Braised Short Ribs & Potato Parsnip Mash

Thank you for your lovely comments yesterday! It's nice to be missed. :) It's also very nice to be back in the swing of things! I'm sorry for posting so late today, there was supposed to be a cake to post, but it needs a do-over, so you had to wait till I was done with dinner! And oh, what a dinner it was. I'm still stuffed. I can't remember the last time I allowed myself to be this full!! Remember that gorgeous Chicken Casserole with White Wine a few weeks ago? This is another from that same culinary master, my dear friend Mary from Inside a British Mum's Kitchen, one of my first blogging friends ever!! If you haven't stopped by to look at all her fabulous recipes, perhaps this one will convince you. Every recipe of hers that I've tried has been positively mouthwatering. Go, take a peek, you won't regret it!!

Braised Short Ribs & Potato Parsnip Mash (adapted from Inside a British Mum's Kitchen)
Printable Recipe

4-5 lbs of bone in beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper (I like to use kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper)
1 teaspoon of cumin (ish)
1 onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced/pressed
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
¼ cup of Dijon mustard

about a teaspoon of fresh thyme
1/4 cup of soy sauce
¼ cup of red wine
32 oz beef stock/broth
1 tablespoon of melted butter
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Trim any excess fat off your ribs (I took off all the thick outside layers) and sprinkle them generously with salt, pepper, and a bit of cumin.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch Oven or oven-safe pot on medium high heat.

Adding in a single layer, brown the ribs until they have a nice crust, turning with tongs to brown each side.  You'll probably need to work in batches, so remove browned ribs to a plate and cover with foil while you do the rest. Cover them all with foil till a bit later. Lower heat to medium.

Saute the onions and carrots for about 5-8 minutes, till softened. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds-1 minute. Add the sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, wine, thyme and mustard, stirring to thoroughly combine

Place the ribs back into the pot. Gently pour the beef stock over everything. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover with a tight fitting lid. (If you don't have an oven-safe pot, you can do all this in a regular pot or saucepan, pour veggies and sauce into a deep baking/casserole dish with a lid, then place ribs in, cover with broth, lid, and place in oven)

Place in the oven and bake for approximately 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bones. Remove from the oven, spoon the ribs out of the pot and place on a warm serving platter and cover with foil.

Skim off any fat from the sauce in the pot. (I was impatient and didn't skim mine as much as I should have)

In a small bowl mix the butter and the cornstarch to a paste. Add a tablespoon of the sauce to the cornstarch mixture and combine well. Add this back to the sauce. Stir thoroughly and simmer for 5 minutes.

You can serve this all separately  you can serve all together on top of mashed veggies, we poured the gravy over the ribs and spooned them out onto the mash on our plates.

 

Potato Parsnip Mash

6-7 large red potatoes (or about 4 large baking potatoes like Russets)

4-5 parsnips

1 stick (8 Tb) butter

1/3 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and parsnips and cut into 1 inch or smaller chunks. Bring a pot of water (with a generous pinch of salt) to a boil. Add the veggies and cook until very tender. Drain, add the butter, cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash until fluffy (I just use my mixer), adding more salt and pepper as needed (and perhaps a bit more cream, if you use big veggies!)

I'm not sure if I've ever had parsnips before this. If I have, I've forgotten! But it was definitely the first time all three of my boys had tried them. And They. Were. AMAZING!!! Creamy and rich, with a bit of sweetness, I am officially a fan!! Only one of the boys didn't like them, but he's the picky one anyway. 

If you can't tell just by LOOKING, this is a very hearty meal!! Since the Geologist and I have been trying to eat lighter lately, we agreed this would make a perfect meal for company. Or when the boys approach teenager-hood and hoover everything in sight. This would fill them RIGHT up!! 5 lbs was a bit much for our little family (we've got enough leftovers for 2 more meals!) so you may want to adjust for your family size!

Filling or not, we loved it. The beefy, deeply flavored, gorgeous sauce, amazingly tender beef, sweet and savory carrots (they soak up that sauce, after all!) and the slightly sweet, creamy veggie mash. Heaven. I think we all agreed the parsnips were a revelation, but I can't imagine separating these two, they're just so delicious together!!

I can usually take or leave carrots in a dish like this, but I found myself looking for one in every bite, they turn out so yummy! For our first beef meal in weeks, we sure picked a winner!

Shared at Tasty Tuesdays and Wow Us Wednesdays