Peel and roughly cut the onion and carrot into chunks.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the carrots and onions and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to the bottom of a heavy casserole dish.

Turn up the heat to high and add the beef. Use the carving fork to turn the meat so that it is seared on all sides.

Place the beef short ribs on top of the vegetables, so that they act as a trivet.

Add the red wine to the frying pan over a medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes to deglaze the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape any crusty bits from the bottom, as these all add extra flavour to the finished dish.

Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the mixture to the beef.

Season with the salt and pepper and add the fresh thyme.

Place the lid on the dish or cover tightly with foil if using.

Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F / 130 FAN / Gas 2.

Cook the beef ribs for about 2.5 hours.

Place the meat in a warm place covered with foil while making the sauce.

Strain the cooking juices into a jug and discard the thyme and vegetables. Let the liquid settle for a few minutes and the fat will rise to the top.

Carefully remove the fat with a spoon into a bowl. Chill to set and discard later.

Place the remaining liquid in a saucepan over a medium heat. Check the seasoning and consistency of the sauce.

Either cook for a few minutes to reduce the sauce until it is thicker or use cornflour. Simply mix a teaspoon of cornflour with equal amounts of water and stir into the mixture until it thickens. Repeat the process if required.

Serve the sauce with the meat.