Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced
- 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained with juice reserved, chopped
- 2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed
- 1 teaspoon table salt
Stuff to Know Before Cooking
If you can’t find boneless short ribs, don’t substitute with bone-in short ribs. Instead, use a 2½-pound chuck-eye roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces.
This recipe yields enough sauce for 1 pound of pasta or a batch of Creamy Parmesan Polenta—our preferred serving option.
The sauce is easily doubled and freezes exceptionally well.
Prep the Oven and Mushrooms
Preheat your oven to 350°F and position the rack in the center.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine ½ cup of the broth with the mushrooms. Cover and microwave until steaming, approximately 1 minute. Let it stand for 5 minutes to soften.
Drain through a coffee filter-lined strainer, pressing to extract the liquid. Reserve the liquid and finely chop the mushrooms.
Build the Sauce Base
In a Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering.
Add the chopped onion and cook until it softens, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the minced garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant, approximately 1 minute.
Incorporate the tomato paste, anchovies, and five-spice powder.
Cook, stirring constantly, until darkened and a fond forms at the bottom of the pot, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the red wine, raise the heat to medium-high, and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the pot, until almost dry, 2 to 4 minutes.
Simmer the Sauce
Add the chopped tomatoes with their reserved juice, the remaining 1 cup broth, reserved mushroom liquid, and chopped mushrooms. Bring everything to a simmer.
Cook the Beef
Season the beef with ½ teaspoon of salt and black pepper.
Add the beef to the pot, cover it, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1 hour.
Uncover and continue cooking until the beef is tender, about 1 to 1¼ hours longer.
Shred and Finish
Remove the pot from the oven. Transfer the beef to a cutting board and let it cool for 5 minutes.
Shred the beef using forks, discarding any fat and connective tissue. Skim excess fat from the sauce, then return the shredded beef to the pot.
Season with additional salt and pepper to your taste.
Beef Short Rib Ragu
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms rinsed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 anchovy fillets rinsed and minced
- 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained with juice reserved, chopped
- 2 pounds boneless beef short ribs trimmed
- 1 teaspoon table salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Microwave ½ cup broth and mushrooms for 1 minute, let sit 5 minutes, then drain and chop mushrooms.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion for 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste, anchovies, and five-spice powder, cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add wine, increase heat, and simmer until nearly dry, 2-4 minutes.
- Stir in chopped tomatoes with juice, remaining broth, mushroom liquid, and chopped mushrooms. Bring to a simmer.
- Season beef with ½ tsp salt and pepper, add to pot. Cover and cook in oven for 1 hour.
- Uncover and cook until beef is tender, 1 to 1¼ hours longer.
- Remove from oven, transfer beef to cutting board, and cool for 5 minutes.
- Shred beef, discard fat, skim sauce, and return beef to pot. Season to taste.