Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe
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If you’re a meat lover, this Braised Beef Short Ribs recipe served over creamy polenta is the perfect fall-off-the-bone recipe. You will love the bold flavor in this easy-to-prepare recipe.
There is something about slow-cooked meat that is so tender it just falls off the bone. If you love those same types of foods, then for sure, check out my Osso Bucco or Lamb Shank Recipe.
Short Ribs
Short Ribs are rectangle cuts of beef that are about 2” by 4” in size and come from the chuck area of the cow. They consist of layers of meat and fat and contain the rib bone. They are different from Kalbi Short ribs, as those are crosscut and formally known as flanken cut. Because they are from a section of beef that traditionally renders tougher cuts of meat, it requires long, slow, moist-heat cooking.
Short ribs range in price from $8 – $10 per pound and occasionally can go on sale for $6 – $7 per pound, making it an inexpensive beef recipe. This is one of my all-time favorite dishes and is the perfect meal to serve to guests or for Sunday dinner with the family.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Short Ribs – You will need standard English cut short ribs.
- Mirepoix – A combination of onions, celery, and carrots is used in my recipe. You can use white, sweet, or yellow onions.
- Garlic – Whole garlic cloves will add incredible flavor to the braising liquid.
- Herbs – I like combining fresh thyme, parsley, rosemary, and 1 dried bay leaf.
- Wine – A good red wine like Sangiovese, chianti, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, Bordeaux, or shiraz should be used.
- Broth – Use brodo or beef stock in this braised beef short ribs recipe.
- Tomato Paste – This is used to provide flavor and thicken the braising liquid.
- Fat – You will need some fat, including oil, ghee, clarified butter, or lard, to sear the short ribs.
How to Make Braised Short Ribs
Start by preparing the vegetables.
Tie together the fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf using butcher’s twine. Set it aside.
Season the short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper.
Add the fat to a large Dutch oven pot over medium heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
Place in the ribs taking care not to put them too close to each other, and sear them on all sides until they are golden brown, which takes about 3 to 4 minutes per side on all sides. If you must do this in batches because the pot isn’t quite big enough, so be it.
Set the short ribs to the side on a plate.
Add the prepared vegetables to the pot and continue to cook over medium-high heat until they are well browned, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
Deglaze with red wine and cook until the amount of liquid is reduced by ½.
Stir in some tomato paste until it is completely mixed in. This will help thicken it. If the high heat concerns you at this point, turn it down to medium.
Pour in the stock and then add in the fresh herbs, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Taste it and ensure it is flavorful.
Add in the short ribs and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil.
Place on a lid and cook on a smaller burner on low heat for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until the short ribs become very tender and easily fall off the bone.
Once the ribs are done cooking, gently transfer them to a pot, place them on a lid, and set them to the side to rest.
Drain the sauce, discard the vegetables, and cook it for 10-15 minutes in a separate pot over high heat or until it’s thickened like a thin gravy. It does not need to be thick to add a lot of flavor to the dish.
Now, these braised beef short ribs are ready to enjoy! Tender, flavorful, and slow-cooked to perfection, they’re the ultimate comfort meal.
Chef Notes + Tips
- Other vegetables you can add to the recipe are parsnips, turnips, or celeriac root.
- You can also add or remove any of the herbs in the braising liquid.
- The other cooking option is cooking it in the oven at 325° for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
Serving Suggestions
While these braised beef short ribs are delicious on their own, I love serving them over my mashed potatoes, the rich sauce soaks right in, making every bite even more comforting.
When I want something extra special, I pair it with a creamy risotto for a restaurant-quality meal, or spoon it over a polenta for a Italian touch.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: This is meant to be eaten once it is finished cooking. However, you can keep it warm over very low simmering heat for up to 1 hour before serving.
How to Store: just like my short rib pasta recipe. You can cover and store the short ribs in the sauce in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can cover it and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired number of short ribs to a rondeau or saucepot along with some of the sauce and cover and heat in the oven at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until hot.
More Beef Recipes
Video
Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
- 8 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 pounds beef short ribs, about 6 each
- 2 tablespoons lard
- 2 peeled and large diced yellow onion
- 2 peeled and large diced carrots
- 2 ribs large diced celery
- 4 whole garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups red wine
- 8 cups beef stock
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Tie together the fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf using butcher’s twine. Set it aside.
