Sweet and Sour Braised Short Ribs
Tangy and flavourful ribs in sauce. Brown your ribs and cook low and slow in a tangy sweet and sour sauce. Choose your oven or slow cooker to suit your schedule.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 752kcal
Equipment
- Dutch oven (preferably NOT non-stick)
- Slow Cooker (optional)
Ingredients
- 3 ½ lbs beef short ribs
- 3 Tbsps vegetable oil
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- 4 cloves
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 2 sprigs fresh
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh
- 2 Tbsps tomato paste can sub Ketchup
- ¼ cup white wine
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Make a bouquet garni with cloves, bay leaf and dried thyme and rosemary. (Tie them in a cheesecloth bundle so you can remove them later.) If using fresh herb you can just add and remove the sprigs as directed.
- Heat oil in an oven proof Dutch oven over high heat. Season both sides of ribs with salt and pepper. Sear ribs on both sides about 4 minutes per side. There should be dark bits on the ribs.
- Remove ribs to a platter. Add onions, bouquet garni (or fresh herbs), garlic and cook about 5 minutes.
- Add tomato past and cook another 2 minutes. Add vinegar and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the brown sugar and bring to a simmer.
- Add the wine, beef broth and black pepper. Bring to a simmer.
- Cover Dutch oven and transfer to the oven. Cook 2 hours, then uncover and cook 30 minutes more. See Note below for Slow Cooker instructions.
- Bring Dutch oven to the stove top. Transfer ribs carefully to a platter. Remove the bouquet garni or fresh herb springs. Reduce sauce to about 1 cup.
- Serve ribs with sauce over mashed potatoes or broad egg noodles.
Notes
Slow Cooker Variation: Alternatively, once the meat and sauce come to a simmer, transfer to a slow cooker and cook 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. About 30 minutes before serving, dissolve 3 Tbsps of cornstarch in a cup of the sauce. (Shake vigorously in a covered jar until cornstarch is uniformly mixed in the juice). Return slurry to the slow cooker, stir well, and allow mixture to cook 30 minutes for the sauce to thicken.
To Freeze: Allow ribs to cool off and transfer to a freezer container. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat gently in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until hot throughout.
Wine Pairing
Sweet and sour is a tricky combination to pair with. As a rule, the wine should be sweeter than the dish, or it will seem astringent. For this, I would look for an off-dry wine - a robust Rosé would be good (if you can find a medium-bodied and off-dry one). An off-dry Viognier could work as well.
You might have some success with an off-dry Sparkling Rosé.
Red - even trickier. Dornfelder is from the Rheinhessen or Pfalz regions and comes in a range of sweet to dry with blackberries and spiced herbs. Look for 'suss' as an indication of sweetness. Schiavo from Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy has cotton candy, rose, and cinnamon traits.
You may also have success with a Rhone-style GSM blend, particularly one with caramelized notes in the description.
Nutrition
Calories: 752kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 171mg | Sodium: 594mg | Potassium: 1618mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 143IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 7mg