A holiday entree to share remotely
Few dishes beat beef short ribs for festivity and reheatability
Our family always goes big for the holidays. We bake more than 30 kinds of cookies, roast beef and turkey; embrace vegetables and fruity side dishes made by guests; and stock up on wine and spirits. This holiday season, I dreamed of seating 20 guests in our new home. I pictured four tables full of food and friends.
While the pandemic safety precautions mean those tables will go unused, my kitchen will not. I will cook with pleasure for loved ones — wearing a mask and washing hands frequently. Then, I’ll package my expressions of love in small containers to deliver safely to front doors. We can all reheat our holiday meals and eat together on FaceTime.
Successful reheating of all these dishes factors into my menu planning. Few entrees beat beef for festivity. A roast proves difficult to turn into small meals; steaks don’t reheat well. Instead, I’ll braise beef short ribs. These meaty cuts sport full flavors that
actually improve when made in advance.
Plated individually, beef short ribs feel as festive as restaurant fare.
The recipe that follows coats the ribs in bold, dark brown sugar, salt and fresh pepper before browning. A slow oven-braise in red wine flavored with balsamic vinegar and earthy Worcestershire renders the ribs tender. Thick slices of carrot and parsnip add sweetness and absorb a bit of the richness.
I encourage you to order the ribs in advance from your local butcher or meat counter. Six English-cut, bone-in, beef short ribs, each 2 to 3 inches thick, weigh about 5 pounds and serve six guests.
Alternatively, you can use the 1 -inch to 2-inch thick Flanken-style short ribs; plan on two per person for a main course. Other options include 4-inch boneless chunks of beef chuck or a whole 3 - to 4-pound bone-in beef chuck roast.
To accompany the beef, stir up a batch of instant polenta. Other side dishes can be simple, such as roasted Brussels sprouts or steamed green beans.
The short ribs can be made three days or so in advance and refrigerated. They also freeze well, but allow at least one day to thaw in the refrigerator. For serving, reheat the ribs in a hot oven separately from the pan juices and vegetables. The dry heat will add a bit of crustiness to the beef while you thicken the pan juices.
Beef back ribs, also known as prime rib bones, prove another excellent make-ahead beef entree. These large ribs are in good supply due to the popularity of boneless rib roasts and rib-eye steaks. They are also likely to be about half the price of short ribs.
I serve these bronzed beauties with a pile of sweet and sour red cabbage to cut the richness. I save the pan juices (which are mostly rendered beef fat) to make the most decadent oven-roasted potatoes ever. Fresh herbs help moderate their richness.
Whichever beef entree you choose, start the meat with a hearty salad of romaine and radicchio tossed with a vinegary dressing. Crusty sour dough bread welcomes the pan juices.
Happy 2020 holidays. Stay safe so we can sit at the table together someday soon.
30 minutes Cook: 2 hours Reheat: 20 minutes Makes: 6 servings 3 medium-large carrots, trimmed, turning until golden on all sides, about peeled (use multicolored carrots if you 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate have them), about 1 pound when ribs are brown.
2 or 3 medium parsnips (or more car4. Working in the same pot, add the rots), trimmed, peeled, about 12 ounces leek and shallots. Cook, stirring, to soften
1 large leek, trimmed, halved lengthslightly, about 2 minutes. Add garlic; cook, wise, well rinsed 1 minute. Stir in wine; heat to a boil while
6 English-cut, bone-in beef short ribs, scraping up browned bits from bottom or 10 to 12 pieces (each 2 inches thick) of pan. Stir in carrots, parsnips, thyme, Flanken-style short ribs, total 5 pounds bay leaves and rosemary. Add the broth,
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar Worcestershire and balsamic.
2 teaspoons salt 5. Nestle the short ribs back in the 1 teaspoon coarsely ground fresh black Dutch oven, fatty side up. Cover the pot pepper with a piece of parchment paper or foil
2 to 3 tablespoons oil for high-heat and then cover with the lid. Bake, turning cooking, such as expeller-pressed canola meat occasionally, until nearly tender oil when pierced with a fork, about 1 hours. 6 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced 6. Uncover and continue baking until 5 or 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped meat is completely fork-tender and liquids 1 cup dry red wine have reduced, about 30 minutes. Cool on 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried counter, about 1 hour. Remove ribs care2 bay leaves fully with tongs to a food storage contain1 sprig fresh rosemary or ¼ teaspoon er. Remove vegetables from pan juices and dried store in separate containers. Refrigerate
2 cups beef broth or chicken or veal all, tightly covered, up to 3 days. stock 7. To serve, heat oven to 375 degrees
3 tablespoons each: Worcestershire on convection or 400 degrees on consauce, balsamic vinegar ventional. Put short ribs on baking sheet 3 tablespoons flour dissolved in about and bake until heated through and nicely cup water glazed, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile,
1 cup instant polenta cornmeal (such as scrape off and discard congealed fat from the Colavita brand) pan juices. Put juices and vegetables into
Thinly sliced green onions or chives, for large saucepan and set over medium heat. garnish When hot, stir in flour-water mixture and
1. Cut carrots and parsnips on the cook until juices boil and thicken, about 5 diagonal into ½ -inch-wide slices. Slice minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings with white and tender green portions of leek salt and pepper. Make polenta according crosswise into ½ -inch-wide slices. to package directions.
2. Pat the short ribs dry; place in a 8. Spoon some of the hot polenta onto large shallow pan. Mix brown sugar, salt a serving plate. Top with a spoonful of the and pepper in a bowl. Coat ribs on all sides vegetables and pan juices. Top with a hot with the mixture. short rib and more sauce. Garnish with
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a green onions and serve. large Dutch oven over medium heat until Nutrition information per serving: 477 hot. Add the oil and then the short ribs in calories, 23 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 91 mg a single, uncrowded layer. (You may have cholesterol, 34 g carbohydrates, 17 g sugar, to work in batches.) Brown the short ribs, 33 g protein, 1,080 mg sodium, 4 g fiber