Braised Short Rib Ragu Pasta

30 mins Prep Time

5 hours 0 mins Cook Time

Written By

Nadia Boachie

If you are looking for a flavourful ragu to eat with your favourite pasta or gnocchi, look no further. This is a perfect fall meal and after prepping, you can sit back, relax and wait until it is ready to serve. I like to cook my ragu low and slow for many hours until the short ribs are tender, fall off the bone and shred perfectly. It is a cozy meal for a cold fall evening and is sure to impress friends and family. If you are looking for a way to cook short ribs and an excuse to head to your local butcher, keep reading.

Ingredients

Ragu

2 pounds bone-in beef short rib cut into 2-4 inch pieces
3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups carrot, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
28 (795 grams) ounces crushed tomato, 1 can
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup water, as needed
Choice of pasta, to serve

Garnish

Grated Parmesan
Chopped Parsley
Chili flakes

Directions

Braised Short Rib Ragu Pasta

10 Steps

Step 1

Use paper towel to pat short ribs dry. 2 pounds was about 4 large short ribs but your butcher may cut it differently. Depending on the size of your short ribs, cook time will vary. Season with 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper.
Step 2

In a large heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven, add olive oil and sear your ribs. Searing is very important to develop flavour so you want to make sure each side is a nice deep brown. This step is not meant to cook the ribs. Set aside ribs.
Step 3

After searing remove most of the fat except for about 1 tablespoon. Add the diced onion, carrot, salt and pepper and sautée until vegetables are soft and start browning. This may take anywhere from 5 minutes to 10 minutes depending on your pot.
Step 4

Next add your tomato paste, and sautée until it is darkened.
Step 5

Add your red wine and make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove all the browned bits. This is where a lot of the flavour comes from. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until liquid is reduced by half.
Step 6

Pour in the crushed tomatoes, beef stock, mustard, bay leaves and thyme and stir.
Step 7

Place your short ribs in the pot and submerge. Simmer on low covered for about 3 hours. Simmer for an additional 2 hours on low with the lid partially covered. Alternatively, you can place Dutch oven in crock pot at 250°F for 5-6 hours until the short ribs are tender. Discard any fat on top of the ragu if necessary and add up to 1 cup of water if ragu gets too thick.
Step 8

Place ribs on cutting board and shred with fork. Discard the bones and return shredded meat to ragu.
Step 9

Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary and simmer for an additional 15 minutes over low heat.
Step 10

Cook your pasta as per cooking instructions, I used paccheri which is similar to rigatoni and serve with the sauce. Reserve a bit of pasta water to help coat the pasta in ragu and serve hot. Add chili flakes, fresh chopped parsley and grated Parmesan to finish!