5-Ingredient Short Rib Ragu Recipe

Although this dish is simply divine, know that this short rib ragu recipe isn't a quick undertaking that you can whip up in 20 minutes on a weeknight. It takes time to cook beef ribs to perfection before combining them with the other ingredients to create a tantalizing sauce. But what this recipe developed by Stephanie Rapone of Pantry to Plate Meals requires in time, it makes up for in simplicity. 

With just five main ingredients, you don't have to spend hours prepping a million veggies or spices you've never touched before in your life. In fact, you may have almost everything you need in your kitchen right now. The recipe will end up taking roughly three hours to make from start to finish, but most of that is time spent cooking the ribs. So, on a night when you have a little extra time to spare, try your hand at making this ragu. As Rapone suggests, you can serve it with pasta, risotto, or even a baked sweet potato. Your family or guests will not be disappointed!

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 F first thing, as you want it to be at the right temperature when you're ready to start cooking. Then, place your beef ribs on a cutting board or plate, and use the salt and pepper to season all sides. Rapone calls for a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper to disperse equally between the four pounds of beef ribs. Just do your best to season the ribs equally.

Use the time while the short ribs are browning to peel and chop your onion. Then, after removing the short ribs from the dutch oven, change the heat on the stove to medium and add the chopped onion to the pot. Cover the onion, allowing it to cook undisturbed for roughly three minutes before removing the lid to stir. Continue cooking the onion like this, stirring every two to three minutes for roughly seven to nine minutes total. The goal is for the onion to be soft and just starting to brown. When the onion is sufficiently cooked, stir in the Dijon mustard.

Once the ingredients are brought to a boil, transfer the pot to your oven, and braise the contents for two and a half hours. If, for some reason, you're notoriously bad at paying attention to cooking times, here's the good news: Rapone says it's pretty much impossible to overcook the ribs. "Sometimes I'll even throw it in for two hours, then just turn the oven off and let it hang out for another hour," she says. Ultimately, what you want is for the meat to literally fall off the bones. "If you can't grab a bone with a pair of tongs and have it slide out of the meat, it needs to keep cooking," Rapone says.

Once the sauce and meat have had a chance to cool slightly, carefully blend the cooking liquid until smooth. The key word here is "carefully." Rapone recommends an immersion blender rather than a regular blender, because blending hot liquids can be dangerous. That being said, if you don't own an immersion blender, it's incredibly important to allow the steam to vent from your blender as you blend. "Place [the sauce] in a blender or food processor, and remove the little center part of the lid. Place a towel over that, and leave a little vent for steam to escape," says Rapone. "Pulse two to three times, then remove the towel, and let the steam vent. Repeat the process until [the sauce] is smooth. The trick is you don't want to let the pressure build up inside the blender, or it will explode super hot sauce all over." Again, it's imperative to work super carefully here.

When your ragu is finished, it's common to serve it over cooked pasta (try a penne or tagliatelle), but that's not your only option. Rapone suggests trying it on top of risotto or a baked sweet potato, but you could also try it with polenta. And if you have a little extra time, consider making a ragu casserole of sorts. Simply place the sauce in a baking dish, and layer it with thinly sliced potatoes brushed with oil and salt. Bake the entire dish covered in foil until the potatoes are soft, then remove the foil, and cook until the potatoes turn a golden brown.