When dreaming up the perfect dish for the holidays, I remembered my favorite dish from my travels to Italy earlier this year, oxtail ragu. Of all the things I ate, this was the only full meal I had, and boy was it delicious. I had oxtails in red sauce on a bed of the creamiest parmesan mashed potatoes. It was amazing. So I set out to recreate the recipe for you all this month, and I think I nailed it on the head. However, I decided to substitute beef short ribs for the oxtails, as the oxtails were quite expensive and had very little meat on them when I found them at my local butcher shop. If you happen to find the beautiful oxtails at a price that suits your budget, feel free to simply swap them for the short ribs.
Ingredients:
2.5 lb Beef short ribs (or oxtails)
flour seasoned with salt and pepper for dredging
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup carrot, small dice
½ cup celery, small dice
1 ¼ cup onion, small dice (about 1 medium large onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
15 fresh thyme sprigs, tied together with food safe twine
2 bay leaves
3 cups red wine
4 oz tomato paste
1 28 oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes
1 14 oz can tomato sauce, plain
1 tsp kosher salt +more to taste
1 ½ tsp italian seasoning
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove your short ribs from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature as you prepare your vegetables.
In a 6-quart or larger cast iron pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil. Lightly coat all sides of short ribs in your flour dredge, shaking off the excess. Fry in batches in the oil. Brown all sides. Set short ribs aside.
Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the pot. Saute until translucent. Add in garlic and saute another minute or two until fragrant. Add red wine, tomato paste, and herbs. Using clean hands, carefully squeeze the whole San Marzano tomatoes into pieces as you add them to the pot with all their juices. Add remaining tomato sauce and salt. Add back in short ribs and return to a boil. Make sure short ribs are completely submerged, cover, and bake for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, remove pot from oven. Remove short ribs and set aside. Remove thyme stems and bay leaves. Place pot over medium heat and let simmer another 15 minutes while you shred your short ribs. Take your time shredding the short ribs and be sure to get off all of the meat from the fat. Return the meat to your sauce and discard remaining fat and bone. Skim off any oil from the top of the sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes or pasta, or even better, let cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors meld. Reheat on the stove, adding salt & water if necessary. Enjoy!
