Basque / Braise
Rioja-braised short rib
& choricero sauce.
A red-wine braise pulled toward the Basque Country with Rioja, choricero pepper, and sherry vinegar. The pot liquor becomes the sauce.
Serves 4Time 3½ hrMethod braise
Method
- Salt the ribs and brown them in batches in a heavy pot; crowding the pot steams the meat. Take them out, lower the heat, and cook the onion, carrot, and celery in the same fat until soft and lightly colored.
- Scrape the flesh from the soaked pepper. Add it with the Rioja and reduce by half, scraping the browned bits from the bottom. Add stock and herbs, then return the ribs in one layer. The liquid should come roughly halfway up the meat. Cover and cook at 325°F until a spoon meets almost no resistance, about 2½ to 3 hours.
- Lift out the ribs. Strain the liquid, skim the surface, and reduce only until glossy enough to coat a spoon. Finish with a few drops of sherry vinegar and spoon the sauce over the ribs.
Keep the braise quiet
A lazy simmer makes tender meat and a clean sauce. If the liquid is boiling hard, lower the oven or crack the lid; more heat will not make a tough rib tender faster.
Use the pot you have
Choose the smallest heavy pot that holds the ribs in one layer. Too much empty space demands extra liquid; too small a pot prevents browning. Skim the sauce with a wide spoon and stop reducing when it turns glossy—the bones have already supplied the gelatin.