Gluten-Free Braised Short Ribs

Ribs so tender they almost cry

 This is the second time Hubby and I have tried this recipe.  It makes a fantastically tender and flavorful dish.  The ribs just melt under your fork and in your mouth.  We paired them this time with carrots and mashed potatoes, both of which are also delish with the vegetable sauce. 

• 2 pounds of short ribs (boneless)
• Two celery sticks
• Two carrots
• Half an onion
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 1 cup of bold Red wine 
• 1 cup Beef low sodium broth
• 1 small can of low/no sodium tomato sauce
• Tablespoon of fresh parsley
• Quarter cup of gluten-free flour (you can use a GF baking mix, or rice or potato starch flour) 
• Pepper to taste (probably a tablespoon)
• 4-6 garlic cloves
• 2-3 tbsps of olive oil

Trim the fat from the meat and dust the ribs in flour and pepper.(I just grate in pepper to the flour until it looks like enough, but I suspect it is probably a teaspoon at least). Set aside.  Grate the veggies and simmer with wine, broth & herbs in a fry or sauce pan. Press or crush the garlic and brown the meat with the garlic and oil in a Dutch oven.   When brown, add  the sauce on top of the browned meat.  Cover and cook in oven at 325 for 3 hours, stirring  and turning the meat occasionally.  After the first couple of hours you may want to remove the cover to let the sauce reduce more. If the sauce boils too much, reduce heat. 

 Notes and options:

 The sauce simmers down significantly and can get salty which is why low sodium ingredients are used.   Adjust the liquids for the amount of sauce you would like.  With the veggies, it does thicken up.

We’ve made this twice now, once with boned short ribs and once without.  The boned ribs create a much fattier sauce, so use boneless ribs, if at all possible.  If you can’t get short ribs, you could also use a roast cut and slice it into rib-size strips (about 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide).