface area helps with reduction. Simmer this for 10-15 minutes until reduced by half. The consistency should be like a gravy.
Serve the short ribs with the sauce. I clearly like to do so over my garlic-parm cauliflower puree.