Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Garlicy Sage Mashed Potatoes

Short Ribs are definitely high up on my list of favorite foods, if I see a dish with short ribs in it on a menu, you can almost guarantee I will order it. Short Ribs are also one of my go-to ingredients when I want a comforting melt-in-your-mouth sort of meal. These short ribs are cooked low and slow and are perfectly paired with creamy garlic sage mashed potatoes. For this dish, you’ll need quite a few more ingredients than most of my other recipes, but trust me, its worth it, all the flavors come together perfectly, and I’ll bet this meal becomes one of your go-to for a warming Sunday comfort meal.

What You’ll Need

For the short ribs, you’ll need four pounds of boneless short ribs, celery, carrots, onions, a head of garlic, flour, butter, tomato paste, a bottle of dry red wine, beef stock, fresh rosemary, thyme and sage, dried parsley and oregano, bay leaves and salt & pepper.

For the potatoes, you’ll need russet potatoes, fresh sage, butter, heavy cream, garlic, and salt & pepper.

Getting Started

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Pat the short ribs dry with a paper towel and season all sides generously with salt and pepper. Cut the top off the head of garlic, keeping it intact.

In a large dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter.

Once the butter is melted and frothy, begin to cook the short ribs.

Cook the Short Ribs

Add the short ribs to the pot and sear all sides until brown, about 4-5 minutes per side.

While the short ribs are browning, tie your fresh herbs together with cooking twine, which will make it easier to remove them later.

Once the short ribs are browned, remove them from the pan and transfer to a plate. Leave any juices in the pan.

If there is not enough butter and juices left in the pot, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, then add the carrots, celery and onion to the pot.

Continue cooking until onions are browned and the celery and carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes, then add the flour and tomato paste.

Stir until the vegetables are completely covered with the flour and tomato paste.

Add the red wine and return the short ribs to the pan.

Bring to a simmer and cook until the wine has reduced by about half, about 20-25 minutes, then add the herbs and garlic.

Add the beef stock and stir to combine. Cover the pot and put in the oven. Cook for about 2.5-3 hours, or until the short ribs are tender and easily fall apart.

Make the Potatoes

When the short ribs are about 30 minutes from being finished, start the potatoes. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes and cook until tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, until beginning to brown.

Add the sage leaves and cook until beginning to crisp, about 2-3 minutes, then remove and place on a towel lined plate.

Add the chopped sage and garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the garlic sage butter from the heat.

Once the potatoes are done cooking, drain the excess water and mash the potatoes the garlic sage butter and heavy cream, adding more cream until you reach your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the Short Ribs

Once the short ribs have finished, remove them from the oven and transfer the short ribs to a plate.

Remove the garlic and herbs from the sauce and skim any fat from the top. To amp up the garlic flavor in the mashed potatoes, which I highly recommend, squeeze a few of the garlic cloves from the head of garlic and mix them into the potatoes. They will be very soft and should mix into the potatoes smoothly.

Plate & Serve

Divide the potatoes between bowls and top with the short ribs, spooning the sauce over the short ribs. Enjoy immediately!

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Garlicy Sage Mashed Potatoes

Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours

Ingredients

Short Ribs

4 pounds boneless short ribs
4 tablespoons of butter
6 celery stalked, chopped (about 1.5 cups)
3-4 large carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1.5 cups)
3 medium onions, diced
1 head of garlic, top removed and left intact
3 tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (750ml) bottle of dry red wine, like cabernet sauvignon
4 cups of beef stock
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
10 sage leaves, left on stems
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Mashed Potatoes

6 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 tablespoons of butter
8 whole sage leaves
1 tablespoon chopped sage
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus additional to reach desired consistency

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Pat the short ribs dry with a paper towel and season all sides generously with salt and pepper.
Cut the top off the head of garlic, keeping it intact.
In a large dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter.
Once the butter is melted and frothy, begin to cook the short ribs.
Add the short ribs to the pot and sear all sides until brown, about 4-5 minutes per side.
While the short ribs are browning, tie your fresh herbs together with cooking twine, which will make it easier to remove them later.
Once the short ribs are browned, remove them from the pan and transfer to a plate. Leave any juices in the pan.
If there is not enough butter and juices left in the pot, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, then add the carrots, celery and onion to the pot.
Continue cooking until onions are browned and the celery and carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes, then add the flour and tomato paste.
Add the red wine and return the short ribs to the pan.
Bring to a simmer and cook until the wine has reduced by about half, about 20-25 minutes, then add the herbs and garlic.
Add the beef stock and stir to combine. Cover the pot and put in the oven. Cook for about 2.5-3 hours, or until the short ribs are tender and easily fall apart.
When the short ribs are about 30 minutes from being finished, start the potatoes. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes and cook until tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, until beginning to brown.
Add the sage leaves and cook until beginning to crisp, about 2-3 minutes, then remove and place on a towel lined plate.
Add the chopped sage and garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the garlic sage butter from the heat.
Once the potatoes are done cooking, drain the excess water and mash the potatoes the garlic sage butter and heavy cream, adding more cream until you reach your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Once the short ribs have finished, remove them from the oven and transfer the short ribs to a plate.
Remove the garlic and herbs from the sauce and skim any fat from the top. To amp up the garlic flavor in the mashed potatoes, which I highly recommend, squeeze a few of the garlic cloves from the head of garlic and mix them into the potatoes. They will be very soft and should mix into the potatoes smoothly.
Divide the potatoes between bowls and top with the short ribs, spooning the sauce over the short ribs. Enjoy immediately!

Notes

For any leftovers, store the ribs, sauce and potatoes separately. As the sauce continues to cool, more fat will float to the top and harden, making it easy to remove before reheating.
To use bone-short ribs, increase the quantity to 5-6 pounds.
If you don’t have a dutch oven, you can braise the ribs in a slow cooker. Follow through step 13, then instead of transferring to the oven, transfer to a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.