Beef Stew with Short Ribs

Why you will love this beef stew

• Fantastic Fall flavors - With fresh seasonal ingredients and a nod to Middle Eastern cuisine, this stew uses cinnamon, star anise, orange zest, rosemary and thyme to infuse the succulent beef and butternut squash with warm, earthy, aromatic flavors.
• Heavenly aromas - A beef stew that teases you the entire time it's in the oven by filling up the house with a preview of the delicious comforting meal to come.
• The most tender meat imaginable - Because short ribs are so well marbled, two hours of braising results in incredibly juicy and tender beef.
• Reheats beautifully - Make this stew in the morning or even the day before, and heat it up right before dinner. Like most stews, it's even better the next day.

There are many more affordable cuts of beef that work well for stew, such as beef round, chuck or sirloin. But if you're willing to pay a little more for supreme rich beefy flavor and sublime tenderness, give this beef stew with short ribs a try.

The reason short ribs are such a great cut of meat for stew is that they have excellent marbleization. In other words, they have lots of small flecks of fat that are spread evenly throughout the muscle (red meat). So when short ribs are cooked at a low temperature for several hours, these fat bits soften and melt, yielding tender, juicy, falling-apart meat.

In addition, the marrow in the short rib bones releases gelatin into the braising liquid which enriches the sauce of the stew with rich savory beefy flavor.

Beef Stew Ingredients:

• Beef Short Ribs on the bone - When you shop for short ribs get the thickest, meatiest ribs you can find.
• Fresh thyme and rosemary - these herbs are ideal for seasoning beef stew. The sprigs are tied together and added to the pot right from the start.
• Cooking oil - you will sear the beef over high heat so it's important to use a cooking oil with a high smoke point such as canola, light olive oil or avocado oil.
• Carrots, shallots and garlic - these veggies are chopped and sautéed to create the flavor base for this stew.
• Salt, pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, star anise - simmering spices.
• Red wine - Choose a dry red wine that you would enjoy drinking. It doesn't have to be expensive but it has to be tasty because it will flavor the braising liquid. Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir are good choices.
• Canned chopped tomatoes - I recommend using good quality whole plum tomatoes and chopping them or tearing them by hand. Whole tomatoes are less processed than chopped or pureed and have better texture and flavor.
• Half an orange - Only the zest is used.
• Butternut squash - Cubes of squash are added to the stew pot towards the end of cooking. The delicate sweet flavor of squash is a perfect complement to the rich meat.
• Parsley and lemon zest - the finished stew gets a sprinkling of chopped parsley and lemon zest for a final layer of fresh zesty flavor.

How to make beef stew with short ribs

Sear the short ribs in the pot with a little oil and get them nice and brown and flavorful. Then remove them from the pot and set them aside - you will add them back in later.

Sauté the carrots, shallots and garlic. These aromatics create a delicious flavor base for the stew.

Add the wine and simmer it until it has almost completely evaporated and you're left with a rich concentrated sauce base which will flavor our stew deliciously.

Pour in the tomatoes and add the herbs, spices and zest. When you look at these ingredients in the pot, it's easy to see why this beef stew is so full of flavor!

Return the short ribs to the pot and spoon some of the sauce over them. Bring the sauce to a simmer, cover the pot, put it in a 325ºF/165ºC pre-heated oven and leave it to braise for two hours, undisturbed. This is where all the tenderizing, flavorizing magic happens!

Remove the pot from the oven and, using tongs, lift the short ribs out of the sauce and place them in a large bowl.

Remove the bones and cut the beef into bite-sized cubes - the meat will be falling off the bones and so incredibly tender that you won't be able to resist taking a few tastes as you work. Convince yourself that this is an important part of the chef's process.

Degrease the sauce by tilting the pot and spooning out as much of the clear fat as you can get easily, without taking any of the sauce. Although the fat has good flavor, too much fat will make the stew greasy. I personally find this task oddly satisfying.

Add the squash to the pot along with one and a quarter cups of water. Cover the pot and simmer the squash for 20 minutes or so, until it's nice and tender. While this is happening you can use the time to tidy up and to chop some parsley and zest a lemon for your toppings.

Once the squash is nice and tender, add the beef cubes to the pot and simmer the stew for a few minutes, just until everything is heated through and voila - your beef stew is ready!

What to serve with beef stew

Beef stew and mashed potatoes are meant for one another. I like to serve this rich stew with my lighter olive oil and roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Crusty bread is also great with this stew and so is this leafy green salad with lemon vinaigrette or this vibrant Tricolore Salad. If you want a green vegetable in the mix, a side of simple steamed green beans drizzled with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt and fresh cracked pepper will be perfect.

