Olive oil - 5 table spoons
Beef short ribs (bone in) cut into 3 inch cubes - 4 pounds
Salt, pepper
Yellow onion, cut in wedges - 1 large
Thyme - 10 springs
Garlic, peeled and crashed - 3 cloves
Flour - 1/4 cup
All natural cranberry juice (sugarless) - 2 cups
Sweetened cranberry cocktail - 1 cup
Maple syrup - 2 teaspoons (optional)
Dry red wine, such as Merlot - 1 cup

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• In a Dutch Oven or other large and heavy oven-proof pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat.
• Season short ribs with salt and pepper.
• In batches, brown ribs on all sides and transfer to a plate.
• Once all browning is done, pour off oil from the pot, and wipe loose bits out of the pot with a paper towel.
• Reduce heat to medium-high and and add remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to pot.
• Add onion, garlic, and thyme.
• Cook, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add flour and stir onion to coat.
• Whisk in cranberry juice, cranberry cocktail, maple syrup (if using) and wine.
• Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
• Return ribs to pot, cover, and transfer to oven.Bake until ribs are easily pierced with a tip of a pairing knife, about 3 hours. I gave up baking them after 1.5 hours as it was already 9pm and I was hungry.With a slotted spoon, transfer ribs to a large platter.
• Strain liquid into a fat separator, let sit briefly, and return to pot, discarding fat. Or, as I did, skim off fat with a spoon. It'll take longer, but I don't have a fat separator.
• Bring the liquid to boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to a sauce-like consistency, about 10 minutes.
• Strain again, season with salt and pepper if needed and pour over ribs.