Braised Short Ribs
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Best ever red wine braised short ribs. So tender, so fall-off-the-bone amazing. Serve over mashed potatoes – SO SO GOOD.
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Red wine braised short ribs – the ultimate fall-off-the-bone comfort food this winter (or any time of the year, really). These bad boys are cooked low and slow in the oven with an initial sear for that caramelized goodness and sealed in moisture (very important not to skip this step).
Serve for company, for friends, for family, or for date night. It finishes just under 4 hours (with minimal prep), making this the most perfect make-ahead meal. The end result is a cozy, comfort-in-a-bowl, fancy meal with the least amount of work. Truly restaurant-worthy right at home.
tips and tricks for success
- Patience. Making short ribs is a labor of love. Do not try to rush the process and increase the heat for faster results. Low and slow is the name of the game here.
- Use a heavy pot. A heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, is ideal here for slow cooking and even heat distribution. A tight fitting lid also traps all the lovely moisture inside, yielding the most tender short ribs.
- Sear the meat. Searing the short ribs first will add all the extra, deeper flavors here, sealing all the juices inside.
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry red wine (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
what to serve with braised short ribs
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Braised Short Ribs: Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend using bone-in short ribs as they have a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful beef but boneless short ribs can be substituted.
Additional beef stock can be used for red wine as a non-alcoholic substitute. Stock will be less acidic and more mild in flavor than red wine.
A dry red wine is best, such as cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 pounds bone-in short ribs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 1 ½ cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Season beef with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Working one at a time, dredge in flour.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Working in batches, add beef and cook until evenly browned, about 10-15 minutes; set aside. Drain excess fat, reserving 2 tablespoons in the Dutch oven.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste and garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in wine, beef stock and balsamic vinegar, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in thyme, rosemary and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer. Top with beef, bone-side up.
- Place into oven, covered, and bake until beef is fork-tender, about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Set beef aside; keep warm.
- Skim any remaining fat from surface and discard. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve beef with juices immediately with mashed potatoes, if desired.
Video
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This was a huge hit with the teens! Such an easy, cozy comfort meal!
6 hrs min cook time, especially at altitude! Flavor is amazing
In the oven now!!! Love the smells, can’t wait to taste it!!!
Excellent recipe. Will be making again!
Oh my goodness!!! So so good. I did bone in and boneless ribs. Thanks again for another great meal.
This was delicious and is easy to scale up or down. I used a medium-bodied red Italian wine and it was so delicious. We had it with creamy Parmesan polenta. I did add extra of the veggies (cut bigger) so we could have the yummy braised veggies as a side too.
Had this for Christmas Dinner and everyone loved it!
Making this for Christmas dinner! I’ve been researching recipes and just came across yours which just MAKES sense to me! I’ll report back!
Perfection! I cooked at 275 for three hours. Other than that, I didn’t change a thing. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender. I served with potato/cauliflower mash.
Would love to make this, but don’t drink red wine and have no idea what kind to buy. Could you please share what you used?
Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots, Pinot Noirs, Shiraz, and Red Zinfandels. Rule of thumb, use something that you would drink. If you wouldn’t drink it, then you shouldn’t use it in your cooking. If you don’t like reds, get one rated 90 or above.
Thank you for sharing this recipe; I won’t lie, just the name intimidated me, but your recipe I decided to try and it turned out wonderfully! Hubs and kid were happy too! Will definitely be making this again! Thank you!
The flavor was “Damn Delicious”, rich and beautiful. The short ribs so tender. Would make this again and again.
Could you make this in a Instapot? I’d so, how? Your recipes are tasty and easy to me. Crowd pleaser. Thank you.
Can this be made with boneless short ribs?
Hi Melly, did you end up making this recipe with boneless short ribs? I have some on hand and was thinking about making this recipe. If so, how did it turn out and did you modify the cooking time? Thanks!!