Short (beef) ribs are cut from the plate and rib section of the animal and are one of my favorite additions to tomato sauce during the winter months. Short ribs are easy to prepare, relatively inexpensive (especially with the bone in), and make an ideal meat for braising with a wonderful depth of flavor.
I started our Sunday tomato (and meat) sauce (or in the parlance of some Italian Americans: “Gravy” or “Sunday Sauce”) with a single can of homemade tomato passata (click here to learn how to can your own tomatoes each Fall) and went through through the process of making a standard tomato sauce (click here four tomato sauce recipe) with the additional step of simply seasoning (lots of salt and pepper) and searing the short ribs and adding to the sauce. After adding the meat to our tomato sauce pot, I brought the liquid up to a boil and covered the pot with a lid. Total cooking time is anywhere between 3.5 -4.5 hours (depending on the size of the short ribs; you’ll know the meat is done when it can be easily shred with a fork).
Geniuses think alike.
Guess what I decided to sir up for dinner tonight.
I cooked my short ribs in a crock pot at high temperature all day. The meat should fall off the bone nicely later this evening.