Slow Cooker Red Wine Wagyu Short Ribs

These started out as a £7 pack of British Wagyu short ribs, an onion and a fairly reckless amount of red wine. I had no beef stock, so 500ml of wine went in. Eight hours later the bones had come away, the beef was meltingly tender and the gravy was outrageous. Sometimes keeping things simple really does work.

I served the ribs with garlic mash and minted peas. The mash soaks up the red wine gravy, and the peas cut through all that richness. As far as the garlic goes, my rule is simple: there’s no such thing as enough.

Serves: 2   Prep: about 15 minutes for the beef   Slow cooker: 7–8 hours on LOW   To serve: allow about 45 minutes for the mash and peas.

Ingredients

For the Wagyu short ribs

• 588g bone-in British Wagyu short ribs
• 1 whole onion
• 500ml red wine
• A generous sprinkling of dried rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A little oil for frying

For the garlic mash

• 600g floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward (approximate amount for two)
• 2 whole bulbs of garlic
• 60g butter (approximate — add to taste)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• Just a splash of milk — enough to loosen it, not drown it
• A little olive oil for roasting the garlic
• Salt and black pepper

For the minted peas

• 250g frozen garden peas (approximate amount for two)
• 1 tbsp dried mint
• Maldon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Slow-cook the beef

1. Start with the onion. I peel and halve it, slice each half about 3mm thick, then cut those slices in half again. That gives me short, fairly even pieces instead of great long strands.
2. Brown the ribs. I pat the beef dry, season it with salt and pepper and sear the meaty sides in a hot frying pan with a little oil. I want plenty of colour before the slow cooker does its work.
3. Fry the onion. Into the same pan it goes, picking up all the browned bits from the beef. I cook it until it starts turning golden.
4. Into the slow cooker. I put the ribs in bone-side down, heap the onions on top and add a generous scattering of dried rosemary.
5. Pour in the wine. All 500ml of it. No stock. The beef doesn’t need to be submerged.
6. Leave it alone. Lid on, LOW for 7–8 hours. By the end, a fork should slide into the beef without resistance, and the bones may come completely free. I lift the beef out carefully because it can fall apart under its own weight.

If I’m making it the day before

I save every drop of the cooking juices. Once the beef is done, I transfer the meat and gravy into shallow containers and get them into the fridge promptly, within two hours. I don’t leave them sitting in the switched-off slow cooker all day.

Once cold, the fat rises and sets on top of the gravy. I spoon off the thick layer but leave a little behind for flavour. To reheat, I gently warm the gravy in a covered pan with the ribs nestled in it, adding a splash of water only if I need to. I spoon the liquid over the meat and heat it until it’s piping hot all the way through, ideally 75°C in the centre. No hard boiling: the beef is already tender enough.

Make the garlic mash

I didn’t weigh the potatoes or butter when I made this, so those quantities are a guide. The two roasted bulbs of garlic and the two mustards are what went into the mash.

1. Roast the garlic. I heat the oven to 180°C fan, slice the tops off both garlic bulbs, drizzle with a little olive oil and wrap them in foil. After around 35–45 minutes they should be soft enough to squeeze straight out of the skins.
2. Cook the potatoes. I peel them, cut them into roughly even pieces and boil them in salted water until tender, usually 15–20 minutes. Then I drain them properly and let the steam escape.
3. Garlic first. I squeeze both roasted bulbs straight into the potatoes. Not two cloves. Two whole bulbs.
4. Mash before butter. This is the important bit: I mash the potatoes and garlic as much as I possibly can before any butter goes in. Really work at it.
5. Add the flavour. In goes the butter, a teaspoon of Dijon, a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard and just a splash of milk to loosen it. Then I season to taste.
6. Keep going. Mash until your arms hurt, and then mash some more.

Make the minted peas

1. Cook the peas. I boil the frozen peas in water for around 2–3 minutes, until hot and still bright green, then drain them well.
2. Mint and seasoning. I toss the hot peas with a full tablespoon of dried mint, Maldon sea salt and black pepper. That’s it — simple, fresh and exactly what I want next to the rich beef and mustardy garlic mash.

Get it on the plate

I start with a generous spoonful of garlic mash, carefully settle the Wagyu on top and spoon over plenty of the dark red wine gravy. Minted peas go alongside.

The original 500ml of wine gave me a relatively small amount of very concentrated sauce. I was tempted to add more when I reheated it, but after tasting it I didn’t bother. It was already exactly where I wanted it.