Daniel Boulud's Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine with Celery Duo

Daniel Boulud’s braised short ribs recipe has three decisions baked into it that most home braise recipes skip: flambéing the wine before it goes in the pot, searing the ribs until the crust is genuinely dark (not just brown), and skimming the braising liquid on a 30-minute schedule throughout the cook.

Each of these matters. The flambé removes harsh alcohol before it can bitter the sauce. The deep sear builds the flavor base that the three-hour braise can’t create after the fact. The skimming is what separates a silky sauce from a greasy one. Get these three right and the rest is patience.

Preheat your oven to 325°F.

Pat the short ribs completely dry with paper towels — any surface moisture creates steam in the pan and prevents browning. Season generously on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper, then let the seasoned ribs sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of neutral oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat until the oil shimmers and just begins to smoke. Add the ribs bone-side up and sear without moving them for 4 to 5 minutes. What you want is a deeply browned, almost mahogany crust — not just light browning. Flip and sear the remaining surfaces, about 2 to 3 minutes each. Work in batches if your Dutch oven isn’t large enough to hold all four ribs without crowding; crowding creates steam and the ribs will braise rather than sear. Transfer the browned ribs to a plate.

The sear is not optional. The fond (the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot) and the crust on the ribs carry the flavor that makes this dish taste like Daniel’s version and not like a generic pot roast.

Pour the entire bottle of red wine into a wide saucepan and set over medium heat. When the wine is steaming hot — about 2 minutes — hold a long kitchen match or lighter at the edge of the pan and carefully ignite the alcohol. The flames will be blue-orange and should burn for 1 to 2 minutes before extinguishing on their own. Keep a lid nearby. Once the flames die, increase heat to high and reduce the wine by half, about 12 to 15 minutes, until it looks syrupy at the edges.

This step appears in Boulud’s original Café Boulud Cookbook recipe and is worth taking seriously. Un-flambéed wine in a braise retains a faint sharpness that even 3 hours in the oven can’t fully cook out; flambéed wine contributes fruit and acidity without any of that edge.

Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the Dutch oven. Set over medium heat. Add the onion, chopped carrots, chopped celery, leek, garlic, and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and beginning to brown at the edges, about 7 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, until it deepens from bright red to rust-colored. This brief cooking concentrates the tomato’s umami and removes its raw taste.

Return the seared short ribs to the pot, bone-side down. Pour the reduced wine and beef stock over the ribs — the liquid should come about two-thirds up the sides of the ribs, not covering them entirely (the top stays exposed, which concentrates flavor at the meat’s surface during braising). Add thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Bring to a full boil.

Cover the pot tightly and transfer to the 325°F oven. Braise for 2.5 to 3 hours, opening the oven every 30 minutes to skim fat and foam from the surface of the braising liquid. Tilt the pot slightly toward you and run a large flat spoon or ladle along the surface — the fat is yellow and pools toward the sides. This takes 45 seconds per skim. Skipping it means the fat emulsifies back into the sauce when you reduce it, producing a heavy, greasy mouthfeel rather than a silky glaze.

The ribs are done when a fork slides into the thickest part and twists with no resistance, and the meat is visibly beginning to pull away from the bone.

Remove the pot from the oven. Carefully transfer the ribs to a rimmed baking sheet and cover loosely with foil. Strain the braising liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan, pressing firmly on the vegetables to extract all the liquid. Discard the vegetables — they’ve given everything they have.

Skim any remaining fat from the strained liquid. Bring to a brisk simmer over medium-high heat and reduce until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Off the heat, swirl in the cold tablespoon of butter — it adds gloss and rounds the edge of the reduced wine.

Celery root purée: Place the cubed celery root in a saucepan with 1.5 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the celery root is very soft and a fork meets no resistance, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the stock. Transfer the celery root to a blender with the butter and warm cream. Blend on high speed until completely smooth — this takes a full minute in a standard blender. Add reserved stock by the tablespoon if needed to adjust consistency to a thick, pourable purée. Season with salt and white pepper. Keep warm.

Peel your celery root deeply: use a sharp knife, not a peeler, to remove at least a quarter inch of the fibrous outer layer all the way around. The outer skin is too tough and bitter to blend smooth even after cooking.

Glazed celery: Place the peeled, bias-cut inner celery pieces in a wide skillet with the chicken stock and butter. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered over medium heat until the celery is just tender and the liquid has reduced to a glossy, sauce-like glaze that coats the pieces, about 12 to 15 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Use inner celery stalks (the pale yellow-green ones near the center of the bunch) — they’re more tender and less stringy than outer stalks, and their flavor is sweeter.

Spoon a generous mound of celery root purée onto each plate. Arrange 3 to 4 pieces of glazed celery alongside the purée. Set one braised short rib on top of or against the purée. Spoon the reduced red wine sauce over the rib and let it pool around the purée. If you have fleur de sel, finish with a few flakes.

The dish can be held for up to 30 minutes in a low oven (200°F) before serving without losing anything. It reheats without loss the next day — in fact, the flavors concentrate overnight and the removed fat cap (which solidifies in the refrigerator) means day-two sauce is cleaner and more concentrated than the same-day version.