Guinness Draught
Guinness Draught Braised Beef Short Ribs is my go-to St. Patricks Day meal (well, next to Corned Beef and Cabbage). This dish is similar to Beef Bourguignon; substitute the wine with Guinness Draught beer in the braising process. I’ve tried Guinness Extra Stout, but it’s a bit too bitter, so stick with the original Guinness Draught for best results.
The classic take on this dish is to braise the beef short ribs in rendered bacon drippings for an extra level of richness. However, I’ve skipped this step because the dish is already rich with beef bone-based sauce and used sunflower oil to sear the short ribs. Any neutral-flavored oil will do.
Serve the Braised Beef Short Ribs over Irish Colcannon or Classic Mashed Potatoes to warm any windy March day.
An Alternative to Short Ribs
While I’m using beef short ribs in this recipe, it works with several cuts. Brisket or chuck/braising steaks cut into cubes work as well. Essentially any tough amount requiring a long braising time can benefit from this method. This dish is straightforward to make and very forgiving since you are braising covered in the oven.
Nothing satisfies like quality braised beef short ribs on a cold night. So utterly delicious, it sticks with you in the best way.
Prepare the seasoned flour with salt and pepper. You don’t have to be exact here but refrain from adding too much seasoning. It will get lost once everything else is added. Searing the meat using seasoned flour accomplishes two things: 1) It produces the Maillard reaction, which caramelizes the meat, 2) The small bit of flour left behind will thicken the sauce later.
Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour, thoroughly covering all sides.
Shake off excess flour and heat the oil in the heavy pot (preferably cast iron or enamel coated cast iron, with a good lid).
Once the oil is hot (but not smoking), it is ready to sear the meat. Don’t overcrowd the pot with multiple short ribs. The pot’s temperature will drop, and the meat will steam rather than sear. Take your time-some things are worth a little patience.
Get a good brown crust all over the surface of the short rib.
Prepare the large cut vegetables. These will be added after cooking the smaller vegetables and stock. I prefer to add the carrots and broiling onions to the final presentation.
After searing, remove the short ribs but leave all those brown bits and seasoned oil in the pot. These brown bits are called the Fond, or foundation of flavors to add the other ingredients.
Add the finely chopped vegetables (onion, leeks, celery, garlic) and sauté until tender.
While this step is optional, I add a bit of the seasoned flour from dredging the beef. This ensures the final sauce is thick enough at the end. Sprinkle over the top of the vegetables while they are cooking. Stir and mix in well. The flour must be given a chance to cook while coating the vegetables.
Add the fresh herbs of chopped thyme, parsley, and whole bay leaf. (Remember to remove the entire bay leaves once the meat is tender before processing the sauce.)
Once the small cut vegetables are tender, deglaze the pot with Guinness. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, allowing the beer to come up to temperature. It should boil slightly around the edges. Once this happens, add the beef stock, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and tomato paste. Stir to mix.
Bring all the liquid up to temperature. Add the pearl onions and carrots once the braising liquid is near-boiling.
Add the beef short ribs to the pot and bring the liquid to a near boil.
Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place into a preheated 350°F/175°C oven. If you don’t have a tight-fitting lid, use aluminum foil.
After 2 hours, check the short ribs for doneness. The tip of a knife should go quickly through the meat with no resistance. I will cook the short ribs for an additional 30 minutes until they barely hold together.
Using a long metal spatula and a set of tongs, carefully remove the short ribs. If they break apart, it’s okay. They will still be delicious. Using a knife, remove the bones and any excess fat before plating. Reserve and keep warm.
Use a skimming spoon to remove the onions and carrots and reserve them for plating along with the beef short ribs. Keep warm.
Be sure to check the chunky sauce for any bones that might have come loose from the short ribs. Before processing the sauce, remove all of the fat from the surface. Use a large spoon and an empty bowl to collect all the separated fat at the top. Once cooled, discard this fat in the trash (never down the sink). The sauce is now ready to be processed.
Carefully add all of the sauce to a blender container with a lid. Start on the slowest speed setting and gradually increase the speed until the sauce is completely emulsified and smooth.
Once the sauce is smooth, pass it through a fine-mesh strainer. This removes the large bits. Use a round ladle to press the sauce to avoid damaging the strainer. Work all of the sauce through the strainer while collecting it in a sauce pot underneath. Use a rubber spatula to collect all the sauce on the outside bottom of the strainer into the saucepot.
Check for the final seasoning and thickness of the Guinness Draught sauce. In this demonstration, the sauce was perfect, both in seasoning and thickness thanks to the flour added at the beginning. That said, use your own palette to decide if you need to add salt, pepper, or more beef stock to thin out the sauce. Add the finely chopped parsley (optional) and stir to incorporate.
I prefer to use warm plates for presentation. This helps keep everything hot- especially if you are plating several at a time. First, add the reserved Irish Colcannon or classic mashed potatoes. (Click links for recipes.) Leave a little space for the meat and large cut vegetables.
