Chop butter into 1/2 pieces. Place butter and shortening in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, gather the rest of the ingredients.

Place flour, butter, shortening, salt in the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse a few times to combine, make sure the butter pieces aren’t too big. If they are, simply pulse a couple more times until they resemble coarse meal)

Add water, and at this point I usually like to mix with a spatula, so I don’t overwork the dough.

But you can also add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse the food processor once or twice in between.

You will obtain a shaggy dough. Don’t overwork it because it will become tough if you knead it or anything like that.

If your dough is not entirely incorporated yet, transfer it to a floured counter and gently cut dough in half, place one half on top of the other, and pat it down to combine. Repeat this until you see no more strikes of dry flour, or pieces of dough that aren’t incorporated.

Divide dough in half and cover with plastic wrap, place it in the fridge to rest for about 4 hours or more.

Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of salt, and one teaspoon of freshly ground pepper over ribs, rub all over.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan that will go in your oven (I use a dutch oven).

Once olive oil is hot, add short ribs and sear a few minutes per side.

Remove ribs to a plate. Set aside.

Add pancetta to the pan, fry until crispy.

Add onions to the pan, sauté until onions are translucent.

Pour wine in the pan, bring to a boil and scrape the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon.

Add garlic and tomatoes to the pan. Bring to a boil.

Let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add Worcestershire sauce, and balsamic vinegar to the pan.

Now, grab a bit of this liquid that is simmering in the pan, about 1/4 cup and scoop it into a small bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the liquid you scooped. Mix with a whisk to combine and make smooth. Add this back into the pan. The reason why you do this, is because if you simply add the flour to the pan, it will be lumpy.

Finally, add 12 ounces of broth to the pan.

Mix until combined and bring to a boil.

Add more seasonings, as preferred. You can add more salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, or fresh thyme. I added all of them. My short ribs definitely needed more salt, which is why you should taste at this point and find out if you want more seasoning in the pan.

Place dutch oven in the pre-heated 250F oven.

Braise in the oven for about 4-5 hours, until ribs are falling apart.

Remove ribs from the oven once they are done cooking.

Wait for them to cool down. You can even make this the day before.

Shred ribs and mix them with a bit of the sauce from the pan, to keep them juicy, but you don’t want them to be too wet either. Because then the pie will be soggy.

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Roll out one of the dough pieces on a floured surface, until it’s 1/4” thick.

Place on the bottom of a pie or tart pan.

Place cold, or room temperature (but preferably cold) short rib filling in the bottom of the pie.

Roll out the second dough piece.

Place on top of the filled pie bottom.

Crimp edges together.

At this point, I stick my pie in the freezer for about 15 minutes, while I pre-heat the oven to solidify the fat in the dough. You can bake the pie straight without chilling it, but I don’t like missing this step. Having the fat in the dough be solid once it enters the oven will make sure that the butter won’t start to immediately melt. If the butter in the dough is cold, then it will give a chance for the gluten formations to set, and will provide your pie with a better structure.

Mix 1 egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water.

Brush over pie.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown on top.

Let it cool down at least for 30 minutes before cutting into it.

Store in the fridge, covered for up to 3 days. I haven’t frozen this pie, but if I did I would freeze the assembled pie before baking, for up to 2 months. And then bake it straight from the freezer.