Necessity, or in my case, the offer of lunch with a friend, is the mother of invention.
I had defrosted a kilo and a half of grassfed beef short ribs with the intention of making Chicago John’s brilliant sticky recipe. But when my friend Terri called and asked if I’d like to join her and the adorable Jackhammer for lunch, it was too tempting an offer to refuse.
John’s recipe takes quite a bit of prep time, which I suddenly didn’t have. So instead, I dragged out my ginormous Emile Henry Flame pot…
I roughly chopped three Spanish onions and threw them over the base of the pan, then laid the short ribs on top. A third of a jar of Pete’s quince jelly was smeared over the meat, before adding a bottle of tomato passata, half a bottle of red wine, homemade beef stock (from the freezer), a little water, salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. The lid went on, and the pot went into a preheated 160C oven for three hours.
And I went out to lunch! Terri and I shared a chicken schnitzel and gardiniera roll…
As Jack is only three, I took a couple of Big Boy’s old engines for him to play with. It’s amazing how these worn old toys can still work their magic after all these years…
When I finally pulled the short ribs out of the pot, they were fork tender and unctuously rich, with a delicious gentle sweetness from the quince jelly. They would have been perfect as they were, served simply on a bed of mashed potatoes and topped with a little sauce.
Instead, we shredded the meat and de-fatted the cooking liquid (which was then blitzed smooth with a stick blender). In a separate pan, we fried chopped onions, carrots and a pinch of celery salt, and added two tins of San Marzano tomatoes and a little sherry vinegar (to balance out the flavours).
The shredded meat was added to the pan, and cooked gently to allow it to break down even further. Finally, the pureed braising stock went in and the sauce was simmered until thick.
The end result was this luscious slow cooked beef ragu, served with our favourite Occhi di Lupo pasta…
I was really pleased with how well the “set and forget” technique worked with the short ribs – I didn’t do anything to the meat other than defrost it – and it only took a few minutes to assemble. I’m pretty sure this method will work with beef brisket as well.
Best of all, this recipe made enough ragu to feed my starving tribe twice, which means that the next time Terri invites me out to lunch, I’ll already have dinner on standby in the freezer!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Celia, that’s my kind of recipe for the cold months of the year – your post ALMOST made me crave the winter. Well, you do know I am not telling the truth, but you get my gist ;-)
beautiful photos all around, and your sandwich made me salivate a little too….
Thanks Sally! I’ll definitely be doing it again as well! :)
Your slow-cooked ragu looks wonderful Celia and I do love your effortless way of rustling up such tasty family food while not missing out on any fun on the way!
Andrea, it’s fun to look around and see what we have to throw into a recipe – half a bottle of wine and some quince jelly in the fridge, some frozen stock, a bottle of tomato passata. It’s even better when the recipe actually works out so well! Usually, the end result is ok, but not blogworthy! :)
Luscious Celia! No need to skip lunch fun with this bit of cleverness :) Great idea to take it that extra step to ragu- I have some beef cheeks in the fridge that would work well this way too. Quince jelly would add that perfect touch of sweetness as well- yummo! Xox
Becca, I think that would be amazing with beef cheeks (although my Pete won’t eat them, which is a shame!). We seem to be throwing quince jelly into everything these days, we’ve just made a fresh batch! :)
Yum yum yum. I struggle with creating meals on the run like this. Gotta love Thomas and his pals! Xxx
Ali, aren’t they just the best toys? We’ve been pulling ours out for years! :)
Delish!! We had a wonderful day with Aunty C ( & the chickens) – my only regret is that we didn’t stay for dinner! Yum yum xx
Next time, darling! x
I have a ton of quince jelly that needs to be used. There seems to be a bumper crop on the tree, and we’ve used hardly any. This looks just the ticket!
Mo, we use ours to glaze hams as well – works a treat! :)
Delicious, Celia… and that Emile Henry pot…. gorgeous!
Lizzy, I know, I’m quite enamored with the whole Emile Henry Flame range. Pete’s told me I have to stop buying them! :)
I love your quick thinking and am glad you got a great reward – luncheon and two meals! I have trains in my purse for meals out with little boys, too! ;)
Heidi, we got lucky this time – these fly by the seat of our pants recipes don’t usually turn out this well! :)
Great dish, love how easy it is assemble and then left on its own to do its magic. I think this would be a great idea for country style pork ribs too.
Norma, that’s a great suggestion, thank you! :)
Yum :) Perfect slow cooked winter dinner. In the cool months I like to do this sort of meal and flavours on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, so we eat for most of the week with little other effort, and after the initial dinner (yes, with mash) I also often turn it into a ragu served with wide strips of pasta. Although last week it was beef with red wine tossed through penne with a scattering of pitted green olives, so good, so easy.
ED, the only reason I resisted serving these up on mash was that I knew the boys would eat the whole lot in one sitting. And it just seemed like far too much meat, even for growing wolves! :)
Ah yes, it happens in my house too, and I also have a ruse, I make the G.O. an offer he can’t refuse… the leftovers for lunches, an incentive to not over-indulge :)
Perfect comfort food, Celia. I love beef shortribs, but they seem hard to get around here – I have to pre-order them.
Amanda, they’re not easy to source here either – I only ever see them at the wholesalers!
Oh yummy yum with relatively little work! But there’s a rub for some of us who lack that lovely homemade quince jelly which I am certain made all the difference to the taste . . . Well there’s always the choice: learn to make your own, buy it second best from the store or use your imagination for another possible addition :D !
