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Mustard-Beer Simmering Sauce

Classic braised meats like pot roast and slow-cooked short ribs are defined by their rich, deeply flavored braising liquids. Our Mustard-Beer Simmering Sauce captured this deep flavor in a ready-to-use sauce. Tomato paste and soy sauce, while not traditional, helped to boost savory flavor. Pureeing the mixture thickened it without the need for flavor-dulling flour. With this multipurpose braise base in hand, a comforting meal was merely a few steps away.

Makes about 4 cups

This sauce works best with beef.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups beef broth
1 cup porter or stout beer
¼ cup spicy brown mustard
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, celery, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, beer, mustard, soy sauce, thyme sprig, and bay leaf, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and sauce is reduced to about 4 cups, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Discard thyme sprig and bay leaf. Transfer sauce to blender and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.)

How to Use It: Braised Short Ribs with Mustard-Beer Sauce

Our robust Mustard-Beer Sauce was a great match for beefy short ribs; tasters found the slightly spicy, malty notes of the sauce a pleasant departure from the red wine sauces that are typically paired with short ribs. Using boneless short ribs ensured that the sauce didn’t become greasy during braising (boneless ribs are significantly less fatty than ribs with bones). Browning the ribs before adding the sauce produced a flavorful fond, which enriched our bold braising sauce.

Serves 6

Look for ribs that are at least 4 inches long and 1 inch thick. If boneless ribs are unavailable, substitute 7 pounds of bone-in beef short ribs that are at least 4 inches long, with 1 inch of meat above the bone, and bone them yourself.

3½ pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups Mustard-Beer Sauce (see above)

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of ribs on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes; transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining ribs; transfer to bowl.

2. Stir sauce into now-empty pot, scraping up any browned bits. Return ribs and any accumulated juices to pot and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cover, transfer pot to oven, and cook until ribs are tender and fork slips easily in and out of meat, 2 to 2½ hours, gently turning ribs twice during cooking.

3. Using tongs, transfer ribs to serving dish, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest while finishing sauce. Transfer sauce to fat separator and let settle for 5 minutes. Pour defatted sauce into serving bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon 1 cup sauce over ribs and serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

More Ways to Use Simmering Sauces

Drizzle over shrimp, salmon, and chicken breasts before and after cooking
Use as a dip for warm rustic bread, grilled chicken skewers, and spring rolls
Use as a dressing for pasta, rice, and grain salads

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Mustard-Beer Simmering Sauce