Beef Short Rib Bolognese
This Beef Short Rib Bolognese is a delicious comfort food meal that’s perfect for winter! Requiring just 30 minutes of prep time, this recipe is surprisingly easy, too!
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“QUIET ON THE SET!” And with that, the entire room house fell silent. A couple of months ago, I joined several other bloggers at what we called Blogger House, Season One. 5 food bloggers living in a house for a week. What could possibly go wrong with this idea? As it turns out, nothing! It was an awesome opportunity to collaborate with several blogger friends. We worked a lot. We laughed a lot. We ate lots of excellent food. Oh, and each of us also made a cooking video.
The New York Beef Council helped bring some order to this wacky idea of Blogger House. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if they’d even want to talk to us after staying with us for a week. (Lucky for us, they liked the event, and we’re even chatting about Blogger House, Season Two.)
Beef Short Rib Bolognese
As we were planning out Blogger House, I spent a long time thinking about what dish I wanted to make. After making my list and checking it twice (like Santa!), I finally narrowed it down to this Beef Short Rib Bolognese. This recipe is comfort food at its best! Everyone loves a good Bolognese, and this version takes it up a notch by using beef short ribs rather than ground beef. (I have no problem with the traditional version, though. In fact, this Burrata Bolognese is one of our favorite winter meals!)
Beef short ribs are a bit of a tougher cut of meat, so they lend themselves to a long, slow cook. That slow cooking will lend to tender short ribs that are fork-tender. That’s the perfect kind of recipe for a chilly winter day!
For this Beef Short Rib Bolognese, you simply sear the short ribs in a skillet, transfer ’em into a Dutch oven, add some seasonings and then walk away. Come back 5-6 hours later, and dinner is almost done! However, I’ll warn you now that your belly will be seriously rumbling after smelling this Beef Short Rib Bolognese simmer away in the kitchen all day. Good luck waiting 5-6 hours!
Oh, and did I mention that you’ll need to add a cup of red wine to this recipe? The red wine brings a depth of flavor to the recipe. That also means you’ll have an open bottle of leftover wine. There are far worse fates than sitting back on a chilly day with a glass of red wine while dinner cooks itself on the stove.
How to Reheat Leftovers
If planning on having leftovers, keep the pasta and Bolognese sauce separate and then toss together before serving. The cooked pasta and sauce should be stored in separate in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (If you’ve already combined the pasta and sauce, no problem – the leftovers will still be delicious!)
This sauce also freezes well. Just place it in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 4 months. To thaw, let the sauce sit in the refrigerator overnight. I do recommend cooking the pasta fresh if possible – the texture of pasta just changes a bit when frozen, so I like to use fresh pasta with the frozen Bolognese leftovers. (Leftovers would also be delicious served over polenta rather than pasta!)
I hope you enjoy this Beef Short Rib Bolognese. It’s similar to a short rib ragu recipe, and it’s quite delicious! It also makes for great leftovers, too. I also enjoyed the opportunity to try my hand at video. I’m off to hunt for more lights and tripods now. I hope Laura doesn’t kick me out of the house when she comes home and finds that our kitchen has been transformed into a video studio!
Did you make this Beef Short Rib Bolognese recipe at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Beef Short Rib Bolognese
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless beef short ribs
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 large carrots diced
- 2 celery stalks sliced
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 28-oz. can peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano style
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 16 oz. pappardelle pasta can use rigatoni instead of noodles if desired
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- {for garnish} grated Parmesan cheese
- {for garnish} chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- Slice the short ribs into 2” chunks. Pat beef dry with paper towels and then place in a large bowl. Add kosher salt and pepper; toss until well coated.
- Add olive oil to a large Dutch oven or large stockpot and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add beef and sear for 2-3 minutes per side. (Note: Sear beef in 2-3 batches to keep from overcrowding pan.) Once each batch is seared, remove beef from pan and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium and add carrots, celery and onion; sauté the vegetables for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
- Add garlic, red pepper flakes and tomato paste to pan; continue cooking for 1-2 more minutes, stirring often.
- Add wine; simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Return beef to pan and add broth, tomatoes (undrained), brown sugar, thyme, oregano, basil and Parmesan cheese; stir until well combined.
- Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 4-5 hours, or until short ribs can be shredded easily with a fork.
- Transfer short ribs to a large cutting board and shred using 2 forks; return shredded beef to pot.
- Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.
