Last month, the lovely Yiota from Dulwich Hill Gourmet Meats gave me her recipe for beef short ribs. It sounded amazing, with the ribs slow cooking in a low oven for 8 – 10 hours. Here’s her version, in case you’d like to try it…
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As usual, I was in a rush.
So I pulled out my trusty Römertopf baker (if you’re new to our blog, you can read about my obsession with these wonderful clay pots here), presoaked it for 20 minutes, then filled it with…
- 1½ kg of grassfed beef short ribs
- 1 large chopped onion
- 2 large chopped carrots
- a peeled knob of ginger
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- a splash of fish sauce
- 1 star anise (my family don’t love the flavour, so I didn’t add 6)
- 1 cinnamon quill
- ½ teaspoon roasted sesame oil
- 500ml (2 cups) water (or more, to cover)
Short ribs need a long slow braise to get that fall-off-the-bone tenderness that they’re renowned for. Once filled, the covered pot went into a cold oven, then the heat was turned up to 200C with fan. After an hour, I dropped the heat to 150C with fan and left it for a further two hours (leave it longer if necessary), then finished with a final 30 minutes in the oven with the lid off to thicken the sauce. Watch it carefully during the uncovered stage, as the exposed pieces of meat can burn. De-fat the sauce carefully, then taste and season – I added a little bit of salt at the end to compensate for the lack of beef stock.
This is an incredibly lazy version of Yiota’s recipe – I don’t bother browning anything first, nor do I cook down the sauce separately at the end to thicken it. But it works brilliantly in the Romy, and it’s simple enough to assemble and throw into the oven if you have a bit of time midweek.
My three men loved this dish – Big Boy and Small Man both commented on how the flavours reminded them of Japanese teriyaki. The meat was unctuously tender, falling off the bone as we were ladling it onto plates. It was eaten so quickly that this was the only photo I managed to take – I dawdled a bit to get the light right and the boys were on to seconds. Definitely a dinner we’ll make again!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
That looks so good!
Oh thank you Celia! Family dinner for daughter going overseas….
You know how they love your Romy dishes!
I just have to look at your picture and want to close the computer and > into the kitchen!! Oops, no ribs for a couple of days :) ! What a delightful fusion left, centre and right!!! I love this can be made slowly and lovingly in the oven!! My library is just some six metres from the kitchen door so you can imagine the aromas . . . Ok, I still have not sighted my Römer but can get around that!!
That sort of long slow cooking of meat on the bone is right up my street.
Thanks Celia, on the menu plan for this week. Yum.
Glorious comfort food for cold nights with family and the drawbridge pulled up.
Looks amazing. I did beef short ribs for the first time a few weeks ago, but shredded the meat, reduced the cooking liquid and used it on pappardelle. With a crispy breadcrumb, lemon, parsley, garlic and Parmesan topping it was devoured by all the family. Will now try this version!
Our has been getting a workout too. I regularly do an Asian style hotpot. These look delish!
Thanks Celia. You have galvanised me to drag my Romertopf casserole from the back of my cupboard to try this recipe
Thank you Celia a must try with this particularly cold winter
Looking forward to trying this recipe- thank you for sharing!
We are on the same cooking wavelength…I made the almost identical dish in my slow cooker the other day. Not a great photo that I took, hence haven’t posted it! Big hug to you x
Delicious Celia, I will revisit your recipe when our weather cools.
This looks and sounds delicious. I really love short ribs.
That will certainly go on a cool day plan. It’s as warm as we can expect in the UK at present so it might wait a while! Thanks for sharing Celia.
Short ribs is an item my husband almost always orders if it is on a menu, I’ve not thought to make it myself. I wonder if this recipe could convert to a slow cooker as I do not have one of the pots you describe.
Love my weekly chats with Yota, just as much as I love Dulwich Hill gourmet meats. It’s so good to have a family run local butcher selling such quality free-range meats. These ribs sound amazing.
This looks so delicious! I’ll definitely be making it soon!
Yum!