Welcome to this week’s newsletter! Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is having faith in what I want to accomplish and truly believing that I can accomplish it. While deep in thought I took a step back and asked myself an important question, what does it mean to believe? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary it states to have a firm conviction to the ability of something. Through my journey, being able to believe has served as the foundation of who I am and what Royale Eats has become. Now, we may stumble a few times here and there, I’ve certainly made my fair share of mistakes in the kitchen. However, through learning from my mistakes and persevering through them, many of the recipes that I have been able to share with you have come to be what they are. I want you to apply this principle of believing while you craft recipes and also through your journey in life. You can accomplish anything in this life but first you must believe that you can do it.

Let me know your thoughts on this and where you are on your journey. Feel free to comment and/or message directly at [email protected] so we can chat.

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).

2. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive over the short ribs and massage all over. Season the short ribs generously on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper.

3. In a 6-quart (5.7L) or larger Dutch oven or other oven safe pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, shimmering and moves around easily in the pot, add the short ribs in batches and brown all over, about 2 minutes on each side. Once all short ribs are browned, remove from the pot and set aside on a plate.

4. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and continue cooking for 1 minute until the tomato paste is incorporated with the vegetables. Be sure to scrape up the bits leftover from browning the short ribs at the bottom of pot while cooking the vegetables. These bits are referred to as fond, which provides great flavor to our dish while cooking when incorporated.

5. Pour in the wine, beef stock, and Worcestershire sauce, stir to combine, and increase the heat slightly to bring to a simmer. Add in the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves, once simmering, return the short ribs to the pot and submerge in the liquid, then cover the pot. I recommend placing the meaty side of the short ribs faced down into the liquid.

6. Transfer the pot to the oven and bake for 2 to 3 hours, until short ribs are tender and the meat can easily be pulled off the bone with a fork.

7. Once done, carefully remove the short ribs from the pot and transfer to a plate, keeping the meat on the bone. Cover the plate with aluminum foil to keep the ribs warm.

8. To make the sauce, strain the liquid in the pot through a mesh strainer, remove the herbs and bay leaf, then return the sauce to the pot. Do not discard the onions, carrots, and celery as this can be served with the short ribs. If there is a lot of noticeable liquid fat in the liquid, use a fat separator or spoon to remove the fat (removing the fat helps to prevent having a greasy sauce). Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer until the sauce thickens and has reduced by about half, 10 to 20 minutes.

9. When ready to serve, place short ribs on plates and spoon sauce over as desired. Enjoy!