Sous Vide Short Ribs

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Enjoy the flavors of traditional braised beef short ribs using the sous vide! These Sous Vide Short Ribs are tender, succulent and fall-off-the-bone delicious. Serve them with steamed rice for an amazing meal!

If you love melt-in-your-mouth short ribs, you’ll love them prepared sous vide style!

Two sous vide short ribs on a plate with rice and a fork.

Short ribs cooked in a sous vide water bath turn out juicy and tender and loaded with flavor from the cooking liquid and aromatics.

They cook for 48 hours, so it requires some planning in advance, but I promise it’s worth the wait!

If you don’t mind the wait and appreciate juicy, fall apart ribs, you’ll also love these sous vide beef ribs, sous vide beef cheeks or these sous vide oxtails! And for a slightly meatier beefy recipe, this sous vide beef tongue is incredible.

For quicker results, you can always try these braised beef short ribs or these Instant Pot beef short ribs. They’re both delicious recipes!

But, if you’re looking for a more hands off recipe, this sous vide short rib recipe is for you!

Check out the sous vide short ribs story!

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator. This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

Other sous vide beef recipes

Close up of sous vide short ribs on a plate with rice and topped with green onion.

Why this recipe works

Short ribs can be tough, so they’re well suited to the long cooking time in a sous vide water bath. This low and slow process breaks down the connective tissue so the ribs are ultra tender!
Even though the ribs are cooked for 48 hours, there is no risk of them turning out dry or overcooked. The longer they cook, the more tender and juicy they get!
These short ribs are better than a fine dining experience! The flavor and texture are beyond restaurant quality and preparing them at home saves you money too.

What is the difference between beef short ribs and beef back ribs?

Short ribs are from the plate section of the cow and are shorter than beef ribs. They're meatier and marbled with fat. They have a lot of connective tissue, so they can be tough. They’re available as bone-in or boneless.

Back ribs (also called beef spare ribs or beef ribs) are from the rib section of the cow. They’re not as meaty as short ribs but the meat is tender.

Ingredients

For a full list of ingredients and quantities, please refer to the recipe card at the end of this post.

You’ll need 2 pounds of beef short ribs for this recipe. I recommend bone-in for the best flavor.

To make the sauce, you’ll need gochujang, Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing wine), soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic cloves, ginger paste, chicken stock and rice vinegar.

Gochujang is a Korean fermented red chili paste that has sweet, savory and spicy flavors.

Shaoxing wine is a Chinese cooking wine that helps keep the pork tender. If you can’t find this ingredient, you can substitute it with dry sherry.

If you don’t have ginger paste, you can use grated fresh ginger instead.

I like to control the amount of salt in the sauce by using homemade chicken broth or low sodium broth. This crockpot chicken broth is one of the recipes I use often.

I always have rice vinegar on hand for cooking, but in a pinch, you can use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

Step by step instructions

Rub the salt all over the short ribs and let them sit in the fridge, uncovered, overnight.

Heat a sous vide water bath to 155F degrees.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix together.

Place the short ribs and the mixed sauce ingredients in a vacuum seal bag (or ziplock bag if using water displacement) and seal the bag.

Cook the short ribs in the water bath for 48 hours, checking periodically to ensure water is not evaporating (use a lid to prevent evaporation). Also, make sure the bag is not floating.

Remove and pour bag liquid into a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes, remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil.

Heat a skillet on medium high heat. Brown the short ribs on all sides, about 30 seconds per side.

Serve over steamed rice drizzled with the sauce and sprinkled with green onions.

Close up view of the meaty and juicy texture of short ribs.

Expert tips

Make sure you’re cooking with short ribs and not beef ribs. They’re different cuts of beef that require different cooking times in the sous vide.
Removing the air from the bag is an important step that should not be skipped to avoid bacteria entering the bag.
Since we’re cooking these ribs for 48 hours, you’ll need to ensure the water level stays high in the water bath and that the bag stays submerged.
If the water looks like it’s evaporating, just add some more. You can also cover the water bath to help prevent evaporation.
If the bag floats, you can open it, let the air out and seal it again. This works for vacuum seal or ziplock bags.
You can also weigh the bag down with something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight.
For the best sear, pat the ribs dry after they come out of the water bath. You’ll also want to make sure your skillet is hot.
To avoid overcooking and drying out the ribs, only brown them for 30 seconds per side.
Instead of searing in a skillet, you can also grill the ribs over high heat.

Overhead view of short ribs served with rice and chopped green onion.

Common questions

Do you need to let the salted ribs sit in the fridge overnight?

For the best flavor and texture, I don’t recommend skipping this step. As short ribs are a tough cut of beef, this helps to tenderize them and seal in their juices.

What temperature do you sous vide short ribs?

For results that resemble traditional braised short ribs, I recommend setting the temperature of your water bath to 155F degrees.

How long does it take to sous vide short ribs?

At 155F degrees, the ribs will take 48 hours to cook. The longer the ribs cook, the more tender they will get.

Can you sous vide frozen short ribs?

Yes, you can sous vide short ribs from frozen. Since the ribs are in the water bath for 48 hours, there’s no need to add additional cooking time. With that said, since we’re salting the ribs and letting them sit overnight before cooking, I would defrost them first.

Do you need to brown the ribs before serving them?

I don’t recommend skipping this step. Searing the ribs in a hot skillet not only adds flavor, but it enhances the presentation of the ribs. While the ribs are fully cooked when they come out of the water bath, browning adds color.

Close up view of two short ribs garnished with green onions.

Make ahead instructions

You can cook the ribs in the water bath and keep them sealed in the fridge until ready to sear and serve.

To do this, follow the recipe instructions up to the point of removing the ribs from the water bath. Instead of opening the bag, plunge the ribs into an ice bath to cool them down quickly. Once cooled, transfer the sealed bag of ribs to the fridge and store for up to 5 days.

To reheat, heat the bag of ribs in a 155F degree water bath until warmed through. Then, follow the recipe to brown the ribs and finish the sauce.

Storing and reheating leftovers

Leftover short ribs and sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To reheat, place them in the oven on 350F degrees for 5-10 minutes or until warmed through. You can also reheat them in the microwave.

If the leftover ribs are frozen, defrost them in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Serving options

Here are a few of our favorite recipes to serve with short ribs:

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!