Short Rib Pot Pie
Source of Recipe
Bon Appétit, March 2014
Recipe Introduction
I saw this dish on the cover of the magazine and was entranced. I love braised beef, especially short ribs and I love pot pies. Most savory pies have too many vegetables that I don’t care for (carrots and mushrooms), but this had only pearl onions. I knew that I’d love it and I did. You really need to make this either the day before you serve it, or at the least very early the day of. Short ribs are incredibly greasy and the cooking liquid has almost an inch of grease that floats to the top and needs to be removed. I have had no luck finding boneless ribs lately, so I used bone-in. If you do this, you will need to build in enough time for them to cool enough for you to take them apart. I think that peas might be a good addition to this.
List of Ingredients
CRUST
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup vegetable shortening or beef lard
FILLING AND ASSEMBLY
3 lbs. boneless beef short ribs, cut into 2” pieces (or 4.5 lbs. bone-in)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 10-oz. package frozen pearl onions, thawed
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine
2 sprigs rosemary
6 sprigs thyme, plus 2 Tbsp. chopped thyme
Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
Heavy cream (for brushing)
Recipe
CRUST
In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt a couple of time. Add the butter and shortening and pulse a few times. It should look like coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces of butter. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of ice water. Mix with a fork until it comes together. It should be a shaggy, but moist dough. Knead lightly, adding more water, a 1/2 tablespoon at a time, if needed to get the right consistency. Form into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
FILLING AND ASSEMBLY
Season short ribs with salt and pepper; dredge in the flour. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat (I do this in my largest frying pan and transfer everything to a Dutch oven). Shake turning when needed, until very brown, 8–10 minutes per batch. You may need to do this in batches. Transfer to a large bowl (or the Dutch oven, if doing my way).
Add the onions to the same pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown – don’t overcook them since they will cook for a long time in the pie. Season with a little salt and pepper. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic to pan, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until slightly darkened in color, 5–8 minutes. Add the wine, rosemary, and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half, 8–10 minutes. Add 6 cups of water to the pan and bring to a boil. Return short ribs to pan (or place the contents of the pan into the Dutch oven with the short ribs); season with a little salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer lightly, uncovered, until meat is almost falling apart and liquid is thick enough to lightly coat a spoon, 2½–3 hours. (I decided to do this step in the oven – 300 degrees for about 3 1/2 hours.)
When done, you will need to defat the sauce. Take the short ribs out of the Dutch oven and let cool slightly. Take them apart and break up the meat. Set aside. Let the liquid cool a bit and send it through a sieve and a fat separator. If you are baking the pot pie right away, put the meat back into the Dutch oven with the liquid, the onions and the chopped thyme. While you are rolling out the dough let the meat/gravy mixture warm up and taste to adjust the seasonings.
If you are making this a day ahead, just place the cooled meat and liquid in a plastic container and refrigerate.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about â…›” thick. Place the warm filling in a shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Fit the crust over the filling and trim, leaving a small overhang. Tuck the edges under and crimp. Cut a few slits in the crust. Brush with the cream and sprinkle with sea salt. You could also use individual ramekins.
Place the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, 50–60 minutes (35–40 minutes for smaller dishes). Let sit 5–10 minutes before serving.
DO AHEAD: The crust can be made 2 days ahead; keep refrigerated. The filling can also be made up to 2 days ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Slowly rewarm the filling, add the onion and chopped thyme and proceed with the recipe.
Serves 6-8.
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