Braised Short Rib Sunday Sauce
This rich, succulent Braised Beef & Mushroom Stew is the perfect meal for a cold winter day. While the mashed potatoes and braised meat keep you feeling full, the stew itself warms you all the way through. Taking under 5 hours, this meal is an easy way to give yourself or your loved ones a decadent meal that took almost no effort to put together. Or even better, make the whole thing for yourself and keep it in your freezer for a rainy day for up to 3 months!
What kind of meat should I use?
When buying beef for a stew, the leaner it is the longer the stew has to cook to tenderize the meat. Therefore, I have three options that I would consider using that maximize the flavor while not needing an 8+ hours of cooking time.
For maximum flavor consider using beef short ribs including the bones, while this is by far the most expensive choice the added bones and the flavor of the meat really elevates the dish, I would use this for any occasion where impressing the dinner guests is important.
My usual go to is a beef chuck roast, this is a lot less expensive but still offers great beef flavor as well as not too high fat content which could change the mouthfeel of the stew. Usually this cut can be found in large pieces that will have to be portioned which allows for a choice of meats to use for different purposes.
My last choice would be any meat that has the label “stew”or “roast” on it at the grocery store. This can be a wide variety of cuts and could come from different parts of the animal so while this is the cheapest option it is also the trickiest to get all the pieces of meat cooked perfectly.
What’s the Point of Slow Cooking?
Slow cooking and braising both come from the need to break down tougher, cheaper meats into delicious and tender meals. Like most “fancy” French food, braising among the masses is a result of food gentrification, with the cheaper meats like brisket and roast cuts having steadily increased in price each year.
Collagen Protein before (a) and after (b) thermal degradation
So why do these tougher meats become so tender and delicious? The answer is that slow cooking breaks down the collagens in beef at around 160F/71C and converts it into a liquid gelatin, which both richens and thickens your dish. The heat denatures (unwraps) the collagen molecules, but the process is lengthy which results in the “low and slow” method of cooking. The tougher meats are generally made so tough because of their high collagen content, making them by far the best option for a long braise.
Interestingly, the practice of searing or blanching the meat before cooking serves a double purpose. It helps add a char to the base of your stew and gives it a more appetizing colour, but also serves to kill and microbes lurking on your meat’s surface because of the high temperature. This can be very important because the low temperature of a slow-cook won’t necessarily be enough to kill any unwanted bacteria.
Braising your meat in wine helps to maintain tenderness of the meat due to the very, very low pH of wine (average 2.9-4.2) that helps to break the covalent collagen cross-links as well as several specific peptide bonds. Braising also helps bring in outside flavours of your stock, such as onions, carrots, and celery, that aids in the deeper complexities of your meal. It also results in your meat absorbing some of the natural sweetness in your wine to help balance out the rich gelatin and further tenderize your meat.
Why Should I Invest in Cast Iron?
My most versatile kitchen tool is my 10 inch Cast Iron Pan. I know the Cast Iron Elites out there will make a huge fuss about how it is clearly a superior pan and you can feel grandmother’s aging spirit in it, but the truth is it’s just a really useful pan.
Instead of buying a stove top pan, a circular cake tin, and a baking sheet, I only bought one cast iron pan. I love being able to start a meal on the stove and then continue it in the oven (or vice versa) and I love how easy it is to use.
Another point in the favour of this pan is that it’s fully compatible with an induction stove. This may not sound like a big problem if you’ve never lived in dorm, but as a student who could only cook in the building’s community kitchen, I quickly learned that induction is a cruel and picky mistress.
After buying my first pan and realizing that I couldn’t even get it hot enough to accidentally burn myself, I had to do my research in order to get an induction-compatible pan. In the process I found my cast iron, and music to my student ears was that I didn’t have to buy a baking sheet or cake pan.
Braised Short Rib Sunday Sauce
Abel Dawson | 05/10/2023
prep time: 1 hour | cook time: 6-12 hours | total time: 7-13 hours
Servings: 8-10
Ingredients- Braised Beef:
- 2 Tbsp Neutral Flavoured Oil
- 2 lbs / 1kg Beef of Choice, short rib recommended
- 2 Carrots
- 1 Large Onion
- 2 Stalks of Celery
- 1 Cup / 250ml Light Red Wine (something with not too much body) OR alternatively 50ml high quality red wine vinegar
- 28oz Canned Tomatoes
- Salt & pepper
- Fresh Oregano, Basil, Thyme
- 100g Pasta per serving (one package of pasta is about 5 servings)
- Parmesan for garnish
Instructions:
- Cut beef of choice into ½ inch / 1.5cm pieces (avoid this step if using short rib). Finely chop carrots, onion, and celery.
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat and add oil, once hot add the beef in portions avoiding crowding the pot and brown each side of the pieces. Set aside the beef on a plate.
- Add your pre-cut vegetables in batches and saute them for 15 minutes. If the pan is overcrowded the vegetables will steam instead of saute, try to avoid this as much as possible. Deglaze the bottom of your dish with red wine. Add back vegetables and the browned beef.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the canned tomatoes, if the beef and the vegetables are not fully covered by liquid add water until everything is covered, season with salt and pepper. Let the stew come to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to medium low. At this point most of the work is done, periodically check to see the tenderness of the meat. Sometimes it takes almost 12 hours for the meat to fully become tender.
- When the meat is tender enough to be splashed with the backside of a spoon, mix the sauce until all the meat comes apart. If using short ribs now is the perfect time to remove the bones. Add the fresh herbs and mix through, keep on low heat until ready to serve.
- Once all the meat has been tenderized, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta following the instructions on the box. I prefer my pasta a bit less cooking so I go 2 minutes less than the recommended time.
- Portion out the pasta and create a swirl, ladle the sauce on top and grate some fresh parmesan for garnish! Store portioned into servings in the freezer for easy access later.
Product Suggestions for this Recipe
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