Braised Beef Short Ribs (VIDEO)
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My Braised Short Ribs recipe is the perfect easy recipe to make flavorful, tender, fall-off-the-bone beef short ribs that will really impress your family or guests for dinner and special occasions!
Watch the Braised Beef Short Ribs Video!
A Note from CJ
You’re going to love my Braised Short Ribs!
What makes this recipe better than the others? The meat is fall-off-the-bone tender and the juices are reduced into a silky, fortified sauce that turns every bite into a flavor explosion! These are guaranteed to impress anyone, especially when served with my favorite sides like Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Cheesy Potatoes au Gratin, Baked Mac and Cheese, Roasted Cauliflower, Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Honey Roasted Carrots!
OUTSTANDING!!! I just made this tonight and am just blown away how dang good it turned out. Not kidding, I’ve had my fair share of braised short ribs at restaurants and this was w/o a doubt best I’ve eaten.
How to Make Braised Beef Short Ribs
Sear and Braise the Short Ribs: Season the beef short ribs on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper, then in a 5 quart Dutch oven, sear the short ribs in oil over medium high heat until browned on all sides, then remove and set aside. Sauté onions, carrots, celery, shallots, and garlic in the same pot, season with salt and pepper, then stir in tomato paste for 2 minutes. Deglaze with red wine, scraping up the flavorful brown bits, reduce the wine, then add back the beef short ribs along with beef stock, thyme, and rosemary before covering with a cartouche and the lid and simmering until the short ribs are fork tender.
Reduce and Fortify the Sauce: Once the short ribs are fork tender remove them to a plate and strain the sauce and skim off any excess fat. Return the braising liquid to the pot and reduce it over high heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then whisk in cold butter for a glossy finish. Spoon the rich sauce over the braised beef short ribs and serve with mashed potatoes, rice, or your favorite side with the delicious sauce!
PRO TIPS
CJ’s Key Recipe Tips
Beef Short Ribs – I recommend buying “English cut” bone-in beef short ribs – they’re cut between the rib bones so there is a singular piece of bone connected to the meat. Try to use beef short ribs that are similar in size so they cook evenly and become tender at the same time. Look for ones that have small streaks of white running through the meat of the ribs – this is fat, which will melt during the cooking process and result in a juicy, flavorful short rib!
Cartouche: I recommend making a cartouche (a fancy word for parchment paper lid) to cover the short ribs before covering with the lid of the Dutch oven. This helps with evaporation, browning, and (most importantly) ensures the beef stock fully covers the short ribs – this will prevent any dry, tough spots on the beef during the braising process as the stock reduces. Serious Eats has a great guide on how to make one.
Cold Butter: Once the beef juices reduce to thicken, add cold butter to the sauce and mix until glossy and thickened. This is a secret restaurant trick used to create amazing sauces!
Using a slow cooker or crock pot: Follow steps 1-4 of this recipe, then place all the ingredients into the slow cooker. Set the temperature to low and cook for 5-6 hours or until the beef ribs are fork tender.
If you tried this Braised Beef Short Ribs or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Braised Beef Short Ribs (Video)
Equipment
- Dutch Oven I recommend using a 5 qt pot for 4 short ribs
Ingredients
- 4 whole beef short ribs, English cut
- 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups red wine
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 quart beef stock, plus more to cover the beef ribs, if needed
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, or other neutral oil like vegetable or canola
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
Instructions
- Season the beef short ribs with half of the kosher salt and black pepper on all sides.
- Add 2 tbsp of avocado oil to a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the short ribs on all sides until browned, about 3-4 minutes and remove.
- Add the onions, celery, carrots, shallots, and garlic to the dutch oven, season with the remaining salt and pepper, and let them caramelize for 2 minutes in the pan over medium high. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the red wine to the pot. Using a wooden spatula, scrape up any and all brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by a third, then add the short ribs back to the pan along with enough beef stock to cover the short ribs. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs then cover with a cartouche and the lid. Braise for 2 hours over a low simmer or until the short ribs are soft and fork tender. Remove the short ribs to a bowl.
- To make the sauce, strain the herbs and vegetables from the pot with a mesh strainer. If there is a lot of noticeable liquid fat in the liquid, use a fat separator or spoon to skim off the fat and discard (this is the key to preventing a greasy sauce!). Add the braising liquid back to the pot and reduce over high heat, stirring occassionally to prevent burning, until the sauce can coat the back of a spoon. Add the cold unsalted butter and mix it in until glossy, taste the sauce and season to taste, and serve immediately over the short ribs.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in December 2023 and updated in October 2025.
