Sunday roast starts with our braised beef short ribs recipe. Simmering in stout, the meat, carrots, and California Dried Figs become tender and infused with flavor.
Start with Stout in Braised Beef Short Ribs
We recommend Guinness here, for its malty flavor that’s mildly hoppy, but also creamy with chocolate, coffee notes. Or, use another full-flavored porter or stout .
Bring on the Beef Broth
For this braised beef short ribs recipe from Cook’s Country, the test kitchen’s preferred brand of beef broth is Pacific. By using beef broth, it amplifies the beefiness in this comforting dish. If you don’t have beef broth on-hand, an unexpected idea for an alternative would be soy sauce. To try this, bolster an equivalent amount of vegetable broth, in lieu of beef broth required, mixing in 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. This gives a bit of umami without it tasting like soy sauce.
Factor in Figs
Figs mingle with the sweetness of the stout, and we particularly like our Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Mission Dried Figs most here for their deeper fig flavor that stands up to a bold stout. Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Golden Dried Figs, while mild and nutty will offer a more delicate sweetness and fig flavor. Simmering figs in broth with beef is a pro move—it softens the figs and boosts the beef flavor inside the tender fruit.
What to Serve with Braised Beef Short Ribs
Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or roasted potatoes.
Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe with Guinness and California Figs
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 lbs boneless short ribs trimmed of excess fat – see note and ste-by-step0
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large onions peeled and sliced thin from pole to pole
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 medium garlic cloves peeled
- 1 cup Guinness Draught see note
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Figs stemmed and quartered
- 4 large carrots peeled and cut crosswise into 2" pieces
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1/2 tsp gelatin
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Add half of beef and cook, without moving, until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn beef and continue to cook on second side until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes longer, reducing heat if fat begins to smoke. Transfer beef to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and meat.
- Reduce heat to medium, add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. (If onions begin to darken too quickly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water to pan.) Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it browns on sides and bottom of pan, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high and add Guinness. Add broth, ½ of dried figs, carrots, thyme, and bay leaf. Add beef and any accumulated juices to pot; cover and bring to simmer. Transfer pot to oven and cook, using tongs to turn meat twice during cooking, until fork slips easily in and out of meat, 2 to 2½ hours.
- Place water in small bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top; let stand at least 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer meat and carrots to serving platter and tent with foil. Strain cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator or bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Allow liquid to settle about 5 minutes and strain off fat. Return cooking liquid to Dutch oven, add remaining figs and cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cup, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin mixture; season with salt and pepper. Add 1 teaspoons vinegar to the finished sauce. Pour sauce over meat and serve.