Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe

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These Braised Beef Short Ribs are melt-in-your-mouth tender and perfect served with an incredible creamy onion gravy. If you're looking for a meal to impress that doesn't take much effort, this is it!

This recipe was originally published in April 2018. It has been updated for photos and content. 

Guys, these Braised Beef Short Ribs are so delicious. Seriously. After a slow braise for hours in the oven (while you spend your day binging on Netflix or whatever you do), the beef becomes fall off the bone, melt in your mouth tender.

Spoon a bit of the onion cream sauce on top and welcome that mouthgasm. Seriously though, this stuff is decadently good.

Plus, it may seem like a super fancy, difficult meal to make, but it's totally not. It's actually quite easy, and much of the cooking is hands off. Especially if you make these air fryer biscuits to go with them!

What is Braising?

Braising is a method of slowly cooking food in a covered pot (or any covered heatproof container) in a small amount of liquid and aromatics. While typically used to tenderize tougher cuts of meat, it can also be used to cook vegetables.

You could also consider sous vide cooking, like in these sous vide short ribs, to be braising as it is slow cooking in liquids and aromatics.

Meats are usually browned first, then added to the pot with a very small amounts of liquid (meat should never be swimming in liquid) and slow cooked with the lid on until tender (usually several hours).

Ingredients

Well, short ribs first off. You should be able to find them at your local grocery store.

What Are Short Ribs?

Short ribs are just that - they are a short portion of the rib bone covered in meat. The meat tends to be tough and is best when slow cooked (braised) to allow it to become tender and melt-in-your-mouth.

**For more information on beef short ribs, read this ARTICLE.

For the white wine, any will do (yes white wine, not red for this recipe). I buy the cheap stuff because I don't drink, but if you do drink, use whatever you have, as long as it's a dry white wine.

I always recommend making your own chicken broth (learn how to make it in the slow cooker here), but in a pinch I really like using this Better Than Bouillon (affiliate link). It has a nice deep flavor that mimics (kind of) homemade broth.

Whenever I brown beef, I like to brown it in bacon fat if I have any. If you don't have bacon fat, you can use any other animal fat or high smoke point oil (canola, vegetable, avocado, etc) to brown the short ribs.

Step By Step Instructions

First off, let the beef sit out about an hour before cooking at room temperature. This helps create the nice crust when we get to the browning stage.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Heat the bacon fat (or fat of choice) in a dutch oven or large cast iron skillet and season the short ribs generously with salt and pepper.

**I got the dutch oven I use from Lodge at Target and am loving it. I had my heart set on a far more expensive one, but this on turned out to be awesome. For less than 20% of the cost of some of the fancier brands, I got this guy for about $40. Totally worth every penny! If you're looking for a new dutch oven, you can buy the one I use HERE (affiliate link). 

Add short ribs to the pan and brown on all sides until a nice crust forms; about 2-3 minutes per side.

Remove the beef from the pan and pour/wipe out the excess grease. Add the garlic, shallot and thyme and cook until soft.

Then add the wine and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add the broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil.

Add the short ribs back in, remove from heat, cover, and place in the oven to cook for 3 hours.

When the short ribs are done, the meat should still be on the bone, but easily pulled off with a fork.

How to Make Onion Cream Sauce

About 10 minutes before your short ribs are done braising, heat the butter for the cream sauce in a skillet over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook until they start to brown.

Add the broth and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Then add the cream, bring to a boil and simmer about 5 minutes, or until desired consistency reached.

Season with salt and pepper and serve drizzled over the short ribs.

Serving Options

Now I like to serve my white wine braised short ribs over polenta, but it would also be wonderful over potatoes or pasta. Try these awesome side dishes:

• Sauteed Broccolini is a perfect side dish for rich beef short ribs;
• Some good old Garlic Mashed Potatoes or even the Mashed Sweet Potatoes are a great option;
• Traditional Creamy Polenta from A Couple Cooks.
• Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower is incredible, as is this Roasted Asparagus - both great options!

Expert Tips

1. Letting the short ribs come to room temperature is key in helping them form a nice crust when browning;
2. Check the short ribs every hour and spoon the liquid over the top to keep them moist;
3. Start the onion gravy about 5-10 minutes before the short ribs are done cooking;
4. Substitute 2 tablespoons of minced onions for the shallot if you can't find shallots;
5. Fresh thyme should be used - dry does not have the fresh flavor that we want in our braising liquid.
6. Replace the white wine with chicken broth if desired - note the alcohol in the wine will cook off during the braising process.

Slow Cooker Instructions

Follow the steps for browning the short ribs, then place them in the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients (not the gravy ingredients). Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. I prefer to cook them on low as I feel the results are more tender.

Pressure Cooker Instructions

Follow the steps for browning the short ribs, then place them in an Instant Pot with the remaining ingredients (not the gravy ingredients).

Pressure cook them on high for 60 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then use the quick release to release any remaining pressure.

Make the gravy while the pressure is releasing in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker). Serve drizzled with braising liquid and gravy.

Check out this recipe for Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs.

Freezing Options

They can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before heating.

Reheating Instructions

Reheat short ribs in the microwave, or in a 350F degree oven for 5-10 minutes, until warmed through.

More Incredible Beef Recipes

• Easy Beef Stroganoff;
• Lemongrass Beef;
• Instant Pot Corned Beef;
• Crispy Mongolian Beef;
• Beef Rendang (Malaysian Beef Curry).

Did you make these Braised Beef Short Ribs? Rate the recipe and leave me a comment below and let me know how it turned out!