Beef Short Ribs with Polenta

This is a rather involved recipe but it is worth all the work.  This is one of those meals that make people groan when they taste the first bite.

Start by frying some pancetta in a heavy pan with a tight fitting lid. Remove the crisp pancetta, leaving the grease in the pan.

 Make sure your short ribs are very dry.  You can sit them uncovered in the fridge for 12 hours to dry them out.  I also sit them on paper towels until they come to room temperature.  Season heavily with salt and pepper.

 Coat each short rib on all sides with flour.  Shake off excess.

 Dice 2 large onions.

 And 4 large carrots.

 Brown the ribs on all sides in the pancetta grease until crisp and brown.  Add some oil if you don't have enough grease.

 Don't crowd the ribs. Keep turning them until they are brown and crisp on each side.

 Remove and set them aside.

 This takes a while and make sure to turn your fan on high.

 Throw the onions and carrots into the remaining grease.

 Cook stirring until they begin to soften.

 Add 2 cups of a hearty red wine.

 And 4 cups of beef broth. Bring to a boil, scraping up the fond on the bottom of the pan.

 Turn the heat to medium and add a small can of tomato paste, 1/4 C. of beef demi glace', the cooked pancetta, 2 bay leaves, some fresh rosemary and thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

 Stir it all around to blend.

 Place the ribs back into the pot.

 Sink them in the liquid.

Cover and place them in a 325 degree oven for 4 hours.

Here they are 4 hours later.  These will give off a lot of grease as they break down.  Skim as much as you can off the top.  I sat the juice in the fridge to coagulate further. Remove any thyme or rosemary stems from the sauce.

Meanwhile remove the bones from the ribs and shred the meat removing any fat.

It's messy but worth it.

This is about a dozen ribs. The meat basically falls apart.

Return the meat to the de-greased sauce.

I served it over polenta but you could serve it over mashed potatoes or noodles too.  Delicious!