Red Wine Braised Short Ribs & Sweet Potato Mash

If you don't have a go-to for short ribs, I think you need one. Even if you don't eat them often, you have to have them at least once in a while, it's such good quality meat. It's also a great substitute for a Sunday roast for a family supper if you're looking to switch things up. It has veggies, some starch, and amazingly-flavoured beef to make for a balanced meal. The red wine sauce for the beef is so delicious with hints of thyme, mustard, the fat from the beef, and the best part of all: the wine.

These are actually quite easy to make because they go in the slow cooker so you can leave them unsupervised for hours. However, there is a little bit of prep-time that goes into this but I promise, it's worth it! Also, if you don't have a slow cooker, you can still make this in your oven.

Serves: 4-5

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 6.5 hours

For the Short Ribs:

2 slabs of short ribs (about 5-6 bones in)

3 sticks celery

3 large carrots or 1 1/2 cups baby carrots

1/4 yellow onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cups dry red wine, I used Sangiovese

1 cup beef broth

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

1 tbsp yellow mustard

Flour, for thickening (about 2-3 tablespoons)

For the Sweet Potato Mash:

1 very large sweet potato (or 2 small)

1 tsp butter

Salt, to taste

2 tsp honey or maple syrup

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Make the Short Ribs:

1. Heat a skillet to medium heat. Cut the ribs into slabs with one bone in each. Pour 1 tbsp of oil into the skillet and sear the ribs on each side (1-2 min per side), seasoning with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, chop the celery into 2-inch long pieces. If using large carrots, chop into roughly the same size sticks. Chop the onion.

2. Once the meat is done searing, carefully put into the slow cooker and set aside. Using the same skillet, leave the oil from the ribs in the skillet and use to cook the carrots, celery, and onions at medium heat.

3. Once the veggies have cooked for about 3 minutes, add a tbsp flour until it dissolves and sticks onto the vegetables. Add the wine to the skillet and let boil for 2-3 minutes to thicken.

4. Add the vegetable and wine into the slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients: broth, paprika, thyme, seasoning salt, honey., and the garlic cloves (whole, not crushed).

5. Gently combine the spices and herbs into the rib, veggies, and sauce mixture - just enough to combine. Remember, it'll all bubble together.

6. Cook for 6 hours on low.

7. Once done cooking, put the slow cooker on "warm" and gently remove the ribs and vegetables from the slow cooker, leaving the wine and broth in the slow cooker. Add flour or corn starch into the wine and broth and whisk to thicken to your desired consistency (I did about 1 1/2 tbsp). Add the mustard to the newly-made gravy and combine.

8. Put the ribs and vegetables back into the slow cooker and cover and let sit on the warm setting for about 10 minutes to let the mustard sink in.

9. Serve immediately with the sweet potato mash.

Searing the ribs

In the slow cooker, before cooking.

Make the Sweet Potato Mash:

1. Fill a medium-sized pot with water and boil. While coming to a boil, chop the sweet potato(es) into small 1-inch cubes.

2. Add the potatoes to the boiling water and boil until soft, about 10 minutes.

3. Once done, drain the water out of the pot.

4. Add the butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt to the sweet potatoes and mash until smooth.

5. Serve with the ribs immediately.

Cooking the Ribs Without a Slow Cooker

If you don't have a slow cooker, no problem! You can use your oven and put the ribs in a dutch oven or oven-safe pot. Even better, you can use the same pot for both the searing and the cooking: less dishes! The only difference is that you will bake for less time. Bake for 2 1/2-3 hours at 325.

Tips:

1. As you can see this is a pretty long recipe, but it's so delicious and very worth it. It not actually that complicated so if you're wanting to try it out, just read through the recipe at least once before you start so you know what's coming and you're prepared.

2. Another tip is to fully chop everything that needs to be chopped and put the herbs and spices for the ribs together before you start anything. It'll save time once you start cooking everything and make you feel less scattered.

3. If you're looking to make this non-alcoholic, just replace the wine with extra broth.

4. Save a little bit of that wine to enjoy with your meal ;)

Try these for your next family meal or when you're feeling like trying something different!

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Have a great week! :)