Beef short ribs are the absolute best cut of beef for slow cooking! The most tender and succulent fall apart beef you will ever have, you’d pay top dollar at fine dining restaurants for a plate of these Braised Beef Short Ribs.
Cooked long and slow in a rich red wine sauce, these beef ribs are easy enough for midweek, and most definitely impressive enough for company. (And after you’d tried these, try the BBQ Beef Ribs next!)
Braised Beef Short Ribs – easy and luscious!
It looks like a lump of coal. Or, as one RecipeTin Family member said, hot chocolate fudge cake. 😩
Photograph challenges aside, this is one of the most luscious slow cooked recipes that I know. The sort of food you will find at fine dining restaurants and quality steakhouses (albeit served alot more elegantly than the “rustic” approach I take 😂).
They’ll charge you top dollar for a single plate of Beef Short Ribs when you can make it at home for a fraction of the cost – and it’s very straight forward.
The red wine sauce in this recipe is amazing. The depth of flavour and the richness you can achieve with so few ingredients is incredible!
Introducing – Beef Short Ribs
But before we dive into how to make it, I just want to show you beef short ribs because it’s a cut of beef that’s not as widely known as others.
Beef Short Ribs are the beef equivalent of pork ribs – but way meatier. They’re called “short ribs” in reference to the part of the cow they are taken from, not because they are “short” (though they certainly are far shorter than full length beef ribs!).
What are beef short ribs used for?
Beef short ribs are a prized cut for slow cooking. Cooking them slowly breaks down the tough connective tissues and the meat becomes fall apart tender. And because they are beautifully marbled with fat, they are more succulent and juicy than other slow cooking cuts of beef such as chuck and brisket.
In Asian cuisine, beef short ribs are sliced thinly so they can be cooked quickly rather than long and slow. Korean beef ribs is a popular example – – marinated thinly sliced beef rib meat cooked on tabletop grills. Any fans of Korean BBQ here? 🙂
Beef short ribs are usually cut into rectangle blocks, as pictured, though sometimes they are more square depending on the width of the bone.
They are also sometimes sold as a rack rather than pre cut individual pieces. In that situation, just cut between the bones to make individual beef short ribs.
How to make Braised Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine Sauce
1. Brown – As with most slow cooked dishes like Beef Stew and Pot Roast, we start by aggressively browning the beef short ribs. This is where we get a ton of flavour on both the beef and in the sauce (from the brown stuff – fond – left on the base of the pot).
2. Soffrito – After that, we slowly sauté garlic, onion, carrot and celery. The longer you take here, the better the flavour base! This is called a soffrito.
Then add tomato paste (to thicken the sauce + a touch of sour) and cook that off for a bit to take the raw edge off.
3. Braising liquid – then add the beef broth/stock, red wine, thyme (optional) and bay leaves (essential).
4. Add ribs – Carefully return the ribs into the pot. Arrange them so they are fully submerged as best you can. If some bits stick out, don’t worry – they will cook just fine too, and the steam keeps those bits nice and juicy.
5. Slow cook – Plonk the lid on and then either slow cook in the oven (my favourite), stove, slow cooker or pressure cooker!
6. After cooking – The liquid will be reduced and the meat should be extremely tender. Check with two forks to ensure it is fall apart. Then carefully remove using a slotted spoon, keeping the meat as attached to the bone as you can (but it will not be attached because if the meat is fall apart, this means the ligaments holding the meat to the bone must be melted).
7. Strain the sauce & adjust – this is optional, to take out the chunks and make the sauce super smooth and glossy, like you get at fine dining restaurants. Strain it back into the pot, then reduce to thicken if needed, and adjust the salt and pepper
8. Transfer ribs onto serving plates, spoon over sauce and serve!
Cheap or expensive wine?
I do not use expensive wines for SLOW cooking. I do not believe you can tell the difference if you made this with a discount end-of-bin $5 bottle or a $50 bottle – and the New York Times agrees…. 🙂
Maybe you could tell the difference using a $100 bottle. But that’s not within my budget!
Non alcoholic sub?
Added to the notes – involves a combination of water, Worcestershire sauce and a bit more beef broth. 🙂
How long does it take to braise beef short ribs?
The time it takes for the beef to become fall apart tender varies depending on what cooking method you use:
Oven – 3 hours at 160C/325F
Stove – 2.5 hours
Pressure Cooker – 1 hour on high
Slow cooker – 8 hours on low, 5 hours on high
My favourite method is to braise using the oven because you get extra flavour from the beef and surface of the sauce caramelising in the oven, even though it’s cooked covered the whole time.
