Wine-Braised Short Ribs

Preheat oven to 350°. Season short ribs on all sides with cracked black pepper and the kosher salt.

Heat a 6-quart Dutch oven over high. Pour in olive oil and wait a minute or two, until oil is almost smoking. Sear short ribs in the pan on each side until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes. (You may need to work in batches. It's important not to crowd the pan.) Remove browned short ribs to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, celery, carrot, thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Cook until vegetables just begin to caramelize, 6 to 8 minutes. Add wine and balsamic vinegar. Increase heat to high; boil to reduce the liquid by half, about 10 minutes.

Add stock; bring to a boil. Arrange ribs in a single layer in Dutch oven. (The stock mixture should almost cover them.) Cover tightly with aluminum foil or a tight-fitting lid. Transfer to oven. Bake 2 hours. Remove lid and turn ribs. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour more, turning ribs a couple of times. To check for doneness, pierce a short rib with a paring knife. The meat should yield easily to the knife. Taste a piece if you are not sure. Let ribs rest 10 minutes in their juices, then transfer them to a baking sheet and cover with foil to keep warm.

Strain the cooking liquid, pressing down on the vegetables to extract all the juices. Skim fat from the sauce. If the sauce seems thin, return it to the Dutch oven and boil gently over medium-high 5 to 10 minutes to thicken slightly. Adjust seasoning to taste with additional salt and pepper.