Beef Short Rib and Onion Cottage Pie
- ⏱ 4 hours 30 minutes
- Hard
- Serves 4
- 👥 2-cook recipe
Tender beef short ribs are braised with vegetables, wine and stock, combined with caramelized onions and carrots, then topped with mash, bone marrow and rosemary.
Adapted from The Staff Canteen.
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Beef Short Rib and ...
0/0
COOK 1COOK 2
1Cut the ribs
With a large knife, cut through the meat that lies...
2Make the beef
3Plate and serve
+ 30 more steps in the app
Beef Short Rib and ...
0/0
COOK 2COOK 1
1Cut the ribs
2Make the beef
Peel 2 carrots and trim the leek, chop these...
Cut the head of garlic crossways in half
Pick the leaves from half of the thyme, leaving the...
3Plate and serve
+ 30 more steps in the app
Ingredients
- 4 kg beef short ribs
- 6 carrots
- 1 leek
- 1 head garlic
- 1 bunch thyme
- 6 onions
- vegetable oil, to taste
- 4 star anise
- 10 g peppercorns
- 100 ml port
- 300 ml red wine
- 4 l brown chicken stock
- 4 centre-cut bone marrow (cleaned of any sinew)
- 1 bunch rosemary
- 3 King Edward potatoes
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 100 ml milk
- 50 g butter
The full plan
Split between two cooks — each step says who's on it.
1. Cut the ribs COOK 2
- With a large knife, cut through the meat that lies between each rib bone so that you have 8 pieces in total, or ask your butcher to do this for you
2. Make the beef COOK 1
- Peel 2 carrots and trim the leek, chop these vegetables into rough dice
- Cut the head of garlic crossways in half
- Pick the leaves from half of the thyme, leaving the rest as whole sprigs
3. Brown the ribs COOK 2
- In a very large flameproof casserole, heat some vegetable oil over medium heat until very hot, Lightly season the ribs with salt and pepper, place them in the casserole and color lightly on all sides
- Remove and set aside on a wire rack placed over a tray
🤝 Cook 1 hands the flameproof casserole to Cook 2.
4. Cut the potatoes COOK 1
- Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks
5. Boil the potatoes COOK 1
- In a saucepan of cold salted water, place the potato chunks, cover and bring to the boil
- Boil gently for about 20 minutes until tender
6. Caramelize onions COOK 2
- In a saucepan, cook the peeled and thinly sliced onions with a drizzle of vegetable oil over medium heat, Do not add any seasoning
- Cook until the onions caramelize completely, up to 20 minutes
7. Cook the vegetables COOK 1
- Place the empty casserole back on the heat and add the roughly chopped vegetables, the peppercorns, garlic halves and thyme sprigs
- Cook for 5 minutes or until golden
🤝 Cook 2 hands over the ribs.
8. Braise the ribs COOK 1
- Pour the port and wine into the casserole and allow to reduce by three-quarters
- Return the ribs to the casserole with any juices that have gathered in the resting tray, cover with the stock and bring to a simmer
- Skim off any impurities, cover the surface of the liquid with a lid of parchment paper, and place the casserole in the oven
- Cook for just under 3 hours until the meat is tender and falling off the bones
9. Cook the carrots COOK 2
- Peel and thinly slice the 4 remaining carrots
- In a saucepan over high heat, cook them with a splash of vegetable oil, season with salt, and add the star anise
- Cook for 2 minutes
- Turn the heat down to medium and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the carrots just start to soften
10. Reduce cooking liquid COOK 1
- Remove the casserole from the oven and leave to cool
- Take the meat out and set aside
- Pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a clean pan and reduce by half, skimming off any impurities during the process
11. Mash the potatoes COOK 2
- In a separate saucepan, bring the milk and butter just to the boil
- Drain the potatoes in a colander, stand the colander over the saucepan for a few minutes so the potatoes steam in their own heat, Mash the potatoes with a masher, or put them through a potato ricer or Mouli
🤝 Cook 1 hands over the potatoes.
12. Combine the filling COOK 1
- Remove the meat from the bones, discarding any sinew, and shred the meat into long strips with your fingers
- Combine the reduced cooking liquid with the shredded meat, caramelized onions, carrots without the star anise, and thyme leaves
🤝 Cook 2 hands over onions.
13. Finish the mash COOK 2
- Fold in the hot milk and butter and beat well
- Check the seasoning
- Put the mash in a piping bag if you have one, and set aside at room temperature until ready to use
14. Preheat the oven COOK 1
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7
🤝 Cook 1 takes over at the oven.
15. Assemble the pies COOK 2
- Divide the mixture equally between 4 individual cast iron or earthenware dishes and place a piece of bone marrow in the middle
- Pipe the mash around the bones, or use a spoon if you do not have a piping bag, and fill the bones with sprigs of rosemary
🤝 Cook 1 hands over the mixture.
16. Plate and serve BOTH
- Place the dishes in the oven and cook for 12 minutes or until the mash is golden
- Serve hot, with the rosemary set alight
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