Braising short ribs marinated in Madeira wine offers a delicious alternative to the traditional red wine marinade.

Braising short ribs marinated in Madeira wine offers a delicious alternative to the traditional red wine marinade, turning the meat into succulent, candied pieces of goodness. With a few simple steps and the right technique, you can create this braised rib dish that's bursting with flavor and sure to impress your guests. We sourced our ribs from a local farmer rearing grass-fed Dexter beef and wanted to do something special with it. The result really was outstanding.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

Main ingredients to cook the short ribs

• 1 kg (2.2 lbs) good quality beef short ribs (I use dexter beef)

• 200 g (7 oz) fatty pancetta cut into lardons (large matchsticks)

• 2 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)

• 2 tbsp plain flour

• 1 tbsp lard (pork fat)

• 3 button mushrooms (roughly sliced)

• 1 tbsp celery rib (roughly chopped)

• 2 small shallots, roughly chopped

  For the marinade:

• 200 to 250 ml (7 to 8.5 fl oz) madeira wine (I use medium dry)

• 2 garlic cloves

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 branch of thyme

• 100 g (3.5 oz) carrot (roughly sliced)

• 100 g (3.5 oz) shallots

• 1 tsp juniper berries

• 1 tsp peppercorns

   For the sauce:

• 5 button mushrooms

• 50 g (1.8 oz) shallot (finely sliced)

• Leftover cooking juices from the meat

• 1 cup of stock (ideally beef or veal)

MISE EN PLACE

The day before: Roll the lardons in parsley and insert one or two pieces into each meat chunk, as demonstrated in the video.

In a large bowl, layer half of the marinade garnish at the bottom, arrange the short ribs on top, cover with the remaining garnish, and pour 200 to 250 ml of madeira wine over. Cover with wrap and a lid, then marinate in the fridge overnight.

Prepare 750 ml of stock using my homemade demi-glace technique (you may need to adjust quantities) or use a good quality store-bought stock as an alternative.

Method

1. Once the meat has marinated, remove it from the marinade and pat each piece dry. Strain the marinade juices through a sieve, keeping the liquid and garnish separate for later use. Roll each piece of meat in flour, shaking off any excess.

2. In a large cast-iron pot, melt the lard over medium heat and sear each piece of meat until dark brown on all sides, working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Once done, transfer the meat to a tray, then quickly rinse and dry the pot and return it to the stove.

3. Over medium heat, melt the butter in the pot until it starts to foam. Add the chopped mushrooms, celery, and shallots and cook until lightly colored for a few minutes. Now add the leftover marinade garnish and cook for a few more minutes before pouring in the marinade juice and increasing the heat to reduce the liquid by about half.

4. Arrange the meat over the garnish and pour enough stock to reach halfway up the meat (submerging the bottom part and leaving the top part exposed). Cover the meat with parchment paper and a lid, then slow-cook in the oven for about 3 hours or until the meat easily falls off the bone and can be shredded with a fork. Check on the meat every hour and add more stock to keep the bottom submerged if needed (only do this for the first two hours of cooking). Once cooked, transfer the meat to a serving dish, cover with foil, and keep warm in the oven while you prepare the sauce.

5. Strain the leftover cooking juices through a sieve, making sure you remove any excess fat produced during cooking. In a separate sauté pan, melt the butter then add the mushrooms and sliced shallots and cook over medium heat until lightly colored.

6. Pour in the leftover cooking juices from the meat along with the stock. Dial the heat up high to bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce until the liquid thickens into a semi-syrupy consistency. Once done, reduce the heat to low.

7. To finish, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of fresh madeira wine, depending on how intense you want it to be, taking care not to boil the sauce to preserve the distinctive madeira flavor.

8. Place the meat in a serving dish and pour the sauce into a bowl. Serve the meat smothered in sauce or on its own with the sauce on the side for guests to help themselves.

   TIP

   • If the cooking juice is scant after cooking the meat, add half a cup or more of water to the pot once you’ve removed the meat. Stir well and then strain the liquid through the sieve.

   • You can also use ruby port wine instead of Madeira.