Pappardelle with Short Rib Ragù

Method

1. Sear the short ribs by seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the ribs for 4-5 minutes per side until deeply browned. Work in batches — don't crowd. Remove and set aside.

2. Build the soffritto by reducing heat to medium. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 8-10 minutes, scraping up the fond. Add garlic and tomato paste, stir for 1 minute until the paste darkens.

3. Deglaze with wine, scraping up every bit of fond. Let the wine reduce by half — about 3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaves, and rosemary. Return the short ribs to the pot. The liquid should come about 2/3 up the sides of the ribs.

4. Braise at 325°F for 3-3.5 hours with the lid on. The meat is done when it falls off the bone with no resistance. Remove the ribs, discard the bones, and shred the meat with two forks.

5. Finish the ragù by returning the shredded meat to the sauce. Simmer uncovered on the stovetop for 15-20 minutes to reduce and thicken. The ragù should be thick, rich, and cling to a spoon. Remove bay leaves and rosemary stems.

6. Cook the pappardelle in salted water until al dente. Toss with the ragù, adding pasta water as needed for a glossy finish. The wide ribbons of pappardelle are designed to hold thick, meaty sauces — every bite should have pasta and shredded beef.

7. Serve in warm bowls with grated Parmesan and fresh parsley.

Equipment

• Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with lid Recommended: Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
• Tongs Also good: Wok Spatula
• Large pot for pasta

Chef Notes

• The most important thing: Sear the short ribs until deeply browned on all sides — 4-5 minutes per side. The fond on the bottom of the pot is the flavor foundation of the entire ragù. A light sear gives you a light-flavored sauce. A dark, aggressive sear gives you a rich, complex one.
• Braise for 3-3.5 hours minimum. The short ribs need time for the collagen to convert to gelatin. When done, the meat should fall off the bone and shred with a fork. The braising liquid should be thick and glossy from dissolved collagen.
• Use bone-in short ribs. The bones add body and richness to the sauce that boneless ribs can't match.
• Shred the meat into the sauce after braising. The ragù should be thick with shredded beef throughout — not chunks of meat sitting in thin sauce.
• This ragù is better the next day. Make it Saturday, eat it Sunday. The flavors meld and the sauce thickens as it cools and reheats.

Common Substitutions

Ingredient	Substitution	Notes
Beef short ribs	Beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks	Less rich but still braises well — same cook time
Pappardelle	Tagliatelle or rigatoni	Wide noodles or tubes that hold thick sauce
Red wine	Beef broth + 1 tbsp red wine vinegar	Loses the wine's fruit but keeps the acidity
San Marzano tomatoes	Quality crushed tomatoes + pinch sugar	San Marzano are sweeter — sugar compensates
3-hour braise	Pressure cooker, 45-60 min on high	Faster but slightly less complex flavor development

What You're Practicing

Short rib ragù teaches you the Italian approach to meat sauce — deep searing, soffritto, wine deglazing, and hours of braising until the meat dissolves into the sauce. This same technique drives Bolognese, osso buco, and any Italian braised meat sauce. The patience required — 3+ hours of slow cooking — is what separates a great ragù from a quick meat sauce. Visit Techniques for braising fundamentals.

Pairing wide pasta with thick sauce teaches you about pasta-sauce matching. Wide, flat noodles (pappardelle, tagliatelle) pair with thick, chunky sauces. Thin noodles (spaghetti, angel hair) pair with light, oil-based sauces. Tubes (rigatoni, penne) pair with chunky sauces that get trapped inside. Understanding these pairings makes every pasta dish better. See Stocks for more on building braising liquids.