Vermouth-Braised Short Ribs with Herbs and Pickled Shallots

Brisket has been the meat of choice for family holidays in my household, as is the case at many of yours I’m sure. With Passover and Easter around the corner, why not try something new this year. Bone in short ribs have so much more flavor. They also become tender without shredding, as brisket is wont to do. We picked these glorious short ribs up at Dellapietras, our favorite butcher.

This recipe, modified from the NYT, is a bit of a project, but is completely worth it for your next special occasion.

The carmelized browned short ribs are simmered in a light vermouth and stock combination before being finished with a bright collection of pungent green herbs, and sliced shallots pickled in honey and vinegar, which cuts the richness of the meat. Stewed carrots provide a pop of orange to the already colorful plate.

Just make sure you have a serving plate large enough and a crowd hungry enough. When we made this, our guests were licking the bowl!

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Vermouth-Braised Short Ribs

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Author Michael Herman

Ingredients

• 8 pounds bone-in short ribs
• 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 shallots 6 finely chopped, 2 thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 3 medium leeks white and light green parts only, chopped
• 2 celery ribs finely chopped (save leaves for garnish)
• 1 750-milliliter bottle white wine, not too dry
• 2 cups chicken broth preferably homemade
• 1 cup dry vermouth
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley stems separated (save leaves for garnish)
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 3 medium carrots diced
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Flaky sea salt like maldon, for garnish
• 1 small bunch chives roughly chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh mint leaves roughly chopped

Instructions

Do your prep:

1. Chop the garlic and celery, slice and chop the shallots, prepare the leeks, dice the carrots.

2. Pat the meat dry and season generously with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. If you have time, do this in advance, and wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to cook, then take the meat out of the fridge and let come to room temperature.
3. Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Brown and braise the meat:

1. Heat a very large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When it simmers, add some of the meat, but only as many as fit comfortably in a single layer. Do not crowd. Brown the meat on all sides. Transfer the meat to a bowl once they have browned, and add more oil to the pot as needed. Keep doing this until all the meat is browned on all sides.
2. Add another 2 tablespoons of the oil to the pot if it looks dry. When it warms, add in the chopped shallots, garlic, leeks, celery and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until softened, about 7 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom.
3. Add the wine, chicken broth, and vermouth. If there are still browned bits at the bottom of the pot, deglaze by scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Add the short ribs to the pot. Then add the the thyme, parsley, and rosemary. If you want to be fancy, use kitchen twine to tie them in a bouquet. Bring the liquid to a simmer on the stove, then cover and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook, turning the ribs every 45 minutes or so, until the meat is tender but not yet falling off the bone, about 2 hours. Add the carrots and let cook until tender, about 30 minutes longer. While the carrots are cooking, combine the sliced shallots, vinegar and honey in a bowl and let sit until ready to serve.
5. When done, use a slotted spoon to remove the short ribs and most of the carrots. Discard the herbs bouquet (if you want). Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce it until it thickens slightly. If serving right away, spoon off some of the fat from the surface of the sauce. Or pour the sauce back over the meat and chill overnight in the pot, then spoon off the fat. Reheat if necessary.

Serve:

1. When ready to serve, chop the chives and mint. Place short ribs on a platter and top with some of the sauce. Sprinkle with the flaky salt, chives, mint, parsley leaves and celery leaves, and scatter the shallots and vinegar mixture over the top.