- Season the short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Add the lard to a large Dutch oven pot over medium heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
- Place in the ribs taking care not to put them too close to each other and sear them on all sides until they are very golden brown, which takes about 3 to 4 minutes per side, on all sides. If you must do this in batches because the pot isn’t quite big enough, so be it.
- Set the short ribs to the side on a plate.
- Add the prepared vegetables to the pot and continue to cook over medium-high heat until they are well browned, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Deglaze with red wine and cook until the amount of liquid is reduced by ½.
- Stir in some tomato paste until it is completely mixed in. This will help thicken it. If the high heat concerns you at this point, turn it down to medium.
- Pour in the stock and then add in the fresh herbs, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Taste it and ensure it is flavorful.
- Add in the short ribs and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil.
- Place on a lid and cook on a smaller burner on low heat for2 ½ to 3 hours or until the short ribs become very tender and easily fall off the bone.
- Once the ribs are done cooking, gently transfer them to a pot, place them on a lid, and set them to the side to rest.
- Drain the sauce, discard the vegetables, and cook the sauce for 10-15 minutes in a separate pot over high heat or just until it’s thickened up like a thin gravy. It does not need to be thick to add a lot of flavor to the dish.
- Serve the short ribs with the thickened gravy.
Thanks for the delicious recipe. I will also use the veg. in the sauce,they will be SO well marinated !! 👏 🎶
My pleasure!
Due to family alcohol issues, will it work to substitute cherry juice + water for the wine?
I would not do that. Just skip it
What to use instead of lard?
olive oil
Wonderfully flavorful and satisfying. Easy to make. Even this newbie to the kitchen found it within my limited skill level, thanks to Chef Billy’s clear step by step instructions. But the greatest surprise was the leftover rich and delicious gravy which was perfect to pour over leftover buttered egg noodles or sip like an indulgent soup.
So glad the instructions were easy to follow! Thanks for giving it a try!
My favorite recipe!! However, I wanted to know if I could make this recipe in my slow cooker? If so, how?
For sure could. after searing, go high for 4 to 5 hours.
Used tallow, cooked for ~3 1/2 hours (perhaps a bit more) just wonderful, tender, flavorful, and the sauce has so much flavor. A keeper, and as a bonus got the short ribs on sale. Trying to figure what to do with remaining sauce, hate for throw it away.
yum!
What’s your opinion about using boneless short ribs?
They’re great!
I’d like to make this for twenty people, is that an option if I browned in batches and then transferred to a roasting pan? Or would it be too much to do at one time…thanks!
Yes! Brown the ribs in batches, transfer to large pans with enough braising liquid, and cook low and slow—just avoid overcrowding.
These turned out delicious but I was on pins and needles because I doubled the recipe. My ribs were large! Also had trouble getting the sauce to thicken up( used a can of tomato paste). The flavors were wonderful. I made them the day before and was glad I did.Everyone loved them!
Appreciate you giving it a try!
Forgive me for taking so long to comment on the Braised Short Rib recipe. I am in poor health and not able to do much (especially standing. I started making the recipe around 3 pm and we finally ate at 10:3o pm. I had to make some changes because both of us have issues; my husband with heart problems and me with digestive issues. First I removed most of the fat as it is not good for either of us in any quantity. It was quite bland because of me not using the fat in it. I added 2 Tablespoons of Better than Bullion beef and 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable better than bullion, making sure I had enough in. Had to send my husband out to get my the red wine as I got rid of the bottle I had, thinking I would never use it {Wrong]. After he left I realized I did not have the fresh herbs I needed. Tried my dry herbs through a mesh and they went right threw the mesh. So now what? I just sprinkled the herbs into the pot as is. I put the fresh veggies through a sieve after they cooked to give me more flavor. I then proceeded to rest again as the ribs were cooking and low and behold it was 10:30 pm. We finally ate watching TV. I have never tasted anything so wonderful to the palate and couldn’t stop eating this absolutely high class dish; my husband agreed. Thank you Billy for this premier dish. I could east it every day as everything fell into place for me. I will be making this time and time again. I am very appreciative you gave me this recipe. I’ve copied many others today and cannot wait to try them all.
Thanks so much for giving it a try! So glad you enjoyed it.