Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

"Beef is the soul of cooking."

~Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833)

I got this recipe straight out of the new Williams Sonoma catalog.  Don't laugh.  They were using it to sell a tagine and the picture in the catalog looked so good.  I don't have a tagine, so I adapted it for crockpot cooking.   I figured that would duplicate the tagine closest.  I love braised meats, with their tender, concentrated flavors.  Perfect on a cold winter's night.  Served with fluffy mounds of mashed potatoes for the juices to pool in, or crusty bread to sop them up (or both!).  They were a huge hit.  

Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 3/4 pounds bone-in beef short rib (about 6-8 pieces)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup flour

2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 inch dice

2 large carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice

3/4 cup minced shallot

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons tomato paste

3/4 teaspoon crushed Aleppo chili (I used some dried Cascabel chili, but you can use a pinch of crushed red pepper if you don't have any dried chili peppers

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 cup beef broth

3/4 cup red wine

In a large heavy pan, heat oil over medium high heat.  Season ribs liberally on all sides with salt and pepper.  Dredge in flour and shake off excess.  Brown ribs on all sides.  

This is important: don't crowd the pan, or they will steam instead of brown.  If you need to do them in two batches, take the time, it makes a difference!  

Remove the beef from the pan, turn the heat down to medium, and then saute the vegetables 5-7 minutes.

Put the meat and vegetables in a crockpot.  In a medium sized bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together and pour in the crockpot.  Cook on high for 6-7 hours, or on low for 8-10.  Skim off the fat that rises to the surface.  
Serves 4.