In it’s most basic form, braising consists of a tough cut of meat with a lot of connective tissue, combined with liquid, aromatic vegetables and fresh herbs; this mixture is then cooked in a low oven until they becomes tender. The connective tissue responsible for the chewy texture is collagen, which is a triple helix of gelatin. When moisture along with slow, steady heat are applied, the triple helix unravels into three individual gelatin strands, leaving gaps in the muscle tissue it used to bind together, giving the impression of tenderness.
Yet for the collagen to break down, the meat must reach an internal temperature of at least 155˚F/68˚C. This is well above the internal temperature of a medium steak (140˚F/60˚C), and well into the range in which protein fibers fully contract and coagulate, expelling most of their liquid, causing a dry texture and lack of flavor.
Enter the cold start and low temperature braise, in which the short ribs are placed in a cold oven, and braised at 200˚F/121˚C. As the short ribs slowly come up to temperature, they spend an extended period of time between 120-130˚F/48-54˚C, a temperature at which the same enzymes responsible for dry aged beef’s flavor and tenderness are hyper-activated.
Using the cold start approach means your short ribs will have more flavor, a superior tenderness, and most important, will require less time for the collagen to break down at protein-fiber-drying temperatures (155˚F/68˚C). Less time at this temperature means more juices are retained, which further enhances the short rib’s flavor and texture.
The Pre Braise Stage
Before braising, the short ribs are seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, seared in a screaming hot pan with plenty of oil, browned on all sides, and then set aside. Searing as I’m sure you’re aware has nothing to do with “locking in the juices,” but it simply creates more flavor through the maillard reaction in which proteins brown, form new compounds, and create those delicious flavors and aromas associated with roasted meats and vegetables. This is why it’s important to generate a dark golden brown color on all sides of your short ribs; more brown surfaces equals more flavor.
Some chef’s prefer to dust their short ribs in flour first before browning. But notice how I swapped the word “searing” for “browning” since flour will quickly scorch at high temperatures. Dusting the short ribs in flour achieves two goals. One, when cooked to a dark, golden brown color, the flour will add flavors and aromas reminiscent of toasted nuts and bread. And two, the flour will help slightly thicken the sauce during the reduction phase, just like a roux.
After the short ribs are browned on all sides, remove them from the pan, and immediately add thinly chopped aromatics.
In this particular recipe, I went with traditional mirepoix (carrot, celery and onions), along with ginger, garlic and leaks. The addition of thyme and parsley are always prudent (which I used), as is bay leaf, which wasn’t added, mainly because I didn’t feel like taking an extra trip to the store. But these aromatics can be swapped to fit any flavor profile you want. This dish could just as easily be at home in a Chinese, Japanese, Indian, or Italian kitchen, simply by swapping out a few aromatics and seasonings.
The aromatics are cut small for the same reason we brown the short ribs on all sides: surface area equals better flavor extraction. Once browned, place the aromatics at the bottom of a braising pan (this prevents the meat from coming into contact with the metal and scorching), add in any other spices and seasonings along with the seared short ribs, and cover with a liquid.
In this video I’m using veal stock for my braising liquid, but a well made chicken stock will also work. The only caveat is, your stock has to be home made (or bribed from a local chef) because the store bought stuff, while sometimes convenient, doesn’t contain enough gelatin to thicken into a glaze when reduced. No glaze equals sub par short short ribs, plus, this is a perfect opportunity for brushing up on your stock making skills.
The Braise Stage
Once the short ribs are combined in an appropriately sized braising vessel with aromatics and stock, seal the top of the container with a tight fitting lid or foil.
Place in a cold oven, and then set the temperature to 200˚F/93˚C for reasons previously discussed. Now forget about it for at least 4 hours.
Can you complete a braise in less time?
Sure. You can cook short ribs at 15 PSI in a pressure cooker for about 90 minutes with good results, but if you speed up the braising process by turning your oven temperature up, the short ribs won’t be as tender and flavorful as they could be.
After about 4 hours, check the ribs. If they’re done, a bone will easily wiggle away from the meat without much wrestling. If the bone doesn’t pull out clean, then put the short ribs back in the oven and try again in 30 minutes.
Depending on your oven and environment, this could take as long as 5-6 hours, but your patience will be rewarded. However, the cold start is the most important thing, due to its contribution to flavor and tenderness.