Add the reserved beef short ribs and large cut vegetables. (For presentation, I’ve carefully cut one short rib portion in half.)
Spoon some of the sauce over the meat. I love this dish-so much bang for the effort. Some like to add finely chopped parsley, horseradish, or both. I think it looks great just as it is, though adding a creamy horseradish sauce to the table on the side truly guilds the lily.
Guinness Draught Braised Beef Short Ribs
Equipment
- A large heavy bottom pot. Cast iron works best, or alternatively, porcelain. Preferably one with a well fitted lid.
- aluminum foil if needed
- rubber spatula or kitchen spoon
- knife
- cutting board
- large slotted kitchen spoon or skimmer
- medium sauce pot
- ladle or large spoon
- serving dishes
Ingredients
- 2 8oz beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat (if needed)
- ⅓ cup flour, all-purpose or plain (Use only the flour you need, there may be some left-over.)
- ½ tsp sea salt (Irish preferred)
- ½ tsp pepper, black, coarse grind
- 3-4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 lb boiler onions, peeled and cored (Boiler onions or pearl onions can also be found peeled and frozen in most grocery stores.)
- 3 whole carrots, peeled and medium cut
- 3 stalks celery, finely diced
- ½ whole leek, cleaned and diced
- 2 cans Guinness Draught beer (Extra Stout tends to be too bitter, but if you like that, then proceed)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1½ tbs beef stock base (like Minor's, Oxo, Knorr, Better than Boullion)
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 sprigs thyme leaves, finely chopped (or sub 1½ tsp dried thyme)
- 2 whole bay leaf
- ⅓ cup parsley, finely chopped (optional, added at the end of sauce making)
Irish Colcannon (See recipe this blog or your favorite mashed potatoes)
Instructions
Prepping the Vegetables
- Prep by peeling the carrots and cutting off each end. Then cut each carrot into large chunks. Reserve.
- Cut the celery and leeks into small dice. Reserve.
- Peel and core the boiler onions. Reserve.
Prepping the Meat
- Look over the beef short ribs if any excess fat trim this off.
- Add the flour, salt, pepper, and mix in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add each short rib to the flour seasoning and coat thoroughly.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottom pot. Cast iron or porcelain-lined cast iron works great for this. Shake off any excess flour from the short ribs and add them to the hot oil. Do this one short rib at a time. Avoid overcrowding the pot. You want to have a nice golden brown crust over the surface of the short rib. Once the short ribs have a nice crust, remove them from the pot to a plate. Reserve.
Braising
- To the pan that you seared the beef short ribs, add reserved celery, garlic, and leeks in the same pot used to sear the beef short ribs. Stir to mix.
- Once the leeks, garlic, and celery become soft, add a large pinch (1 tsp) of the seasoning flour along with the thyme and bay leaves. The addition of flour will help set up the sauce later. Stir to mix in and cook for two minutes.
- Deglaze with the Guinness Draught beer. Cook and bring to a boil.
- Add the balsamic vinegar, beef stock, tomato sauce, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, and soy sauce. Stir to incorporate.
- Add the seared beef short ribs back on top of the vegetable/beer mixture, along with any accumulated juices. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the reserved carrot and boiler onions around the meat. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it into a pre-heated oven at (350°F or 175°C) for 2 hrs 20 minutes. (Alternatively, cover with foil if no top is available.)
- Test the beef short ribs for doneness with the tip of a knife. The blade should easily pierce and come out of the beef. The beef should be super soft but not yet falling apart.
- After the meat is cooked, carefully remove the short ribs by lifting them out with a combination of a long sturdy metal spatula and a set of tongs. Place the meat on a clean plate and reserve.
Making the Guinness Draught Sauce
- Remove the large chunks of carrot and boiler onions using a slotted spoon or skimmer. Reserve and keep warm.
- Using a large kitchen spoon, skim the excess fat from the surface of the sauce. Continue skimming until all the fat is removed. Throw the fat away in the trash (not the sink).
- Fish out and remove the bay leaf and discard.
- Add the sauce, complete with the smaller vegetables (celery, leeks, garlic), to a blender container. (MAKE sure no bones from the beef short ribs are in the sauce. Remove them before processing!)
- Process the sauce in the blender, starting slowly and gradually increase the speed. Process the sauce until smooth.
- Pass the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve over a medium saucepot, remove all the unprocessed bits and discard. Reserve and keep warm.
Presentation
- Add a healthy portion of Irish Colcannon or mashed potatoes to a warmed dish. (Pasta bowls or larger individual serving bowls work best.)
- Using a knife, remove the bones from the reserved cooked beef short ribs.
- Cut in half and arrange the short ribs over Irish Colcannon or mashed potatoes.
- Arrange the reserved large carrots and boiler onions around the beef. Ladle or spoon the reserved Guinness Draught Sauce over the meat.