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| Slow Cooker Braised Short Ribs |
Let your slow cooker do the work infusing these juicy braised beef short ribs with a tangy, yet sweet flavor.
It seems no one who shops in the grocery store that’s in my town ever buy short ribs. On the last day of sale, there’s always drastic reductions on them, so I’m always right up there stocking up!
For years, I have been trying to duplicate a short rib dish my late husband once ordered in a restaurant. I was reluctant to order the same thing because I am not a huge fan of anything cooked in a tomato-type base. However, when I tasted what he got, I was sorry I didn’t order it.
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| Slow cooking infuses flavor |
I’d seen recipes for years that looked something like what the restaurant made, but all of these involved at least 4 hours running the oven. I’m cheap. Bottled gas costs an arm and a leg. Needless to say I put making these on the back burner.
That restaurant dish came to mind when I was picking through the reduced short ribs. Since I dusted off my crock pots, I figured it may be possible to try to duplicate that recipe again–with some alterations for the effects of slow cooking (namely a watery sauce).
The very first thing I do with any slow-cooked meat is brown it well and deglaze the pan. This results in a much better flavor in the final result. I suggest you don’t skip this step. For that matter, if you can keep an eye on it, then this probably could be cooked entirely on the stove top in a dutch oven. Either way, it will taste fine. I just find the slow cooker infuses flavor better.
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| Juicy ribs with a tangy, yet sweet sauce |
Since these ribs are pretty fatty, what I do here is make them the day before, much like my Classic Pot Roast, and let the fat congeal then just easily lift it off the juice and throw it away. I always chill the gravy/juice in a separate container to the meat–makes fat removal easier with a flat surface!
I prefer a more concentrated flavor, so after removing the fat, I generally reduce the pan juices. This makes these ribs taste so much better. It’s not a necessary step, and you don’t have to do it, but the pan juices will be more watery and not have the more intense flavor.
Slow Cooker Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 lbs about 8 ribs beef short ribs
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- 2 beef stock cubes -or- 1 tub Knorr concentrated beef stock
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 14.5 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 lb peeled baby carrots
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp thyme or 3 sprigs fresh
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Season ribs with salt & pepper to taste.
- Brown short ribs on all sides. Place browned short ribs in a 6-7 quart slow cooker.
- In the same pan you browned the ribs in, add the onion, garlic and mushrooms and saute over medium-low heat until onion is slightly tender (about 3-5 minutes). Deglaze the pan with the 1/2 cup water. Add the stock cubes (or tub of concentrated stock), the entire can of diced tomatoes (including liquid), the bay leaf, carrots and the thyme. Mix well.
- Pour over ribs in slow cooker. Cover and cook on HI 4-6 hours, LOW 8-10 hours. Cooking times are a guide only as slow cookers do cook at different rates. Check at minimum times for each setting for doneness.
- Remove ribs to serving platter, cover with foil and keep warm in a low oven (approx 200 degrees F).
- Remove as much fat from the pan juices as possible (for what I do, see narrative above).
- Transfer pan juices to a large skillet and reduce sauce to 1/2 over medium-high heat. This will take about 5 minutes. This step may be eliminated if you want a less-intense flavor to the sauce.
- Pour sauce over ribs on serving platter. Serve with rice or over mashed potatoes.
Nutrition
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| Slow Cooker Braised Short Ribs |
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Topper says
Great looking recipe!
I would likely replace the 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup red wine 🙂
Thanks for posting it!
Judith Hanneman says
Wine ALWAYS works LOL!!!
Meredith Klein-Hertzel says
I can't wait to try this recipe! I will definitely be trying this with the wine substitute as well 🙂 One question: can you use boneless short ribs too? Thanks for posting!
Judith Hanneman says
Sure Meredith–boneless will work really well. What kind of wine substitute are you using? This I didn't make with wine, just stock, but it sounds interesting.
Meredith Klein-Hertzel says
I'm not sure yet. Was thinking a Pinot Noir. I like using wine with slow cooker meals because it just makes the meat so tender. Do you just substitute you 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup of beef stock?
Judith Hanneman says
EXCELLENT CHOICE!!! I'd just substitute the whole amount of stock with wine. On this I would have used wine, but quite a few people write to me and ask if they could substitute something non-alcoholic, so I figured I would do something with no wine in it. I LOVE cooking with wine; such a special flavor!
Char Whitman says
Looking forward to trying this recipe,Thank You
Judith Hanneman says
Hope you enjoy it!
cutedebbie says
I made your recipe a few weeks back and it was amazing! Making it again tonight for my sisters birthday and again next weekend for another celebration. Great recipe!
Judith Hanneman says
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed them!
justin rutter says
Referring to comment above on substituting wine…it says for whole amount of stock…am I using stock or water at all or just wine? And how much wine? Thank you!
Judith Hanneman says
If you are going to use the concentrated stock jelly or the cubes Justin, just substitute the 1/2 cup water with the wine of your choice.
I think what the lady who was commenting meant was she was going to use ready-made stock and do 1/2 water with 1/2 wine…I'm not sure of the volume she was using so I don't want to mislead you here. That might turn out way too watery, but if you wanted to do that, 1/2 cup stock to 1/2 cup wine would give you more juice but not too much more than the original.
But if you use the ingredients in my directions, just use 1/2 cup of wine. It will turn out fine.
Alexis says
I can’t find concentrated stock. What’s the equivalent to liquid stock?
Judith Hanneman says
They actually stopped selling that which is a shame because it really was great, but for just regular stock, like Swanson’s, use 1/2 cup.
Jan Bruce says
I’ve been looking for a recipe for braised short ribs that produces a meal close to what I get at the Fat Hen in Charleston. Any chance that’s where your husband ordered this? I ask because it’s just about spot on to theirs. I made this exactly according to your recipe (no wine) but served it over broad noodles. It was fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing it.
Judith Hanneman says
Funny enough, he had it in a local diner! It was a dinner special. I didn’t order it because I wasn’t a fan of anything cooked in tomato, but when his order arrived it looked so good I just had to taste it and it was FABULOUS!!! This recipe comes pretty close to that and I am going to try it in the oven because I think that’s the missing key to the diner’s ones tasting so special–and that’s the caramelization of all those veggie sugars that are impossible to get in the slow cooker–but I opted for convenience here and lower energy cost 🙂 Glad you liked it so much and Happy New Year to you & your family!