After the short ribs have been in the oven for at least 3 hours at a low temperature, if you’re starting to feel the threat of a possible kitchen mutiny staged by family members or guests who get especially irritable when hungry, feel free to turn the oven up to 350˚F/176˚C, at which point you should expect your short ribs to be done at the 3.5 to 4 hour mark.
The Glaze Stage
Once the short ribs are finished braising, pull from the container and allow to rest at room temperature. However, for best results, make the short ribs 1-3 days in advanced, and allow them to rest in their own liquid before moving on to this stage. 
If making this in advanced, simply store in your fridge until you’re ready to reheat and serve. Reheat over low flame until the liquid is pourable (since it’s most likely set due to collagen that is now gelatin), and remove the short ribs from the liquid.
Strain braising liquid through a colander to remove large chunks of aromatics, and then again through a fine mesh strainer to remove any fine particles which will cause you sauce to have a gritty mouth feel.
Bring liquid to a boil over high heat, and then reduce to a simmer, moving the pot halfway off the burner so all the fat will collect on one side. Skim fat vigilantly throughout the reduction process; this is the key to having a flavorful glaze that isn’t greasy.
When reduced by 3/4s its original volume, transfer liquid to a large sauté pan and continue to reduce until a light glaze is formed. Place the short ribs back into the glaze, continuing to reduce, until the glaze easily clings to the meat, and the short ribs are heated through.
Remove from heat and serve with something tasty like glazed root vegetables or classic mashed potatoes (see links below).
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There are 70 Comments
This looks great. I've made
This looks great. I've made braised short ribs countless times but have never glazed. Can't wait to try this but I've got to make the stock first. In a pinch, could you use store bought and add some gelatin?
@cblaser, You could use
@cblaser,
You could use store bought stock and sub with gelatin but it won't be the same. The short ribs themselves will release a decent amount of gelatin into the braising liquid, but you'll have to reduce it longer than shown in the video to get it to thicken.
@StrickingTwice, I really
@StrickingTwice,
I really like the Kirkland Brand organic chicken stock they sell at Costco. That's what I use in a pinch.
Also remember that the best thing about homemade stock is the collagen from the bones. At home, I keep a couple freezer bags full of any bones left over from dinner, and about 1-2 times a month, I'll make an AP stock. If I don't have aromatics, I don't sweat it. I just bring the bones to a simmer, cover with a lid, and let go overnight. The next day I'll strain the bones and freeze the stock.
If I have a little too much stock to fit in the freezer, I'll reduce until it fits in the container I want to use and then freeze. It's good stuff to have on hand for anything that uses a reduction sauce or glaze.
Yes, that's a great way to do
Yes, that's a great way to do it. One of the things I constantly preach at boot camp is "half-assed home made stock is still better than store bought." That's because you can always add more aromatics in your final formulation when making a braise or reduction sauce, but home made stock is really all about collagen. It doesn't have to be a prep intensive process like in a professional kitchen.
Just load the bones in your slow cooker and let it rip overnight, or even as long as 24 hours, or until you're ready to strain and store.
So you can use any bones?
So you can use any bones? Even bones from a cooked dinner? Maybe this is basic but every single stock recipe or instruction or video I've read or watched made it look like I needed a dozen raw carcasses. Can I literally use the bones from one of my roasted chickens?
@cblaser, Yep. You can use
@cblaser,
Yep. You can use any bones, even cooked ones from your roast chicken. I eat a lot of whole chicken and chicken thighs at home, so I build up a stash pretty quick.
This is gold to me. How did I
This is gold to me. How did I not know this?
Maybe I should do a separate
Maybe I should do a separate video on this that just encourages people to save their bones and make stock. Having a stash of good stock in the freezer opens up a lot of possibilities.
By the way, when you make a fresh batch of stock with the bones you saved up, add any stock you have in the freezer. This will reinforce your stock, giving it a higher concentration of gelatin and flavor. After a couple months of doing this you'll have a gelatin rich stock sitting in your freezer that's just as good as what we use in the restaurant.
Very interesting. I'm excited
Very interesting. I'm excited about this because everyone always says you NEED to make your own stocks but as a simple home cook, I don't have on hand or available what every single stock recipe calls for...lots of raw carcasses or bones from daily prep at a restaurant.
@lenb, Sounds like it turned
@lenb,
Sounds like it turned out great. Glad this video helped to open up some new technical doors for you.
Short ribs do tend to have a
Short ribs do tend to have a lot of fat, which is part of why they have great flavor. What your wife is probably describing isn't the intramuscular fat, but the large chunks on the surface of the rib. Try trimming this fat off with a sharp knife before braising.
