Cooking Lesson #1—Instant Pot Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

Okay my friends...
How are you doing?  It is our 17th day staying away from others and I refuse to go stir-crazy! So, I am doing the one thing that I do best… cook.  I am trying out and creating all types of new recipes that taste great and will last me several meals (you can be a good guy and share with a neighbor).  I am going to be sharing these recipes with you daily.

I used to do a television show in San Francisco, Stump the Chef.  I invited our viewers to call in with a recipe request and I would make it on the air.  I can’t do that in this format, but I can share some great, easy-to-make recipes that you can easily duplicate at home.

I purchased an Instant Pot last year.  An Instant Pot is a multi-cooker that does the job of a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, and warming pot.  It's a single appliance that does the job of seven different kitchen appliances or tools 10 times faster using about 70% less energy. They are not very expensive and can easily be purchased online from Amazon, Williams-Sonoma, Target and Walmart.  Shop around a bit—I’ve seen them from $80 to $200 depending on the model and the size.  Personally, I prefer the 6-quart model.

I love short ribs and I love wine so I married them together to make Instant Pot Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs.  

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield:  4 Servings

Ingredients
 1 large yellow onion
2 carrots (use the big thick ones)
2 medium stalks celery
3 to 3 1/2-pounds [1] boneless beef short ribs
3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, divided
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh basil, [2] chiffonade cut
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 garlic cloves
3 cups dry red wine
[1] Many prefer to use boneless rather than bone-in meat for convenience; you won’t lose much flavor.
[2] To achieve a chiffonade cut, leaves are stacked and tightly rolled before being thinly sliced to produce long, delicate strips.

Directions

1. Dice 1 large yellow onion, peel and cut 2 medium carrots into 1-inch pieces and cut 2 celery stalks into 1-inch pieces.
2. Pat 3 to 3-1/2 pounds short ribs dry. Season all over with 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
3. Set the Instant Pot to SAUTÉ and heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil until shimmering.  Add half of the short ribs and sear on 3 sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
4. Transfer seared meat with tongs to a plate and set aside.  If needed, add the remaining 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and repeat searing the remaining short ribs, transferring them to a plate.  Note: the short ribs will not be cooked through.
5. Add 1 cup low-sodium beef broth, 4 fresh sprigs thyme, 2 bay leaves and the 2 tablespoons basil to the Instant Pot.
6. With the Instant Pot still on SAUTÉ; Add the onion, carrot, and celery, to the pot, season with the remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the all-purpose flour and tomato paste, stir to coat the vegetables and cook until darkened in color, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and seared meat into the pot and stir.
7. Pour in 3 cups dry red wine and stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits. Cancel sauté. 
8. Cover and cook on the HIGH PRESSURE setting for 45 minutes and naturally DE-PRESSURE the Instant Pot for 10 minutes… open the pot carefully.  The meat should be tender.
9. Transfer the short ribs to a large plate with tongs.
10. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a large glass measuring cup or bowl and reserve the cooked onions, carrots and celery and set aside. Discard the bay leaves, thyme sprigs and any loose bones.
11. Add back the veggies and serve the short ribs with the sauce spooned over the top of mashed potatoes, rice, pasta or egg noodles.

ChefSecret:  This dish always seems better the next day.  I remove the congealed fat layer when serving the next day.

#Entrees #Beef #Instant Pot