Eha, the quince jelly really did make all the difference, but I’m sure you could substitute something else and get an equally good (if different) result. Chicago John’s recipe uses balsamic vinegar, do check it out, it’s extremely fine…
http://fromthebartolinikitchens.com/2012/03/21/beef-short-ribs/
Uhuh! I know: lovely the guy has returned from his deserved holiday [oops: vacation!] – shall check this one out for sure – he posted it just before ‘my time’!!! hugs . . .
As short ribs are a firm favourite in our house I will try the ragu idea next time I make them :)
Tandy, I hope you enjoy it – the shredded twice cooked meat makes for the richest sauce!
I haven’t ever cooked short ribs! But this is now my inspiration to give it a go! Celia it looks amazingly mouth wateringly delicious!
Clare, they’re quite a new cut to us too – they’re not readily available at retail butchers, so I pick them up whenever we see them at the wholesalers. They’re quite fatty but very delicious!
What a winner of a recipe Celia. How fabulous that you also enjoyed a lunch with a friend – a double win.
:-) Mandy xo
Thanks Mandy! It really was a double win, we had the best time at lunch too. :)
Celia this looks fabulous and I love the sound of something you can just throw in the oven and forget about. I can never pass up shredded meat.
Claire, thank you, I was tempted to just shred the meat and serve it up on crusty bread! Maybe I’ll do that next time.. :)
The texture looks perfect! So soft which is just how I love beef short ribs!
The ribs had been lingering in the freezer for ages, so it was great to use them up. But now that we’ve eaten this, I want to go straight out and buy some more! :)
I made John’s ribs and loved them. Must make them again this winter. You came up with such a wonderful and delicious recipe and it looks so incredible wrapped around the pasta. How lovely to come home from a lunch to a dinner like this! xx
Charlie, I’m forever grateful that you pointed me to John and his recipe, he’s the nicest man and his dish is brilliant. I just didn’t have time, or I would have made it again!
Oh they look gorgeous and what an amazing way to use the quince jelly.
It was the new batch we made too, T! :)
The sign of a good cook is one who can improvise, change course, and still come up with a delicious dinner, as you have. The sign of a good friend is one who is willing to risk dinner (or any task) not turning out as planned for a lunch date. Celia, you are both. :)
Judy, thank you, that’s very kind, but perhaps it’s also the sign of an old party girl, unwilling to miss out on the fun. :D
What a lovely way to cook ribs. I will give those a try this week. The old fella loves meat that falls apart or barely has the moo dusted off – nothing in between. He’ll love this.
M, it’s funny you should say that, we’re the same – cooked until it’s fork tender, or quite rare (as steak). Maybe it’s the Aussie way. :)
I love short ribs all year round! Delicious!
Mimi, I think they’re fast on their way to becoming a house favourite here as well!
What a wonderful way to prepare short ribs, Celia! So simple and I bet that quince jelly was a great flavor addition. Do love that you shredded the meat and used it to prepare a sauce for pasta. Now, this is my kind of meal and a method I intend to borrow this Fall.
Thank you very much, Celia, for the shout out and gracious words in the comments. You’re too kind. :)
John, it has been a great joy getting to know you better over the past year! And your recipe is (as the kids say) the bomb! :)
You’ve got me craving for this right now
It’s very moreish! :)
You do know that you totally rock this whole cooking thing don’t you Celia? This is perfect x
Ah, you’re kind Jane, but you only get to hear about the things that work.. ;-)
I’m enjoying these quick prep slow cook recipes Celia! Would any on the bone meat suffice do you think?
Rose, I think you’d want a cheaper, more gelatinous cut. I’m not sure it needs to be on the bone actually, I think it might work with chuck or beef cheeks as well? Would love to hear how you go.. :)
Those ribs look luscious & that was such a great idea to use them in a ragu. I can taste all of those flavors right now. I just love dishes where I can get them going in the morning and let them cook all day. By the afternoon, if I haven’t prepped dinner I’m afraid my energy level just doesn’t hold up very well.
And aren’t you the smart friend bringing something to amuse a 3 year old.
Diane, my friend Terri and I go back a looong way, back to when her oldest son and my Small Man were four year olds. I’m still bringing out the same toys they were playing with back then! :) And I’m with you on finding dishes you can leave to cook all day – makes dinner much easier! :)
Looks delicious!! I made something similar recently with lamb shanks and instead of putting it on pasta I put it in ravioli. Mouth is watering thinking about it!
Lauren, that sounds fantastic – it would have made a fantastic ravioli filling! Great idea, thank you! :)
It was a hit. I just tossed them with a little brown herb butter after boiling them. I make a huge batch and then freeze them on a sheet pan until frozen and then portion them into freezer bags.
I love braises! Especially short ribs. Though last week I did lamb shanks. That was a first for me. Lamb isn’t as popular in the states as it is in Aus, NZ and UK. I don’t care for it myself, but I made it for friends who just love it. Very gratifying! Those noodles look hearty. I favor the “big” pastas over the skinny ones.
Jean, lamb shanks are popular here, but not really with my family. They like lamb roasts and the occasional moussaka, but that’s about it – for some reason we’re much more likely to slow cook beef or pork! I can’t resist the pasta mostly because of the name – love that it’s called “Wolf’s Eyes”! :D