This was SO good! Instead of pulling out the veggies at the end, I used an immersion blender to purée them into the gravy. I cooked my short ribs for 2 hours, but I think next time I will cook them closer to 3 hours. The flavors were great!
Great idea with the blender, Lisa! Hope you make it again soon!
This was delicious. I just used my Dutch oven without the parchment paper on top of the stove. Turned the ribs every hour. I used boneless short ribs and they turned out great. Definitely making this again.
So happy to hear you loved it! Thanks for the great review, Lydia!
Easy recipe to follow. Tasted great. My fussiest eater loved it. This is a keeper.
So happy to hear that Merly! Thanks for trying it and leaving a review!
I’ve made braised short ribs recipe twice, I can’t seem to get the demi glaze to turn out correctly. However I’ve taken the “mistake” (reduction and butter combo) added the remaining tomato paste and it tasted like a smooth velvety tomato soup! Which also taste great when I add little on top on the short rib! And when have the soup as app!
Thanks for the kind words! I’d love to help – making sure to add cold butter to the reduced juices should create a nice rich and velvety sauce. What does yours turn out like?
Hi Chris, I am using cold Kerrygold butter, however reading another review maybe I need to strain fat and also perhaps I’m not reducing the liquid enough. Thank you for your reply! This recipe is amazing!!!
Ah yes I think this may be the reason! You want to remove the fat after straining and the reduction should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon without running off. I hope that helps you nail it!
Ok, changed up a few things:
since I love veggies , decided to immersion blend them ( after removing the herb springs) into the sauce. Then decided to serve with pasta so cooked the rigatoni in the sauce while reducing it after removing the ribs . Shredded the short ribs and added to the pot to serve with a small dollop of sour cream. Super yum
What a great way to serve it with pasta, Val! Love it!
OUTSTANDING!!! I just made this tonight – first time – and am just blown away how dang good it turned out. Not kidding, I’ve had my fair share of braised short ribs at restaurants and this was w/o a doubt best I’ve eaten. I made only a couple slight changes – used beef tallow instead of oil (adds even more beef flavor to the meat and sauce) and used beef bone broth (gelatinous out of the fridge) which I think made the sauce even more sumptuous. I can’t wait to make it again, thinking this might be what we make for family Christmas dinner. THANK YOU so much for sharing this recipe, a real treasure!
God Bless
Thank you so much Stu! I’m glad you enjoyed it and hopefully this will be your new go to recipe!
It drives me crazy when people review recipes after they have made a bunch of modifications, but I did make a couple. I didn’t have a shallot so that got omitted and after the ribs were done and I strained the vegetables out of the liquid I thickened it with a little corn starch slurry rather than reduce it. I did this because the liquid was plenty salty as it was and reducing it would have only made it salty.
I’m glad it worked out for you Tracey! Thanks for trying the recipe and providing the tips!
I have a question so I have given you five stars, although I have not made this particular short rib recipe. The reason for 5 stars is it looks similar to one of Ina Garten’s short rib recipe that I love and because of the stellar reviews here by your trustworthy fans.
My question is about the vegetables. What is your reason for straining the veggies out of the sauce? Is it texture/presentation? Or what you perceive as an alteration to the the taste?
And taking it a step further, what do you think about pureeing some of the vegetables and adding them back to the sauce? Or maybe mixing sone of the vegetables into a mashed potato dish?
I definitely will make this as soon as the ribs go on sale. Short ribs are one of my very favorites. They certainly inpress.
Thank you, Leslie.
Hi Leslie – the purpose of the vegetables is to extract all their flavor into the final reduced sauce, but you could certainly take them out once they are fork tender and eat them if you wish!
My short ribs have a lot of fat should I drain it after cooking
I’m talking
A
Lot
Of fat
Hi Darlene – yes, after braising and the short ribs are tender, I’d recommend skimming off any liquid fat or using a fat separator before reducing the sauce in the pot. I hope that helps!
I would recommend including this step in the recipe.
Thanks Denise – will do!
I made this last night and the meat was very tender. I want to add some pop to this recipe. What would you suggest?