Braised Short Ribs
1 (750 ml) bottle Zinfandel
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 meaty beef short ribs (about 5 lb total)
Cajun seasoning
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 leek, white part coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
6 sprigs thyme
2 quarts chicken or beef stock
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce or 1 teaspoon powdered espresso
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Bring Zinfandel to a boil in medium saucepan. Lower heat and simmer until reduced by half. Set aside.
Season ribs with Cajun seasoning, patting it in well with your hands. Heat olive oil in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until just smoking. Working in batches, brown beef well on all sides, being careful not to crowd the pot or you’ll end up with steamed ribs and your sauce will know the difference.
Your pot will look pretty funky at this point and you’ll have a lot of grease in there, so remove enough to leave about 2 tablespoons in the pot. But leave the brown stuff, as that’s the reason you browned the meat in the first place.
Reduce heat to moderate, then add vegetables, garlic, and thyme to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the fond from the bottom of the pot, until vegetables are lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, really working it into the vegetables. Give it to them good!
Add reduced Zinfandel, vinegar, stock, bay leaves, and Worchestershire sauce or espresso, and bring to a boil.
Add ribs along with any juices accumulated on platter.
Cover pot tightly, then transfer to oven and braise ribs 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until meat is very tender and pulls away from the bone.
Transfer ribs to a plate and remove bones. Pour cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (do not press on solids), then discard solids. Use a gravy separator to remove fat from liquid or allow liquid to rest for 15 minutes, then skim fat from surface.
Pour cooking liquid back into pot and slowly boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to about 2 cups. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Trim fat and connective tissue from meat, then gently transfer meat to sauce and cook over moderate heat, uncovered, until just heated through.
To cut through a little of the fatty mouth feel of the meat, I’d top it with some lemon zest or gremolata.
