Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course: Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs

Hey guys,
     This week I'll be completing a recipe from Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course. As usual I will add in any special notes on cooking the dish and any tips that will help you out.

Here is the recipe I will be using:
Edits/Notes will be made in ORANGE


Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil for frying
6 thick-cut meaty beef short ribs
1 large head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
1 x 750ml bottle red wine Half a bottle will usually do.
1L beef stock
150g pancetta lardons
250g small chestnut mushrooms, trimmed and halved
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped flat leaf parsley, to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. Heat a deep-sided roasting tray on the stove-top and add a glug of olive oil. Season the short ribs thoroughly, then fry for 10-15 minutes to brown really well on all sides. If you do not have a deep roasting tray that can go on the stove, do steps 2 and 3 in a skillet and then add it to a roasting tray that's been heated in the oven.
3. Add the halved garlic head, cut side down, pushing it to the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato puree and heat for a minute or two to cook it out. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the bits at the bottom. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half, then add the stock to nearly cover the ribs (you'll need less stock if your roasting tray isn't very large). Bring to a boil again, basting the ribs with the juices.
4. Cover the roasting tray with foil and cook in the preheated oven for 3-4hours, basting now and then until the meat is tender and falling away from the bone.
5. About 10 minutes before the short ribs are ready to come out, fry the pancetta for 2-3 minutes until crisp and golden. Add the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes until tender. Drain off any excess fat. Adding a splash of the previously used red wine is a nice addition.
6. When the short ribs are ready, remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and pass through a sieve. Spoon off any excess fat form the beef cooking liquid, then strain it through the sieve and mix with the garlic (reduce if needed) A trick to spoon off any of the excess fat is to take some paper towel and briefly lay in on the top of the liquid and skim around the top.
7. Serve the short ribs topped with the hot pancetta and mushrooms and the sauce poured around.
8. Garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley.

If you want this dish to be more of a main, add roasted aspargus and celery root puree to the plate for a fantastic meal.

This recipe can be found in Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course

See you guys later,

S