Cabernet Short Ribs Ragu with Parmesan Polenta

By Marlenew

Ingredients

• For the parmesan polenta:
• 6 to 7 lbs bone-in short ribs (about 9 to 12 ribs)
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 3 tbsp all
• purpose flour
• 2 cups Cabernet or another dry red wine
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups lowsodium chicken stock 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley or thyme, for finishing (optional
• 6 cups water
• 3/4 tsp Kosher salt 1 3/4 cup coarse cornmeal (I like Bob’s Red Mill)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2
• inch pieces
• 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese 3 tbsp minced fresh thyme

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from smells-like-home.com

Preparation

Step 1

To make the short ribs ragu:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown half of the short ribs on all sides then transfer them to the crock pot; repeat with remaining oil and short ribs.

Saute the onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, and thyme in the leftover short rib fat, about 8-10 minutes, until the onions have softened and are lightly browned. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring for about 1 minute. Whisk in the wine and vinegar until the mixture is smooth, scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the liquid has thickened and reduced down to about 1 cup. Transfer the mixture to the crock pot and stir in the chicken stock and bay leaves. Nestle the short ribs in the sauce. Cook on LOW for 9 to 11 hours or HIGH for 5 to 7 hours

Once the short ribs are fall-apart tender, remove them from the crock pot, remove the meat and fat from from the bones (discard the fat), and coarsely shred the meat. You don’t want to shred too much, but rather, you’ll want bite-size chunks of short ribs here.

Skim the liquid fat off the top of the sauce and discard. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Return the shredded short ribs to the sauce and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep the crock pot on the warm setting (if yours has this) while you make the polenta.

To make the parmesan polenta:

Bring the water to a boil and slowly whisk in the cornmeal as you pour it into the water in a steady stream. Stir in the salt.

Continue to whisk frequently until the cornmeal thickens and is soft to the tooth, reducing the heat along the way if the mixture bubbles up too much. This should take about 15 to 17 minutes.

Whisk the butter into the cornmeal – let’s start calling it polenta now – until melted and then whisk in the parmesan cheese and thyme. If the polenta is too thick, stir in a little water, milk, or cream to loosen it up.

To serve:

Ladle some of the polenta into the bottom of each bowl and the ladle some of the ragu over the top. Sprinkle with parsley or thyme to finish. Serve while still hot.

Leftover ragu can be refrigerated for 2-3 days or frozen for up to 2 months for additional meals. I suggest freezing the ragu in quart-size zip-top bag laid flat in your freezer. This takes up much less space than freezing in containers. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

Leftover polenta can be refrigerated for 2-3 days and reheated in the microwave without sacrificing too much of the original texture. Add a little water, milk, or cream to loosen it up as needed when you reheat it.