You’ll see in the video when I take the lid off after it comes out of the oven – it looks like a big pot with lumps of coal swimming in a pool of tar that is impossible to photograph nicely.😩
As unattractive as it might look, it’s a big pot of serious deliciousness. Just touch it with a fork, and THIS is what you see ↓↓↓
That’s my dinner right there. Literally my dinner – I made it this afternoon and I’m eating it tonight. Can’t wait!! – Nagi x
Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Braised Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 – 6 beef short ribs , 300-400g/10-14oz each (Note 1)
- 1.5 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves , crushed
- 1 large onion , chopped (brown, yellow or white)
- 2 celery ribs , chopped
- 2 carrots , chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups (500ml) dry red wine (Note 2)
- 2 cups (500ml) beef stock/broth, low sodium
- 2 sprigs thyme (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F.
- Sprinkle beef all over with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add half the ribs and brown aggressively all over (~5 – 7 min in total). Remove and repeat with remaining ribs, then remove.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add onion and garlic into the same pot and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add carrot and celery, cook for 5 minutes until carrot is softened and sweet.
- Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
- Add wine, broth, thyme and bay leaves. Stir until tomato paste is dissolved.
- Return beef into liquid, arranging them so they are submerged (Note 3).
- Cover with lid and transfer to oven for 3 hours, or until the meat can easily be pried apart with forks. (Note 4 Other cook methods)
- Remove beef carefully, keeping the meat on the bone. (Note 4) Cover to keep warm.
- Strain all liquid in the pot, pressing juices out of the onion, carrot etc. (Optional – can skip if you don't mind chunky sauce) Return sauce into pot, bring to simmer and stir. Adjust as necessary – simmer to reduce/thicken, add water to thin, season with salt and pepper if needed.
- Place beef on serving plate, spoon over sauce. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
- Stove – 2.5 hours on low simmer, lid on
- Slow cooker – 8 hours on low, 5 hours on high. Sear beef and sauté vegetables in a skillet, add the liquid, bring to simmer then tip it all into a slow cooker. When beef is fork tender, strain liquid into a large skillet and simmer liquid rapidly for 10 minutes or until it reduces down to a syrup consistency. Optional: spray beef lightly with oil and grill/broil on high for 5 minutes to brown.
- Pressure cooker – 1 hour on high, follow slow cooker directions above. Depressurise naturally for 10 minutes, then release valve.
- Instant Pot – Follow slow cooker directions above but do the searing in your Instant Pot. Cook using slow cooker or pressure cooker function using above times.
– Sauce: reduces by half so should be thickened to syrup consistency. If not, simmer on stove for a bit.
– Sauce excess fat: If the sauce is too fatty for your taste, pour it into a jug and leave for a bit so the fat rises to the surface, then scoop it off.
– Bone attachment: In order for the meat to be fork tender, it needs to be cooked far enough so that the connective tissue holding the meat to the bone becomes tender. So the meat is not really attached. But if you handle it carefully, it stays together.
– Remove bone: At some fine dining restaurants, beef short ribs are served without the bone. The bone is removed, the fatty bit on the underside of the meat that was attached to the bone is cut off and the meat is served by itself. It looks quite posh! 6. Nutrition assumes all sauce is consumed which it probably will not be. Does not take into account any fat discarded from sauce.
Nutrition Information:
More slow cooked fall-apart meat
I’m a big fan of slow cooked meats!!
- BBQ Beef Ribs – slow cooked ribs in a sticky sweet BBQ sauce!
- Beef Stew and Irish Guinness Stew
- Beef Pot Roast with Gravy
- Shredded Beef Ragu
- Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce or Port Braised
- Slow Roasted Lamb Leg or Lamb Shoulder
- Beef Bourguignon
- Osso Buco – traditional Italian slow cooked veal
- Browse the Winter Comfort Food collection!
Life of Dozer
I returned home from grocery shopping to howling coming from the bedroom – the wind had slammed the door shut and trapped him in there (for a whole 30 minutes, max).
He was very relieved to be rescued – upon which I promptly shoved him back in there to re-enact it for this photo 😂
I tried this recipe, and was pleased with the results. The ribs turned out flavorful and tender. I did follow the advice from another recipe and let them refrigerate overnight, which allowed me to scoop off the solidified fat from the sauce the next morning.
