French Onion Beef Short Ribs
French onion soup but make it casserole? Sounds pretty great to us! This recipe uses our Cannings Duck Stock as a base, which has notes of star anise and adds a beautiful richness to the sauce. Caramelised onions add a classic hit of sweetness to tender, pull apart beef short ribs. A fantastic winter warmer!
Ingredients
- 5-6 Grass fed and finished beef short ribs
- 1 tub (750mL) Cannings duck broth (substitute chicken, beef or veggie stock if needed)
- 3 brown onions, thinly sliced
- 2 heads garlic
- A small bunch of thyme
- Splash of white wine
- 2 bay leaves
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Flour
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chives, finely chopped for garnish
To serve (optional):
- Fresh baguette slices
- Gruyere cheese
- Finely chopped chives
- Creamy mashed potato
Method
- Start by caramelising your onions on a low heat. This will take quite a while, so give yourself plenty of time! Add onions, a generous knob of butter and a lug of olive oil to a pan on the stove over a very low heat, stirring as needed. The caramelised onions are ready when they're soft, jammy and a dark golden colour - give them a taste if you're not sure, they should taste sweet and caramel-y!
- Preheat your oven to 150C.
- Sprinkle short ribs with salt and pepper and sear on high heat to create a good brown crust - just be careful not to burn the fond (meaty bits) left in the pan as we will use them in our sauce. If you have one, it's handy to do this step in an enamelled cast iron dutch oven so it can go straight from the stovetop to the oven.
- Remove the short ribs and set aside. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter, and a tablespoon of flour and mix together to create a roux in the pan. This will help the sauce thicken in the oven.
- Add a whole tub of Cannings Duck Stock (750mL), fresh thyme, bay leaves and a splash of white wine, plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
- If you're using a dutch oven, pop the short ribs back in, along with two heads of garlic sliced crossways through the middle. If you're using another type of oven dish, transfer everything except the onions into it.
- Pop a lid on (important, because of the long cooking time!) and bake in the oven for 4 hours total. Halfway through, at the 2 hour mark, add the caramelised onions in, then put the lid back on and cook for the remaining 2 hours.
- When there is about 30 mins of cooktime left, have a quick peek at the sauce consistency and overall colour. If it's looking a bit too thin or you'd like some extra colour, take the lid off for the final 30 mins.
- Serve over creamy mashed potato, and/or with toasted slices of baguette with melted gruyere and chives.
