Crockpot Short Rib Ragu

Someone called me the other day while they were Christmas shopping to see if I had a crockpot. I said no, and then i said, wait, yes I do!! (That's how often I use it...yikes.) My mom gave me some short ribs that she wasn't going to use and I decided to whip out the crockpot. Crockpot cooking is so easy, you just sort of have to get things started and then forget about it for several hours.

Also, with tomato sauce...the longer it cooks, the better it tastes. This sauce is SO rich and flavorful I could cry. It's a bit different than most meaty sauces since it's short rib. I feel like the way it separates sets it apart from other kinds of bolognese sauces that use ground meat.

The recipe makes about 4 cups of sauce so there will be a lot. You can freeze part of it in a ziplock bag and save it for another time! It's a good one to start up earlier in the day since the short ribs have to cook for so long in the crockpot.

What you'll need:

• A crockpot and food proccessor 
• 4 bone-in beef short ribs
• Plenty of olive oil
• Plenty of salt and pepper
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 large white onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced in half
• 2 15oz cans of plain tomato sauce

What to do:

1. Turn the crockpot on to high and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil. Sprinkle a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes, onion and garlic onto the tray and mix around to coat in the oil. Roast for 30 minutes.
3. Pour a spoonful of olive oil into a skillet and turn the stove on to medium-high heat.
4. Sprinkle the short ribs with salt and pepper and sear each side in the skillet. (Cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes until all of the edges are a little browned.)
5. Put the short ribs, roasted tomato/onion/garlic into the crockpot. Add in the plain tomato sauce and little more salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours - or until the meat slides off the short rib bones.
6. After you've removed the bones, you're going to want to blend the  short ribs in a food processor - just for a couple of seconds. They don't shred as easily as other meats like pulled pork, so a food processer will help break things up. Careful though, if you process too long it will turn into a gross meat paste. I used the "pulse" button and I pressed it probably 3 times for a couple seconds each time.
7. If you want the remaining sauce in the crock-pot to be thin and not as chunky, blend that separately in a food processor until smooth and then reunite it with the shredded short rib.
8. Serve it with pasta, or over polenta! I used bucatini pasta - you can buy it at Whole Foods.