Short Rib Ragu on Pappardelle Pasta

Directions

• Salt and pepper the short rib and let sit for 30 minutes so that the meat is room temperature.
• Pour oil in a dutch oven and set on stove on medium-high heat. We want the pan hot so that we get a great sear on the ribs.
• Put in an amount of short ribs so that you are not crowding the ribs. You want the ribs to brown and not steam.
• Brown ribs on all sides; when done, remove from pan and set aside.
• Put bouquet garni ingredients in a cheesecloth; tie off and set aside. (If you can’t find cheesecloth, you can always find inexpensive muslin cloth at your local fabric store. In fact, it will be a lot cheaper.)
• In the dutch oven that you used to brown the meat, turn heat down to medium; add your tomato paste. Stir and cook for 30 seconds. Add onions, shallots, garlic, and carrots to pot and stir. Cook until vegetables start to carmelize.
• Pour the port into the dutch oven to deglaze the pan and stir. Take a wooden spoon and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom. That’s all good flavor! The port will bring a little sweetness to the dish to offset the acid from the tomatoes.
• Add can of whole tomatoes to a bowl. Use hands to crush tomatoes. Add tomatoes to dutch oven, stir and combine.
• Add to the dutch oven wine, beef stock, and cheesecloth filled with herbs; stir and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add meat to the dutch oven. It is always good to season throughout the cook. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot and place in a 350° oven and cook for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours, check meat for doneness. Meat should easily shred. When meat is tender, pull meat out and set aside to cool.
• Do your best to take the grease out of the pot. If you cool off the pot in the refrigerator, the grease will harden on top. Otherwise, take a paper towel and lightly lay on top of the sauce where you see any grease.
• Take dutch oven and put back on stove to simmer and to reduce and thicken sauce a bit. Again, check your seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste.
• When meat has cooled, shred the meat and put back into pot. Stir and let simmer for another 30 minutes.
• Pappardelle Preparation
• Add water to your spaghetti pot. Add a couple of tablespoons of salt to the water. As all pasta aficionados say, pasta water should taste like the ocean.
• Add desired amount of pappardelle and stir. We want the noodle to be al dente (still has a little chew to it). Stir every couple of minutes to ensure that noodles don’t stick.
• Drain the pappardelle in a colendar, but do not rinse the noodles.
• Plate Presentation
• The best way to serve, is to first mix the noodles into the sauce. Grab some tongs and place amount desired on a plate.
• Garnish with some fresh basil that has been sliced into small ribbons. This type of slice is called a chiffonade. ( stack the basil. The roll them into a small cylindar. Then thinly slice with a sharp knife. )
• Sprinkle some percorino romano as a finishing touch and you are ready for the best pasta dish ever!!
• Enjoy!