This technique will also work great with shank, brisket, and oxtail, so you might want to give those cuts a try as well.
Awesome. Glad you enjoyed
Awesome. Glad you enjoyed this recipe. Looking forward to seeing you next time you're in town.
Hey Roger, good to hear from
Hey Roger, good to hear from you.
When you say collagen, I think you're referring to gelatin, and some of the information I covered in my gelatin series.
When you heat gelatin above a 140F for a prolonged period of time, the gelatin strands will shorten, but the gelatin itself will still be present. It's the particulate nature of the gelatin that thickens a full reduction sauce, where as the technicalities of heat and acid's effect on gelatin is more important when trying to create a gel that sets when cold. This is because when setting a cold gel that you will eat, you want to add just enough gelatin to hold that gel, but not enough to make it have a tough texture (usually 1-1.4%).
Reduced stocks and sauces will contain upwards of 30% gelatin, which is why they can take a beating and still set, but you wouldn't necessarily want to serve those cold.
So in short, yes, you can add gelatin to help reinforce your reduction sauce, but you'll probably want to add about 5-10% gelatin, and then reduce until your desired consistency is achieved.
To be completely honest, I
To be completely honest, I know this approach will work, but I don't really use it, so I can't give you a precise gelatin percentage. Remember it's always best practice to add less thickener than needed and reduce to reinforce flavor concentration and control the sauce's viscosity. So especially if you're combining chicken stock with the purchased demi glace, I would start with 10% gelatin and plan on reducing by 1/2-2/3rds. You don't really need a whole lot of this glaze since it's so intense, so reducing by 2/3rds shouldn't be an issue.
The 10% ratio might not work as perfect as you would like, but it will at least give you a good base recipe you can easily go back and tweak.
We make the same stock daily
We make the same stock daily and standardize all our recipes down to the gram, so it helps keep our sauces fairly consistent, yet a good reduction sauce will always be perfected with an intuitive touch that balances the consistency and flavors right at the end.
"I will bother you later.
"I will bother you later. Promise."
I'll hold you to that. Always a pleasure.
For every entree, I would
For every entree, I would plan for one large 3X2 or 3X3 shortrib (3 bones long, 2-3" wide).
You'll need enough stock to cover, so the amount of stock you use depends on how many short ribs and the size of your braising container.
Add mirepoix to taste, but for 8 people, the amount of mirepoix you use should be pretty close to what's shown in this video.
Hi Jenn, Yes, you can easily
Hi Jenn,
Yes, you can easily cook 10 short ribs in one oven pan, assuming the pan is large enough to fit. Any container that is oven safe will work.
When glazing, you may need to split the glaze up between 2 large saute pans, that way you can fit all the short ribs and glaze them together.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Jacob
Did the bones easily pull
Did the bones easily pull free from the meat?
Judging by your cooking time and temp, I would say that they were undercooked, not over. The short ribs will be tough and chewy if not thoroughly cooked, making them seem dry.
The best indicator is the
The best indicator is the bone easily falling off of the meat. While it's possible to over cook short ribs, usually when people complain that they're tough, it means they're under cooked. An over cooked short rib will fall apart completely and shred very easily, but the meat will be dry.
Since you're technically cooking the short rib "well done" any ways, it's important to cook them slowly to prevent too much moisture loss, and then "re-moisten" the rib with the reduction sauce.
If the short ribs were falling apart to nothing and dry, then they were over cooked. If they stayed intact, didn't shred easily, and were tough/chewy, they were under cooked.
@Jarman, Yes, this recipe
@Jarman,
Yes, this recipe will work for any tough cut of meat.
@ Damaris, For the legs,
@ Damaris,
For the legs, yes. But the breast is tender meat, so it will dry out if you try to braise it.
For more information, check out this video on how to choose cooking techniques:
http://stellaculinary.com/podcasts/video/methods-of-cooking-and-techniqu...
Right on. Glad you enjoyed
Right on. Glad you enjoyed this technique.
@Jozko, I would guess 5-6
@Jozko,
I would guess 5-6 hours. Start checking the ribs at 4 hours, and when the bone releases, they're done.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
I would let the ribs cool in
I would let the ribs cool in the liquid. Then pull ribs, strain liquid, and trim ribs. Removing the bones is optional, but it can sometimes make them easier to portion/serve.