Braised Short Ribs with Mushrooms

8 short ribs (12-oz each) trimmed and tied by a butcher
8 shallots
11 cloves garlic
1/4 C. tomato paste
6 oz. pancetta, diced
1/2 C. plus 2 T. cognac or brandy
1/3 C. all-purpose flour
2 C. red wine
1/4 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 C. chopped fresh parsley
10 oz. oyster mushrooms, trimmed
10 oz. cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved

1. Preheat the oven to 300.  Bring the short ribs to room temperature.  Meanwhile, pulse the shallows, 10 cloves garlic, and tomato paste in a food processor to make a paste.  Cook the pancetta in a large ovenproof pot over med-high heat until crisp, about 7 minutes.  Transfer the pancetta and all but 2 T. drippings to a bowl.

2. Add the shallot mixture to the pot and cook, stirring until brown, about 6 min.  Reduce the heat to med and add 1/2 C. cognac scraping up the browned bits.  Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring about 5 more minutes.  Gradually stir in the wine until smooth.  Add the porcini, thyme, bay leaves and 1-1/2 t. salt.

3. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, place in the pot and add water to cover.  Trim a piece of parchment paper so that it rests on the surface of the meat.  Cover the pot with the lid and transfer to the oven.  Cook until the meat is fork-tender, about 3 hours.

4. Remove the meat from the sauce and transfer to a plate.  Set the sauce aside, about 10 minutes, then skim off the fat.  If the sauce is thick, add a splash of water.  Discard the bay leaves, season the sauce with salt and pepper and add the remaining 2 T. cognac  Return the short ribs to the sauce and keep warm over low heat.

5. Chop the remaining 1 clove garlic, then mash with 1/2 t. salt using the flat side of a knife, add the parsley and chop.  Heat the pancetta and the reserved drippings in a skillet over med-high heat.  Add the oyster and cremini mushrooms and cook until brown, about 10 minutes.  Toss in the parsley mixture,  Untie the short ribs, divide among plates and top with the sauce and mushrooms.

**Need to figure out what the "trimmed and tied" would be to do that myself.  The way we get this not trimmed and tied as far as I can tell, there is a lot more fat than I would like that gets cut off.