Tuscan-Style Boneless Beef Short Ribs

This recipe was originally called Tuscan beef stew (or what the Florence tilemakers called peposo). But to me it didn't seem much like what American's would call a stew, so now when I make it I call it what it is; Tuscan-style beef short ribs. 

The recipe calls for a full bottle of wine, which locally means Chianti, but you can substitute merlot, shiraz or Pinot noir. If you are trying to avoid wine all together, use beef broth with a couple teaspoons of red wine vinegar mixed in, as it tends to be milder and much less acidic than wine. But its dark and hearty flavor will be close to the flavor of a good Chianti. If you choose to use beef stock as a substitute, replace the Chianti at an equal ratio with the beef stock/vinegar in the recipe below.

The other signature flavor in this dish is that of black pepper. We start with cracked peppercorn and then add freshly ground pepper toward the end. Give it another grind of pepper on top at serving time to very authentic.

Boneless Beef Short Ribs Trimmed and Ready

Finally, while I give you ingredients and measures below you need not follow them exactly. I tend to use what I have readily available for the vegetables, which most always means carrots, celery and onion. Beyond that, if I have a piece of seeded tomato left over from something, in it goes. Same for mushrooms. In this case I separated the mushrooms and put half in the stock for the slow cook and kept the other half to sauté and add to the finished sauce, as you do strain out and discard all of the solids you start with for the long braise. My beef short ribs came pre-cut to the size shown which was about big enough for one per person. If you have hearty eaters you'll want more than that. The total beef I used was just under 2 pounds, and keep it mind it will cook down considerably. That's about half of what my recipe calls for but I still used the same ingredients to make the braising liquid as extra sauce (or gravy) from this is welcome in many meals. You can also use bone-in beef short ribs if they've been cut down to manageably sized pieces. If you want them to stay on the bone for serving, tie them snugly around the middle, as this meat will be fork tender when done. 

Vegetables - Be liberal in your selection. 

Ingredients 

4 pounds boneless beef short ribs

     trimmed and cut into approx. 3 x 4-inch pieces
Salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (750-ml) bottle Chianti or substitute (see above)
1 cup water
4 shallots or one medium onion, peeled and halved lengthwise
2-3 carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise

8-12 ounces fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 garlic head, cloves separated, peeled, and slightly crushed
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns 

   (place whole peppercorns in a zippered bag and crush with rolling pin)
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

Sprinkle the beef with salt and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325F degrees.

Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add beef in single layer (do not crowd the pan) and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Do this in two or more batches as necessary, reducing heat if fond begins to burn. Remove the beef to a bowl or plate and set aside

Stir in 2 cups wine, water, shallots/onion, carrots, optional mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, cracked peppercorns, gelatin, tomato paste, anchovy paste. Add the beef back to the pot and stir to submerge. Bring to simmer, remove from heat and then cover tightly with sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Cover with the lid to retain moisture. Transfer to oven and cook for 1 hour. Remove from oven, uncover slightly and stir. Recover and return to over for another 1 to 1.25  hours until beef is tender but still firm enough to hold its shape.

Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to bowl; cover tightly with foil and set aside. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer then pour into a fat separator. Wipe out pot with paper towels. Let liquid settle for 5 minutes, then return defatted liquid to pot. Discard the cooked solids. 

Add 1 cup wine and ground black pepper and bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Simmer briskly, stirring occasionally for 12 to 15 minutes to reduce and thicken the liquid somewhat. Combine remaining wine and cornstarch in small bowl and whisk into mixture. Return the beef short ribs and any liquid they have released into the Dutch oven and stir to coat and rewarm. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve, spooning some sauce over the short ribs and finishing with a grind or two of black pepper.  Short ribs can be made up to 3 days in advance and rewarmed when ready to serve.