French Onion Short Ribs

I'm such a fan of an old fashioned recipe for French Onion Soup that this was only a small leap of faith and it turned out to be a good one. French Onion Short Ribs are heavenly!

It's been awhile; I don't think in all the many years I've been blogging that I have not introduced something totally new in such a long period of time; a few revisited recipes from years ago are good to have but not the same. Whether planned or not, I needed a break from the stress of this past year and a good old-fashioned cold made me take it! French Onion Short Ribs was my first foray back and a welcome one at that.

There is a reason that some foods share the notion of being 'comfort food' and these amazing French Onion Short Ribs deserve that moniker. Rich with flavor and warmed in the oven, this dish has sustained me for the past week and yet I was still sorry when I finished that last bowl.

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I have a fabulous recipe for French Onion Soup that is such a great legacy from my hometown of St. Louis and I still love it. I've also made a different version I call the Ultimate French Onion Soup that takes a bit longer but is also well loved. But this is different, introducing short ribs into the mix has created not only the most amazing broth with caramelized onions and carrots, but also includes some yummy beef to sink your teeth into. OMG good.

Lucky for me, I have the sweetest friends in the meat biz. Wouldn't you love to open a box delivered to your door with those goodies shown above? The most gorgeous short ribs, sausage, pork chops and bacon all nicely refrigerated and boxed just for me. I know I'll be making some of my favorite Maple Bourbon Bacon too.

It was a picker upper for sure and I wanted to do justice to the quality of this meat when I made something; how fortuitous that the recipe for this soup pretty much landed in my lap.

A friend on Facebook had just uploaded this photo of her dish after she had completed it and I could almost taste it.

Hers was fit for a crowd and I loved both how she presented it and some of the minor revisions she had made to the original recipe; adding caramelized onion slices and topping the short ribs with cheese really did give it a French Onion Soup feel.

I took it a bit further even. I included diced tomatoes and sliced carrots...and that was a good call, sort of a French onion beef stew with short ribs. My time honored recipe calls for the soup to be refrigerated overnight and I've always trusted it. Not only do the flavors meld during that time, but it's so easy to scoop off the fat that has hardened on the top. It means planning a day in advance but I think totally worth it.

Because her recipe was made in a crockpot, I've included that method in the recipe notes. My version is made a bit different than regular French Onion Soup, finding it easier to serve some cheesy bread on the side, making it easier to cut through the short ribs that are topped with melted cheese.

I imagine a fireplace roaring with a bowl of soup on the hearth in front of it. Make it now; so soul satisfying, and I think a perfect antidote for the cold of winter; and my cold too!