Braised Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 2  bay leaves 
• 2.5 ounce beef ribs trimmed
• 0.5 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 10  peppercorns whole black
• 0.3 cup carrots diced
• 0.3 cup celery diced
• 0.3 cup demi glace 
• 0.5 cup wine dry red
• 0.3 cup flour all-purpose
• 1  garlic clove minced
• 5  juniper berries 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 0.3 cup leek chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 0.8 cup onion diced
• 3  thyme sprigs fresh
• 0.8 cup water hot

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• oven
• knife
• sieve
• measuring cup
• dutch oven
• cheesecloth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 35
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup; level with a knife.
3. Place flour in a shallow dish.
4. Sprinkle beef evenly on all sides with salt and pepper; dredge in flour.
5. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
6. Add oil to pan, and swirl to coat.
7. Add beef to pan; saut for 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides.
8. Remove beef from pan.
9. Add diced onion, diced celery, diced carrot, and chopped leek to pan; saut 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Add garlic; saut 1 minute, stirring frequently.
11. Place peppercorns, juniper berries, 3 thyme sprigs, and bay leaves on a double layer of cheesecloth. Gather edges of cheesecloth together; tie securely.
12. Place herb and spice bundle in pan; return beef to pan. Dissolve demi-glace in 3/4 cup hot water, stirring well.
13. Add demi-glace mixture and wine to pan; bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 350 for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is fork tender.
14. Remove beef from pan; strain cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. Discard solids.
15. Serve cooking liquid with beef.
16. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.
17. Wine note: With the richness of short ribs, you need to pull out a cabernet as an accompaniment. (Well-marbled beef loves to tame this grape's tannins.) Slingshot 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon is a Napa bottle that, at $23, won't break the bank. But it offers beautiful nuances of cedar, spice (juniper's a big player), and aromatic dried cherries, with bright acidity. Sara Schneider