If you try this beef stew recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

Recipe

Beef Stew with Short Ribs

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Lisa Goldfinger
• Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
• Yield: 5-6 Servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

A beef stew with exceptionally tender beef and butternut squash in luscious gravy with Middle Eastern flavors of cinnamon, star anise and orange zest. Serve this with mashed potatoes or crusty bread, and a green salad, for the perfect fall or winter meal.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Equipment: Large (5-7quart) Heavy-bottomed lidded pot or dutch oven, kitchen twine

 

• 8-10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary
• Light olive oil or canola oil
• 4 pounds of beef short ribs on the bone
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided
• 3 carrots, scraped and roughly chopped
• 4 large shallots, roughly chopped (1 cup chopped shallots)
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 ⅔ cups red wine (see notes)
• 1 28-ounce can of good quality whole plum tomatoes with their juice, chopped or crushed by hand
• Zest of ½ orange, removed in long strips using a vegetable peeler, the strips stacked and thinly sliced cross-wise
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash (1 ½ pounds)
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 2-3 tablespoons hopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
• Grated zest of 1 large lemon, to garnish
  

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 325ºF/165ºC

1. Tie thyme and rosemary sprigs together with kitchen twine and set aside.

2. Place short ribs on a large plate or parchment-covered sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels. Season with 2 teaspoons of salt, turning the ribs to coat them on all sides.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in pot over medium-high heat until hot (starting to wrinkle) and sear the ribs in 2 or 3 batches so as not to crowd the pan, browning them on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch, and transfer them to a large bowl.

4. Remove the pot from the heat and pour off all the fat. Set the pot over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the shallots and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, until the vegetables start to brown. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

5. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to mix in any flavorful bits stuck on the bottom. When the wine comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until the wine has almost evaporated, about 8 minutes.

6. Add the tomatoes, thyme and rosemary, orange zest, bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine.

7. Return beef to the pot, along with any accumulated juices, sinking the ribs down into the sauce and spooning some sauce over them. When the sauce returns to a simmer, cover the pot, transfer it to the oven and cook for 2 hours, undisturbed.

8. Remove pot from oven. Lift the ribs from the sauce with tongs and place them in a large bowl. Set them aside.

9. Degrease (de-fat) the sauce by using a pot holder to carefully tilt the pot a little until the clear fat flows to one side in a pool. Use a tablespoon to scoop out as much of the fat as you can easily remove, without taking any of the sauce. (see notes)

10. Add the 1 ¼ cups water and the squash to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook gently for 20-25 minutes, until the squash is tender. 

11. While the squash simmers, tend to the meat, which should be tender and practically falling off the bones. Pull the bones out and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.

12. When the squash is tender, remove the bay leaves, herb stems, cinnamon sticks and star anise from the stew. Return the meat to the pot and simmer for a few minutes until the meat is heated through. Taste the stew and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

13. Mix the parsley with the lemon zest and sprinkle it over the stew and serve. Or ladle the stew into individual serving bowls and garnish each one with parsley and lemon zest.

Notes

When you shop for beef short ribs, look for the meatiest ones you can find. Avoid the ribs that have thick layers of fat and less meat. 

Browning the beef before braising it is an important step for developing rich color and flavor in the stew. In order to get a good sear, the beef has to be dry and the pan has to be hot. Browning requires a dry environment so it’s better to brown the meat in batches, rather than crowd the pan, so any juices that are released, evaporate quickly.

I recommend buying canned whole tomatoes even when a recipe calls for chopped tomatoes or tomato puree. Whole tomatoes are less processed than chopped or pureed so they have better texture and flavor. My favorite way to break down canned whole tomatoes is to pour the whole can into a bowl and, with clean hands, reach in and squeeze each tomato to crush it. 

Degreasing (removing fat) is optional but recommended. Short ribs render a good amount of fat as they cook. Although the fat is flavorful, too much fat will make the stew greasy. To degrease the sauce, let the pot sit for 5 minutes or so until the fat pools start to appear. Using a pot holder, tilt the pot gently until the clear, orange-tinged fat flows to one side. Use a tablespoon to scoop out as much of the pure fat as you can get cleanly, without taking any of the sauce. Or, if you cook the stew a day ahead, you can refrigerate the sauce and the meat separately, overnight. The next day there will be a hardened fat layer on top of the sauce that can be easily removed. 

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Braise
• Cuisine: Middle Eastern