Braised Beef Short Ribs

Braised Beef Short Ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender and incredibly juicy, thanks to the flavorful red wine and beef stock braising liquid.

Update: My family has been raving about these short ribs for years! So I’ve updated this post with tips, tricks and new photos to help you make perfectly tender braised short ribs in the oven for your family. 

The ribs are not hard to make. You can make them over one or two days (if you want to chill them and reheat them to remove most of the rendered fat.)

On day one you brown the ribs, sauté the vegetables, and braise the ribs, covered, in the oven for several hours. Then the ribs refrigerate overnight. The next day, once the fat is removed, you heat the ribs again on the stove for another hour until the sauce is reduced to a thick, delicious, flavorful glaze. Definitely time-consuming, but oh so worth it!

What Are Short Ribs?

Short ribs come from the center part of beef cattle, either the brisket, chuck, plate or ribs. Each beef short rib has a short piece of bone covered in a thick piece of meat. Compared to spare ribs or baby back ribs, short ribs are thicker, meatier and, well, shorter!

Boneless short ribs are also available at grocery stores, and I’ve made this recipe with boneless short ribs using the same cook time. I prefer bone-in short ribs but either will work.

How To Cook Short Ribs

Learning how to cook beef short ribs is easier than you might think. Because these ribs come from the “working part” of the cow, the meat isn’t naturally soft and buttery. In fact, short ribs can be tough if not cooked properly. That’s why the best way to cook beef short ribs is with a long, slow cooking process. 

This recipe is for braised short ribs, which means they cook in flavorful liquid for over 2 hours in the oven. You can also speed things up with Instant Pot short ribs using our recipe from Pressure Cooking Today.  

Both of these recipes yield intensely flavorful, fall-off-the-bone tender beef short ribs. 

Whether I use the Instant Pot or the oven, I like to prepare the short ribs a day ahead of time. I refrigerate them overnight and then I can easily remove excess fat from the surface the next day 

How To Make Short Ribs In The Oven

The key to getting your bone-in short ribs to turn tender and buttery in the oven is to cover them with plenty of liquid. For this recipe, I use a combination of dry red wine and beef stock. 

The wine makes a big difference in the robust flavor of the short ribs However, for an alcohol-free version, you can sub the wine for apple juice or additional beef broth. 

Use an oven-safe braising dish with a tight-fitting lid to keep all of the moist steam inside the pot during cooking. Otherwise, your ribs may dry out rather than turn succulent and juicy.

After braising, you’ll reduce the liquid down to a concentrated, thick sauce to dress the ribs in for serving.

What to Serve with Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

This is the kind of hands-off recipe that leaves plenty of time for delicious side dishes. Here are some of my favorite pairings for beef short ribs:

• Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes the pressure cooker is the best way to cook mashed potatoes! 
• Instant Pot Baked Potatoes from Pressure Cooking Today soak up any excess beef sauce, making the perfect side dish. 
• My Favorite Dinner Rolls are the perfect light and fluffy accompaniment to the deep beefy flavor of these short ribs.  
• Five-Ingredient Stovetop Creamed Spinach from Foodie Crush brings a pop of green freshness to the plate. 

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Yield: 6 servings

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 beef short ribs, bone-in
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 750-ml bottle dry red wine, such as zinfandel
• 6 cups beef stock

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Season ribs to taste with the salt and pepper.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large, heavy-bottomed ovenproof pan over high heat. Add half the ribs and brown on all sides. Remove the ribs to a plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and brown remaining ribs. Transfer ribs to a plate.
3. Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan and sauté, stirring frequently until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the wine to the pan, deglazing the pan, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by three-quarters until thick and slightly syrupy, about 15 minutes on high heat.
5. Return the ribs to the pan, add the beef stock and enough water to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, cover with lid or foil, and place in the oven. Braise, cooking in the oven, until the meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
6. Remove from oven. Use a turkey baster or spoon to remove excess fat from the top of the cooking liquid. (Or, cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.)*
7. Cook on the stovetop over medium heat, uncovered until the liquid has reduced by three-quarters, about 1 hour. Continue to cook, spooning the sauce over the ribs, until the sauce is thick and ribs are glazed. Take care not to burn the glaze; move the ribs around in the pan to keep them from burning.
8. Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice.

Notes

*If you plan ahead, you can chill the short ribs overnight. The next day, remove the excess fat that has solidified at the top and proceed with step 7 above.

Slightly adapted from Simply Recipes

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