Beef Short Rib French Onion Soup
Though I love French onion soup, this twist with beef short ribs adds great beef flavor and is a bit more hearty! The crocks are something else to purchase, but at $30 for a set of four which are microwave-, oven-, and dishwasher-safe, and handy for all sorts of things, they are worth it.
Ingredients
Directions
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Mix flour, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in a bowl. Dredge beef short ribs in the seasoned flour mixture. Reserve 3 tablespoons of leftover seasoned flour.
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Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and pan-fry the beef ribs until browned on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove ribs and set aside. Turn heat down to medium and melt butter in the pot; cook and stir sweet onions in the butter until soft and slightly browned, about 15 minutes. Stir constantly and reduce heat if onions begin to burn.
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Stir 3 tablespoons of reserved seasoned flour mixture into the onions and cook and stir for 10 minutes; pour in beef broth and sherry. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until soup is slightly thickened; season with more salt and black pepper, if desired.
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Strip leaves from thyme sprigs and add leaves to the soup. Gently return short ribs to the pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer soup until ribs are tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Stir soup every hour or so.
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Preheat the oven's broiler.
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Ladle soup into oven-safe soup crocks, placing a short rib into each bowl. Top soup with 2 slices of French bread per bowl and sprinkle about 1/4 cup of Gruyere cheese over each crock.
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Place crocks under broiler until cheese is browned and bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes.
Cook's Note:
You can certainly make the soup without short ribs if you like, or substitute beef cubes (like the ones you get for stew) in place of the short ribs if they are expensive or hard to find near you. You can also make this in a slow cooker by browning the meat and caramelizing the onions and adding the flour and sherry as above and then refrigerate overnight. Add to slow cooker in the morning with the thyme and broth and meat according to the recipe, cooking on Low for 8 hours. Then ladle, top, and broil when you get home!
Editor's Note:
The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the breading ingredients. The actual amount of the breading consumed will vary.
Tip
Aluminum foil helps keep food moist, ensures it cooks evenly, keeps leftovers fresh, and makes clean-up easy.
