Holiday recipe: Christmas short ribs from Fox & the Knife's Karen Akunowicz (2024)

Food

The James Beard Award winner walks us through how to make this flavorful dish.

By Shira Laucharoen

December 7, 2023

When you think of what meal to serve your family and friends on Christmas Day, you may need some inspiration. We asked Boston area chefs for their favorite holiday dishes and a recipe to share with Boston.com readers.

Karen Akunowicz, chef and owner of Fox & the Knife and Bar Volpe in South Boston, offered Christmas short ribs. According to Akunowicz, the dish is something that you can prepare the morning of Dec. 25 or the day before. She described how it fits in with her own family’s traditions.

“We get up on Christmas morning, we open presents, we sit around [having] bagels and coffee — and then, I make the short ribs. I get them in the oven,” Akunowicz said. “And they’re going and braising, before anybody even comes over for a midday meal… These short ribs definitely say love… but you get to actually spend time with your family.”

The Christmas short rib recipe appears in Akunowicz’ cookbook, “Crave: Bold Recipes That Make You Want Seconds, which was published this past September. She told Boston.com that she has enjoyed making them for her family over the past few years. Braised in tomato and red wine, and served with polenta, the short ribs began as an addition to the meal and turned into the star of the show.

“Everyone wants to make sure that there’s leftovers,” Akunowicz said. “Everyone brings Tupperware. It really has become its own very special thing during Christmas for my family.”

Akunowicz won a James Beard Award in the category of Best Chef (Northeast) in 2018. Her first restaurant, Fox & the Knife, inspired by her time spent in Modena, Italy, was a James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant in 2020. She has also appeared on television, in shows such as “Top Chef” and “Tournament of Champions,” and is a recurring judge on “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Guy’s Grocery Games.”

Being outspoken about her identity as a queer femme has been important to Akunowicz. During her time working in the industry, she has experienced the diversity of the people employed in restaurants, whether that be racial, sexual, or otherwise. Akunowicz added that she would like to see these communities represented in leadership roles.

“The folks who work in restaurants span all of this diversity, but it has been a long time coming to start to see ownership and leadership [that] mirrors that,” she said. “… My number one mission is to help make sure that the folks owning and running restaurants look far more like the folks who are working in restaurants, who are the heart of our restaurants.”

How to make Christmas short ribs, according to Fox & the Knife’s Karen Akunowicz:

Ingredients

• 5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable or other neutral oil
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 3 medium onions, medium diced
• 2 medium carrots, medium diced
• 2 medium celery stalks, medium diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 fresh or dried bay leaves
• One 750-ml bottle dry red wine (use an inexpensive bottle you love the taste of)
• 1 cup crushed or pureed San Marzano tomatoes
• 6 cups low-sodium beef or chicken stock

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, brown the short ribs on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer the short ribs to a plate.
3. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery to the same pot, and cook over medium-high heat. Season with 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and the thyme, sage, rosemary, and bay leaves. Stir often until the onions are browned, about 8 minutes.
4. Add the wine and tomatoes, and reduce by half, about 10 minutes.
5. Next, add the short ribs with any accumulated juices and then the stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium, and simmer for 10 minutes. Cover and place in the oven to roast for 3 hours.
6. Cook until the short ribs are tender and falling off the bone. Transfer them to a platter. Strain the sauce from the pot into a measuring cup. Spoon away, and discard the fat from the surface of the sauce; season the salt to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Serve with polenta, saffron risotto, or mashed potatoes.

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