Overall though, I’m not sure I would make these again. It’s a fair amount of work for not much meat. I would probably prefer to just make a pot roast, as the flavor is about the same.
Nagi, will this recipe work with boneless short ribs? I could not find any bone in short ribs.
I’ve made it with boneless. Works beautifully
Delicious! I made this last night with a little over a pound, 2.5 hours in dutch oven and came out – fall off the bone! Will make again for family and friends. Thank you for this recipe Nagi 😊
Hello love your site!
I was wondering what wine you would use for this recipe.. a Pinot noir or a cab sav ? Thanks heaps
Whatever you have in the house and like drinking is fine here – I might go the cab sav as its a bigger flavour than the pinot though if I had to choose! N x
Hi Nagi. Thank you for so many delicious recipes. I’m making this today and was wondering after cooking. Could you allow to cool. Refrigerate the whole pot, and reheat following day, then strain and thicken the sauce. Thanks Mark from Wexford Ireland
HI Mark – yes you could! N x
This is essentially beef burgundy but with ribs. There is two much braising liquid (remember quite a bit of water comes out of the veggies) and with a tight filling lid for you Dutch oven (Le Creuset) almost none of the water evaporates, leaving way to much to be reduced in less than 45 minutes. I reduced it by have and used a flour slurry to thicken it.
Really, really good. Definitely made for mashed potatoes, what a combo
Your’s is one my goto’s for reference.
Oh, yeah figured out I’m not much of a thyme person … maybe here and there. Omitted from this recipe
Fantastic! Didn’t change a thing. Wish I could attach the pic ! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m hoping to use this recipe between Christmas and New Years. I’d like to prepare and freeze it. Would that work?
Hi Carol – yes I think that would be fine. N x
Two of my all time fav cooking shows are ATK and Martha. Time and again I’ve seen them use Le Creuset dutch ovens to cook amazing stews and braises in the oven. That brand is way out of my price range so I opted for a pretty red Lodge one. It has sat nestled quietly in the back of my pantry for almost a year. Your recipe has inspired me to take it out, dust it off and give it a whirl. The only item I didn’t have was fresh Thyme so I opted for dried. I was a little worried about the amount of wine in this recipe, however, it cooked down and added a rich flavor without being overpowering. For those of you who don’t drink alcohol, fear not. It will cook out during the braising process. I will be making this again and again. Thank you so much for sharing this delightful recipe with the world!
Lodge is the bomb!! I love their cast iron and have one of their skillets. N x
Honestly the best recipe ever! Made this for my 88 year old uncle because he needed something easy to chew and wow…this was so flavourful and fall of the bone…he said he wants me to make it for his birthday every year from now on!
Nagi – how would you adjust recipe to feed 8 people? Looks deliciousN
Best braised ribs ever! Fall off the bone goodness. Easy to prepare and no baby sitting . My husband ‘s new fav. Thank you
I was inspired to make this recipe because I had braised ribs at a fancy restaurant several weeks ago. I served with mushroom risotto and remaining Malbec wine (which I used in the dish). It was delicious! Overall very easy and basically made in advance of dinner; just pull out of oven 3 hours later and serve. Perfect for fancy dinner at home with friends; guests
Nagi, when recipe says 16oc for example without mentioning a lower temp for fan forced, does that temp apply to all ovens?
tia Richard
Yes Richard, unless I specify for fan to be lower, the temperature is the same for fan or non fan. N x
Absolutely fabulous meal. Came out of the oven perfect.
Accompanied with Jacket potato and garden peas.
One of the best meals I’ve had in an age. Thank you for the recipe.
I have this in the oven now and the aroma is driving me crazy. I know it’s going to be fantastic because I’ve made it before. Nagi, I love your cooking blog! Everything I’ve ever made of yours comes out truly memorable. I have one comment to add. I live in the middle of Pennsylvania. None of my grocery stores sell bone in short ribs. I’ve asked the butchers why and they say it’s so expensive (especially now) that they wouldnt be able to sell, However I just buy the boneless and buy a few inexpensive meaty beef bones to add to the stew while cooking, and voila! It works! I do brown them up while doing the meat cubes though.
Made it today in slow cooker, it was fabulous!
6 hours on high.
I splashed some sweet Sherry in for good measure.
Served it with whole grain mustard mashed potato.
Awesome!
This was the first beef casserole I made in my new Aga. It was excellent and simple to prepare. Will use it again. Thank you.
This recipe is the VERY best. Wouldn’t change a thing. We love you, Nagi!