Braised Beef Short Rib Pasta

This Braised Beef Short Rib Pasta is a genius dish, perfect for the cooler months. Why do you ask? It’s a lazy way to feed a crowd of people a deliciously warm hearty meal. Short ribs are braised for hours in a delicious tomato sauce-based braising liquid until it is succulent and falling of the bone. Then we shredded all the meat place it back into the sauce, then ladle it all over the pasta. Cover it in freshly grated parmesan and some fresh basil. It’s like bolognese but on steroids!

We love any opportunity to braise meat because of its low effort and high yield capabilities. The active cooking time here (where you have to be actually doing something) is less than 30 minutes. For the rest of the time you can just sit back and relax while magic is made.

Here is what you will need to make our Braised Beef Short Rib Pasta

Variations

There is so much you can do with these braised short ribs, a hearty pasta sauce is just one of them. Side note: We wont judge you if you just pick these up with your hands and eat them off the bone. Do your thing!

• Try these with a side of mashed, grilled, or smashed, potatoes with a side of steamed vegetables.
• Shred the beef and have them as an upgraded taco filling with some sour cream, and guacamole.
• The sauce and meat lend themselves so well to being sopped up with some freshly baked bread. Try it with our focaccia bread!

What is a Short Rib ?

Beef short ribs are not called short because of their size, they are called short because they come from the short plate of the rib of the cow. Short ribs are a cut of meat that is not really taken advantage of in this part of the region. People should definitely use them more often. They have a beautiful marbling of fat and are a less expensive cut of meat. They just need some extra time and love to break down the connective tissue turning them into soft, succulent, tender pieces of meat.

For convinence make sure you ask your butcher to cut down the short rib into 5 cm pieces.

How to Make Short Rib Pasta

The base of this pasta is a braised tomatoey shredded short rib. What is braising ? Braising is a technique used to cook tougher cuts of meat in a liquid low and slow until it transforms into a tender, succulent, falling of the bone chunk of love. This technique is great because you just need to set and forget it. It needs an occasional stirring and maybe and addition of some water. But thats really it.

Most all braising techniques start the same.

1. Sear the meat to get a nicely browned crust and to lock in moisture.
2. Build the flavour of your braising liquid. This almost always starts with some vegetables, garlic, herbs and spices. Then finally your choice of braising liquid.
3. Time: Just let the meat cook until the meat is falling off the bone.

Searing the Meat

We start by patting our short ribs with some kitchen towl to remove andy excesss moisture. Next season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Start heating a large dutch oven with some olive oil, once it’s hot astart searing the meat in batches ( 4-5 pieces depending on the size of your dutch oven). Make sure you do not overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding the pan lowers the heat of the pot and hinders getting a nice beautiful caramelization on your meat. Sear each piece for 3-4 minutes on all 4 sides of the short rib. Set the pieces on a plate while we build our the braising liquid.

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Prepare the Braising Liquid

In the same pot or dutch oven, remove the excess fats from searing the meat reserving about 1 tablespoon in the pot. Add your onions and carrots, season with some salt and pepper, and cook for around 5 minutes until softened.

Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 1 min).

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Add the tomato paste to the vegetable and stir to combine cooking for a couple of minutes until thickened. Add in the beef stock, crushed tomatoes, dijon mustard, parmesan rind, and bay leaves.

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Add the meat back into the pot and make sure the liquids cover the meat pieces. Bring it to a boil then lower the heat and let the mixture braise slowly for 3 to 4 hours. Check the meat, occasionally giving it a stir and skimming the fat of the surface (get as much fat off as you can). If the sauce gets too thick add between 1/2 -1 cup some water so that it does not burn.

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The meat is done when it is falling off the bone and easily comes apart. Remove the short ribs and discard the bay leaves. Place the short ribs on a cutting board. Remove the bones and shred the meat using two forks. Place the shredded beef back into the pot with 2 cups of water, bring this to a boil and let it simmer for the last 15 minutes before serving.

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During those last 15 minutes, cook the pasta according to instructions on the package. Use any pasta cut you or your family enjoy.

For serving laddle the sauce on top of your pasta, garnish with parsley or basil (for a touch of green) and sprinkle with a lotttttt of grated parmesan cheese.