Mustard Braised Short Ribs and Demarie Barolo

Posted by foodwineclick on March 30, 2016 · 2 Comments

Barolo: Drama in a Glass
Barolo always impresses. All that power, all the acid and tannins from such a lightly colored wine. It doesn’t feel heavy, but it’s no lightweight patio sipper!

Sunlight streaming through Demarie Barolo

One fascinating aspect of Barolo: all that power from a lightly tinted red wine.

Azienda Agricola Demarie Giovanni
The Demarie winery is located in Vezza d’Alba, a town in the Roero region of the Piemonte in northwest Italy. The family farms 20 hectares of vineyards in the Roero where they produce a variety of wines. The Roero region is just across the Tanaro river from the famous Barolo and Barbaresco regions. The Roero is less famous, it’s a little like the comparison between Sonoma County and Napa County in the US.

European wine laws are very different from those in the US. The Demarie winery is located in the Roero, which is outside the legally defined Barolo DOCG wine region. In order for Demarie to be able to produce a Barolo DOCG wine, the grapes must be grown inside the boundaries of the Barolo DOCG, and the wine must also be made and the aging performed entirely within the region. The grapes cannot ever leave the Barolo region boundaries until the aging requirements have been completed! So what’s a winery to do? Build a second winery in La Morra to be able to produce a Barolo wine.

Beautiful transparent red with a pretty orange rim

Demarie Barolo DOCG 2010 (winery sample, retails $55-70 in the US)
Eye: clear, pale red with an orange rim, classic Nebbiolo (the grape used in Barolo).
Nose: Nose was quite shy, especially on day 1. Fruit was very subdued. Day 2, wine is opening up. Fresh cherries and just a touch of evergreen needles on the forest floor.
Mouth: Medium body, lively acidity, high tannins, though quite refined. Nice long finish of cherries mixed into the astringent tannins. Good advice for any Barolo, I recommend holding the wine longer before opening, at 6 years it is a baby.

Barolo loves braised meats!

Food Pairing for Barolo
Barolo is a wonderful study in contrasts. Even though it has powerful tannins and high acidity, it isn’t a heavy, deeply extracted wine. I like to think of it as light on its’ feet while possessing great power. The best pairings are rich braised meats, stews, and grilled red meats. Rich pastas are also welcome at the table with Barolo.

We paired our Demarie Barolo with mustard braised short ribs. The meat was fall-apart tender, but supported by rich sauce and long simmered shallots and garlic. Lots of garlic. All that rich food was cleansed by the acids and tannins present in the wine. An excellent match!

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Sponsored post: Thanks to Az. Agr. Demarie Giovanni for providing the wine for this post. The pairing ideas and opinions expressed are my own.

Mustard Braised Short Ribs

Servings: 4
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One nice thing with this recipe: you needn’t marinate the ribs overnight to start, which can be very convenient when you’re looking for something to eat tonight. One note on the wine used in the recipe: you needn’t use an expensive wine (NOT a Barolo!), as the varietal character of the wine is given up during the reduction and combination with the other flavors. You’d be well served, however, to choose a wine you’d be willing to drink.

Ingredients

1 750 ml bottle of dry red wine
2.5 lb beef short ribs, cut into 1 bone segments
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
10 shallots, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3 Tbsp country style Dijon mustard
6 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 Tbsp flour
2 sprigs of thyme for garnish

Instructions

Pour the entire bottle of wine into a saucepan, place on the stove over medium heat and reduce to approximately 1 cup.
Trim excess fat from the short ribs
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat on the stovetop
Brown the short ribs well on all sides, do this in batches, don’t crowd the ribs. Each batch will take about 5 minutes.
Remove the ribs to a plate after browning
Brown the shallots and garlic in the dutch oven in the leftover oil and fat from the ribs. Remove the shallots and pour off any remaining fat. Return the dutch oven to the stovetop.
Pour in the reduced red wine, the mustard and mix, scraping up the browned bits in the bottom of the dutch oven. Place all the ribs in the dutch oven, cover and simmer for 1.5 hours. Check after a few minutes to ensure the liquid isn’t boiling vigorously, you want a low simmer. Check occasionally to ensure the liquid doesn’t all evaporate.
After 1.5 hours is up, add the shallots, garlic, and tomatoes to the dutch oven and gently mix. Cover and continue to simmer for another hour.
After cooking, carefully remove the ribs, shallots, garlic, and tomatoes and cover with foil to keep warm.
Let the remaining liquid stand for a few minutes, then carefully skim as much fat as you can off the top of the liquid and discard.
Thoroughly mix 1 Tbsp flour into 1/4 cup cold water with a fork, making sure to leave no lumps.
Raise the heat to medium on the remaining liquid in the dutch oven. Slowly pour about 1/2 the flour mixture into the liquid, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil and check for thickness of the sauce, reduce to a simmer. If needed, add the remainder of the flour mixture and repeat. Note: this step is up to the cook regarding how thick the sauce should be.
Serve over mashed potatoes, or a mashed mixture of potatoes, parsnips and turnips for a more piquant flavor.

Local Sources

Humane, pasture raised, grass fed beef short ribs from Sunshine Harvest Farm. Find them locally at Mill City Farmers Market on Saturday or Kingfield Farmers Market on Sunday.
After visiting the factory in Beaune, Edmond Fallot Mustard has become our house favorite. They even converted Julie to be a mustard lover! Available locally at Surdyk’s Deli.