- At same time, add heavy cream to Bolognese sauce; stir until well combined. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes while pasta cooks.
- Drain pasta and transfer into pot with Bolognese sauce; toss until well combined. (Note: If necessary: add a bit of water to thin sauce.)
- Divide into bowls and garnish with additional Parmesan cheese and freshly chopped parsley before serving.
Looking for more delicious comfort food recipes? Check out some of these favorites, too:
Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches
Mmm yes please! I love this kind of comfort food, David, and I love a new twist on a classic pasta dish any day of the week (any excuse to eat pasta!). Enjoy your weekend, my friend!
I’m all about this kind of comfort food, too, Alexandra! And the kitchen smells amazing while this one is slow cooking away. Cheers! 🙂
A wonderful post! David, what a great opportunity that I know you truly earned. It was such fun seeing more of the guy behind Spiced and I think you’ll do just fine in the new video blog world.
Great recipe and you’re so right about the flavor of the parmesan rind. I never ever through one away. Into the freezer they go for those occasions when they can make a recipe shine.
Leftover wine, what’s that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen any around here.
Hah! Why thank you so much for the kind words, Ron. To be honest, I’m really struggling with the whole video thing. I don’t want to turn my kitchen into a full-fledged movie studio, which is the direction I feel like bloggers are going with some of these videos. I dunno. We’ll see.
In other news, this recipe really is quite tasty. I feel like I remember you saying that short ribs aren’t common over there. This is definitely worth a special order! The flavor and comfort food ranking on this recipe is through the roof! 🙂
What a cool opportunity, must have been a fun week! Also, this is such a great dish for this time of year, slow cooked beef, sauce and pasta. Superb!
You can say that again, Matt! That week was insane. There were more cameras than people, and we had lights all over the place. But it was fun and very informative! Also, this recipe came out of that week…and it’s now a staple in our comfort food rotation. 🙂
Congrats, David, on your first video. You talk about being nervous but I’d say you’re a natural! A YouTube star in the making?
Hah! YouTube star hardly, but thank you so much for your kind words, Frank! 🙂
i know what you mean about video stuff these days. it’s a visual world and i wonder if anyone actually reads blogs or anything else for that matter? bolognese is always a hit isn’t it? such a great comfort food. cheers sherry
I hear ya, Sherry! I enjoy writing blog posts and including fun facts and tidbits…but I often wonder how many people even stop to read the posts. Oh well. If nothing else, I can tell you that this bolognese is absolutely delicious! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
This is exactly the kind of comfort food that Lynne and I love at this time of year! And congratulations on your first recipe video. And on talking in it. You’ll note I don’t talk in mine, I just play music, so you’re one up on me! Hope to see more of your recipe videos David. They’re time consuming but worth it.
I dunno about those videos, Neil. That was an insane amount of work. I’m just not willing to turn my kitchen into a full-fledged tv studio…which is kinda what you need to do in order to make videos like this. I enjoyed the experience, and I learned a lot though! I also came away with this bolognese recipe. It’s perfect for cold winter days! (And speaking of cold winter days, we’re due for more -!!- snow tomorrow. That calls for another batch of bolognese if you ask me!)
How fun is that? And your video is awesome! I’m terrible in front of the camera and totally stumble over my words! You did an excellent job! And talk about a delicious comfort food dish. This would be perfect for a date night in 🙂 Love it!
Why thank you so much, Dawn. I enjoyed making that video, but man is it time consuming! As far as the recipe, though, this one really is perfect for a date night in. You’ve already got the bottle of wine open for the recipe, so just pour yourself a glass, sit back and enjoy! 🙂
Wow! This is like a summer camp for food bloggers! What fun and what a great opportunity. The video looks great and so does that bolognese! Nicely done! I can’t wait to see more videos. 🙂
Haha! That is the perfect description for the event, Kathy. It was crazy! And it did indeed feel a bit like summer camp…minus the bunk beds. 🙂 I’m not so sure about video, but I can say that this bolognese is awesome! Like seriously delicious and part of our regular winter food rotation now. Thanks so much, my friend!
What a great opportunity sounds like it would be fun and a great learning experience. I know I what you mean about videos. I have been thinking a lot about that too. The bolognese sounds amazing! A great hearty meal.
This really was a great learning experience, Dawn! There is SO much that goes into video…it’s like a whole new ballgame. I think I prefer to sit down and eat this bolognese instead. Haha! 🙂