well worth the wait!

I am particularly fired up over Bon Appétit’s March cover recipe: Savory Short Rib Pot Pies.  I’m a sucker for braised, slow-roasted meat, and placing it in pie form only further encourages me to want to cook this recipe.  Short rib pot pie reminds me of the beef and potato pasties (say: paah-stie) my parents fed me while visiting my brothers and sister in Marquette, Michigan.  My siblings all attended Northern Michigan University, in Michigan’s great white upper peninsula.  My parents (and I) visited Marquette frequently to check on the educational investment they were making within their children.  The fondest memory I have of Marquette is of dad picking up pasties from Jean Kay’s shop and driving us over to Presque Isle Park to enjoy a picnic lunch on the shores of Lake Superior.  Think of a pastie as a handheld pot pie only without the pot.  Copper miner’s wives used to pack them in lunches because they stayed warm for hours, were filling, and of course, tasty.  I’m sure it was the single delight of a miner’s day to eat a savory pastie lunch in the dark dank depths of the underground mines.

this is not your copper miner’s meat pie…

When The Hubs took his first bite of the short rib pot pie, he blurted out an expletive statement; “this is !@#*@$% awesome!!!”.  And oh, is it ever.  I’m not going to lie, this is a lazy Sunday supper that takes all day to cook.  The recipe is involved and has a lot of steps but the end result is a serious Sunday supper masterpiece.  If you have time and patience, it is well worth the effort.

BA’s March cover

I changed the recipe to include potato, because what is the sum of a pot pie’s parts without potato?  I also added beefy baby bella mushrooms to enhance the savory swoon.  WIN.  The red wine-braised rib meat is fork tender in a thick and rich sauce flavored with a rosemary and thyme herb bundle.  The crust is, well, crusty, but also buttery, flakey, crunchy and salty.  I want to eat this on every cold winter day.

Let’s get started!

beautiful ingredients!

BA’s recipe calls for boneless beef short ribs, which is what I thought I had purchased until I got home and unwrapped the butcher paper, oopsie.  No matter, bone-in short ribs worked just as well.  By the time the ribs are finished cooking, rib bone removal is a snap.  Plus, bones only add to the meaty flavor, right?  Anyway, the recipe calls for 3 pounds of boneless beef short ribs.  Since we are a family of only two who appreciates leftovers, I opted for 1 1/2 pounds of short ribs which probably yielded 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound of meat after de-boning and fat removal.  Begin by tempering for at least an hour outside of the fridge, then salt and pepper the ribs.  Dredge each rib in flour and shake to release the excess flour.  Using a Dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high and begin searing the short ribs.  I seared each rib on all 6 sides until golden brown.  Once browned, using a slotted spoon to keep the juices in the pot, remove the ribs and place in a bowl off to the side.

it smells so good already but we have a looong way yet to go

Add the pearl onions to the rib juices in the pot.  (Make sure they are mostly thawed.  You can totally buy fresh pearl onions and clean a billion of them to get your 10 oz worth, but why bother?)  Cook the pearl onions over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently to coat in the leftover rib juices.  Once browned and caramelized, use the slotted spoon to remove the onions and place them into a bowl for later use.

caramelly beefy onions YES

Lower the heat in the pot and add the garlic.  If you have enough reserved liquid in the pot, scrape up the browned bits while stirring the garlic.  Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the tomato paste to the garlic and cook until the color deepens, 5-8 minutes.

have i mentioned how good it smells in here!???!

Tie the rosemary and thyme sprigs into a bundle with kitchen twine.  Bundling the herbs makes for easy later removal.  Add the herb bundle and wine to the pot with the garlic and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil and let boil for 8-10 minutes, or until wine has reduced by half.  Add water and, again, bring to a boil.  Add the short ribs back into the pot and reduce the heat to a low simmer.  Let simmer for 2 1/2 hours Uncovered.  Now is the time for you to make and chill your dough.  BA uses crisco (or lard) but I use good old butter.  Here is my recipe link for flaky pie dough.  At the 2 1/2 hour point, add the potato and mushroom to the pot and simmer for 30 more minutes or until short ribs are fork-tender and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Hey BA, I’ll see your pearl onions and raise you chopped mushrooms and potatoes!

Remove the rib bones (if you have them) and shred the beef, discarding any large pieces of fat that has not dissolved into the sauce.  Remove the herb bundle and add the shredded beef and pearl onions back into the pot along with the chopped thyme. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

rib removal

Roll out the pie dough on a well-floured surface until it is about 1/8″ thick.  Choose your vessel (I used both a casserole dish and ramekins) and scoop filling to the top of the vessel.

almost time…

Cut the shape of your baking dish out of your dough, leaving at least 1/2″ for overhang.

hangin’

Tuck the overhanging ends under and crimp with a fork.

give it a tuck, crimp, then it’s nighty-night!

Brush beaten egg yolk over top of the pies, then cut small slits to allow steam to escape.

Lastly, sprinkle with coarse salt, such as Maldon or kosher.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until crust is well-browned.

did i mention how well worth the wait it is?

Garnish with thyme sprigs and collect accolades!!!  I’ll be shocked if this isn’t the fanciest, most savory, flavorful, and best tasting beef pot pie you’ve ever eaten.

Short Rib Beef Pot Pie

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours minutes
Bake time: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
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