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Braised Short Ribs, polenta and a red wine reduction sauce – this recipe is match made in heaven! This is one of those recipes that make your house smell amazing and the entire family will be so excited for dinner by the time it’s ready. It is a rich comforting dish that is irresistibly satisfying ♥️ So get ready to gather around the table and make some amazing memories while eating this amazing dish.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Braised Short Ribs with Polenta
These short ribs are braised in the oven for hours and then topped with the red wine reduction sauce that has simmered with the short ribs for hours. This dish comes out so juicy and tender so every bite melts in your mouth. The creamy and cheesy polenta goes so well and soaks up the delicious sauce. This is such a cozy delicious recipe that everyone will love.
How To Prepare
You can shop My Amazon – November Products to see where I bought some of the harder to find things for this Chicken Base Stock Recipe.
Polenta
Pre-measure Your Liquids – Combine your water (or broth) and milk in a saucepan and heat it up.
Simmer Steady – Bring your liquids to a gentle simmer before adding your polenta. A rapid bowl can make it the grains clump.
Whisk Early – Make sure you are stirring it immediately. You want to stir often too to make sure the polenta is silky and doesn’t stick.
Pre-grate Your Cheddar – Have your cheddar ready to go so you can just pop it in with the other ingredients.
Finish Up – Turn off the heat and stir in your cold butter.
♥️ And that is it, subscribe for more!
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitutions
- You can substitute the polenta with mashed potatoes, herbed rice, risotto or butter noodles.
- You can use alcohol-free red wine (Giesen has a great selection), beef or chicken broth in place of the red wine if you need.
- Variations
- Spicy Short Rib Variation: You can add some chilies in adobo to the sauce if you want an extra kick in this braised short ribs recipe.
- Cheesy Polenta Variation: You can honestly use whatever cheese makes you happy as long as it is meltable instead of aged cheddar.
- Herb Polenta Variation: Stir in your favorite herbs to add that pop of freshness.
🔥Chef Nadia’s Tip🔥
Make sure you give your pan time to preheat properly. This is vital in making your stainless steel nonstick while making these braise short ribs! Also check out my video for tip on how to properly clean your stainless steel.
The Perfect Pairings
Not sure what to pair with this dish – I got you 😉
Start your evening with a vanilla and cinnamon London Mule. It’s vibrant, slightly spicy and very aromatic and will pair with my Dirty Ginger Beurre Blanc Scallops as an appetizer. I always say you should have a nice side salad with almost all dinners and my go to salad always my Arugula Fennel Salad is perfect for these rich Braised Short Ribs. Finish your night with a Berry Panna Cotta dessert, which can be made days ahead and is perfect for company.
Holidays
London Mule (Large Batch)
Cooking 101
Dirty Beurre Blanc Scallops
Sides
Arugula Fennel Salad
Sweets
Berry Panna Cotta
Braised Short Ribs with Polenta: Questions Answered
You have two options for removing the fat from the braised short ribs with red wine sauce:
Option 1: Add ice to the sauce. It will freeze the fat and stick to the ice. Then, use a slated spoon to remove the ice the with the ice will come out the fat.
Option 2: Use a fat separator.
The meat should be tender enough to fall off the bone easily and your fork should slide right through.
You can use alcohol-free red wine (Giesen has a great selection), beef or chicken broth in place of the red wine.
Braised Short Rib & Cheesy Polenta
Equipment
- 1 large pan
- 1 pot
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 fat separator, optional
- 1 strainer
Ingredients
Short Ribs
- 8-10 short ribs
- 2-3 bone marrow bones
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 oz tomato paste
- 375 ml bottle cabernet
- 2 ½ tbsp soy sauce
- 2 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ bunch parsley
- ½ tsp allspice
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 dried chipotle peppers
Polenta
- 1 cup polenta
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup water, or broth for extra flavor
- ¾ cup aged cheddar, shredded
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp butter, cold
- Chives, for topping
Instructions
Short Ribs
- Preheat your oven to 400℉. Preheat your pan for 2 minutes on medium heat and then turn it up to medium high and heat for 1 more minute.
- Season your short ribs on all sides with seasoning salt.
- Rub your bone marrow bone with ½ of the tomato paste (2 oz) and roast at 400℉ for 10 minutes.
- Add oil to your pan and sear your short ribs until golden on all sides. Remove from pan.
- Add veggies and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the tomato paste and spices. Cook 3-4 minutes.
- Deglaze with wine, soy sauce and balsamic. Season to taste here.
- Add in short ribs, bone marrow, bunch parsley and enough water to cover most of the short ribs.
- Cover and braise in the oven at 300℉ for 3-4 hours or until tender.
- Remove ribs and strain out veggies, pressing them through the strainer so it forms a paste and thickens the sauce.
- Remove the fat by either adding ice and letting it solidify or by using a separator. See the How to Prepare section if you need further instruction.
- Add short ribs back to the sauce for 5 minutes. Remove them. Reduce sauce by half. Season to taste. Turn heat off and whisk in 3-4 tbsp cold butter.
- Add the polenta to a plate. Top with your tender braised short ribs. Top with sauce, chives and that is it!
Polenta
- Bring the water (or broth) and milk to a simmer.
- Add the polenta to the pot and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add cheddar, salt, pepper, and heavy cream. Mix well.
- Turn off the heat and add the butter.
Kitchen Cam
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
