Red Wine Braised Beef Short Rib Bourguignon with Horseradish Mash

⏱ 260 min · Serves 4

Slow-braised short ribs collapse into a glossy Burgundy sauce studded with smoky bacon, baby onions and buttery mushrooms — all spooned over a cloud of horseradish mash. It's the classic bourguignon dialled up: deeply savoury, unashamedly rich, and worth every one of the four hours.

Per serving: 1180 kcal · 62.0g protein · 63.0g carbs · 68.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1.6kg bone-in beef short ribs (4 thick pieces)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp beef dripping or vegetable oil
• 150g smoked bacon lardons
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 750ml bottle of red Burgundy or other good Pinot Noir
• 500ml beef stock
• 3 bay leaves, 4 thyme sprigs, a few parsley stalks (tied)
• 200g baby/pearl onions, peeled
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, halved
• 30g butter
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• 1.2kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward), peeled and chunked
• 150ml whole milk, warmed
• 100g butter, diced
• 3 tbsp creamed horseradish (plus more to taste)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley, to finish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan. Pat the short ribs very dry, season hard with salt and pepper, then dust lightly with the flour.
2. Heat the dripping in a large casserole over medium-high heat and brown the ribs on all sides, 10-12 minutes, working in batches. Set aside.
3. Lower the heat, add the lardons and fry until the fat renders and they colour. Lift out and reserve. Add the onion, carrots and celery to the fat and cook 8 minutes until softened and caramelising at the edges.
4. Stir in the garlic and tomato purée and cook 2 minutes, then pour in the wine. Bring to a hard boil and reduce by about a third, scraping the base clean.
5. Return the ribs and half the lardons, add the stock and herb bundle. The liquid should come about three-quarters up the meat. Bring to a simmer, lid on, and transfer to the oven for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the meat yields to a spoon but still holds its shape.
6. Lift the ribs out carefully. Strain the sauce into a wide pan, pressing the vegetables to extract every drop, then discard them. Skim the fat and simmer the sauce until it coats a spoon, 15-20 minutes. Sharpen with the vinegar.
7. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan, colour the baby onions all over with a splash of water and a lid for 8 minutes until tender, then add the mushrooms and remaining lardons and fry hard until golden. Tip into the reduced sauce with the ribs and keep warm.
8. For the mash, boil the potatoes in well-salted water until completely tender, 18-20 minutes. Drain and steam-dry 3 minutes, then rice or mash until smooth. Beat in the butter, then the warm milk, then the horseradish. Season and taste — it should tingle.
9. Spoon the mash into warm bowls, sit a short rib on top, ladle over the sauce, onions and mushrooms, and scatter with parsley.