I have mentioned before in this forum that I am not enamoured with the turkey. Or, more precisely, the traditional turkey dinner. I am certainly a supporter of a holiday that centres around food and the opportunity to gather together in its name — I just can’t get too excited, culinarily speaking, about the typical stuffed-bird smorgasbord.
The biggest drawback of holiday turkey (apart from rampant abuse of dried sage) is the consumption of precious holiday weekend hours in preparing it. This is a meal that is truly never greater than the sum of its parts, but always adds up to a lot of hard work, an overworked oven, a trashed kitchen and an exhausted cook that can barely look at the results let alone savour them. On a day intended for giving thanks, I find the usual turkey dinner prep to be pretty thankless.
What’s more: It’s always just too much damn food. The better part of an entire day is spent preparing a multi-dish feast whose many components hit the table all at once and is essentially intended to induce overconsumption. There’s something vaguely distasteful about the excess, and I guarantee no one is fully appreciating your famous sweet potato gratin while it’s buried under the mounds of stuffing, green bean casserole and cranberry jelly. Frankly, I like to linger over dinner. After all, the primary reason for the holiday gathering is to have time with the people who are at the table, and I like an excuse to have more of it.
If I am given the reins at Thanksgiving, I look to the quintessentially autumnal slow braise. Specifically, something that not only can be made in advance: It will actually benefit for being made in advance. I have always found the notion of a dish that quietly, discreetly becomes more delicious, by simple virtue of the fact that the cook has walked away from it for a day, to be extremely appealing. The process of bringing together an array of good ingredients and allowing them, with little further interference, to produce something better than if the fixing and fussing had continued — this is a true pleasure for a seasoned cook. This approach also means that Thanksgiving Day can be spent on more rewarding pursuits with family and friends you don’t have enough opportunity to see.
These deeply flavoured short ribs are a perfect expression of the braising technique and are an homage to the world’s greatest stew. Serve with a rich potato purée. Take advantage of the dwindling days of many of our farmers’ markets for a first course of late-season lettuces and walnut vinaigrette. There will still be plenty of room for a bountiful cheese course, and probably that pumpkin pie too.
Short Ribs Bourguignonne
6 pounds bone-in English-style short ribs, trimmed of excess fat and silver skin
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
3 cups dry red wine
2 tablespoons butter
3 large onions, chopped medium
2 medium carrots, chopped medium
1 large rib celery, chopped medium
3 tablespoons garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups beef stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14½ ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
1½ tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon tomato paste
Bacon, Pearl Onion and Mushroom Garnish
6 slices thick-cut bacon (about 6 ounces), cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 pounds pearl onions
1 cup beef or chicken stock
2 pounds button mushrooms, quartered if large
4 tablespoons butter
Chopped parsley for garnish
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange short ribs bone-side down in single layer in large flameproof roasting pan; season with salt and pepper. Roast until meat begins to brown, about 45 minutes; drain off all liquid and fat with bulb baster. Return pan to oven and continue to cook until meat is well-browned, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Transfer ribs to large plate; set aside. Drain off fat and discard. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degreesFahrenheit. Place roasting pan on two stovetop burners set at medium heat; add wine and bring to simmer, scraping up browned bits with wooden spoon. Set roasting pan with wine aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour until combined, about 45 seconds. Stir in wine from roasting pan, beef stock, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, tomato paste, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and add short ribs, completely submerging meat in liquid; return to a simmer, cover, place in oven, and simmer until ribs are tender, about 2 hours. Transfer pot to wire rack and cool, partially covered, until warm, about 2 hours.
Transfer ribs from pot to a container large enough for both the ribs and strained braising liquid, removing excess vegetables that may cling to meat; discard loose bones that have fallen away from meat. Strain braising liquid, pressing out liquid from solids; discard solids. Add the liquid to the ribs, cover and refrigerate overnight. (Can be refrigerated up to 3 days.)
To prepare garnish and finish dish: In frypan, cook bacon over medium heat until just crisp, 8 to 10 minutes; remove with slotted spoon to plate lined with paper towel. Blanch pearl onions in boiling salted water 1 minute and drain in a colander. Rinse under cold running water, then peel. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté pearl onions, stirring occasionally, until browned in patches. Season with salt and pepper. Add the stock, then simmer, partially covered, until onions are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 5 to 10 minutes.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté mushrooms, stirring, until golden brown and any liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon off and discard solidified fat from ribs and braising liquid. Bring ribs to simmer, stirring occasionally; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add onions and mushrooms and return to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook, partially covered, until ribs are heated through and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes longer; gently stir in bacon. Divide ribs and sauce among individual bowls, sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon parsley, and serve.
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Image courtesy of auntiem.
