Short ribs served with rich gravy over mashed potatoes is a classic comfort meal on a cold winter day. An Instant Pot makes them fall-off-the-bone tender in just 45 minutes.
Want to make this recipe on the stove-top? GettheinstructionsinmyRed-Wine Braised Short Ribspost.
There are some recipes that I make that I love. That I still think about days, weeks, even months later. Red-wine braised short ribs are one of those recipes.
It's a really rich, filling recipe, one that I only make on the coldest of winter days. Even when there is no short rib meat left, the sauce and veggies are almost like a thick soup, delicious when sopped up with a piece of hearty bread.
As I linked above, I've made this recipe before, in my Dutch oven on the stovetop. Since that post published, I caved to peer pressure and bought an Instant Pot. I wasn't sure what I would think of it.
Well, since then, I've made some delicious dinners that I had previously put off due to the time involved. You can't decide at 3 p.m. on a Sunday evening that you'd like to have barbacoa tacos for dinner that evening if you don't have a pressure cooker.
And unlike a slow cooker, you can do all of your searing and sauteeing right in the Instant Pot. Geez, this is starting to sound like an ad for the Instant Pot, but honestly, I just really enjoy using the appliance.
These short ribs came out just as fall-off-the-bone tender as if they were simmered all day on the stovetop. I didn't do the degreasing step that's listed in the stovetop version, and next time I probably will, but other than that, I can't wait to make these in the Instant Pot again!
Short ribs served with rich gravy over mashed potatoes is a classic comfort meal on a cold winter day. An Instant Pot makes them fall-off-the-bone tender in just 45 minutes.
Ingredients
3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3 lbs bone-in, individual-cut short ribs
Kosher salt and pepper
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves, garlic minced
1 ¼ cups dry red wine
2 cups beef stock
1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste
2 stalks fresh rosemary, leaves plucked from stems and chopped
1 bay leaf
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup cold beef stock
Instructions
Turn your Instant Pot to saute mode. Once hot, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil.
Season the short ribs on both sides with salt and pepper, and saute them in the Instant Pot until they no longer stick to the bottom, then flip and brown the other side. Remove to a plate.
Add the remaining olive oil, and saute the onion, carrots and garlic until soft and the onions are slightly translucent.
Add ¼ cup of the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula or wooden spoon to release the bits stuck to the bottom.
Add the remaining wine, beef stock, tomato paste, rosemary leaves, and bay leaf. Add the short ribs back into the Instant Pot, submerging as much as possible in the liquid.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the valve to "sealing" and set it to pressure cook for 45 minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully move the valve to "venting" to release remaining pressure.
Use tongs to remove the short ribs to a plate. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and beef stock.
Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode, and bring the sauce to a boil. While stirring, slowly drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the Instant Pot. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Boil the mixture for 1 minute to cook out the starch taste.
Place one or two short ribs on a plate, and ladle some of the gravy over top.
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This means that they're not cooked long enough. Be sure to cook the ribs for the full 30 minutes on high, and let the pressure release for 15 minutes before removing the lid. If you did this and the ribs are still tough, I recommend cooking them for an additional 5 minutes on high in the Instant Pot.
Because short ribs are high in fat content, they are very forgiving and get more tender as they cook, which is a great stress reliever when you're serving guests.
If they aren't braised long enough, they can be super tough to eat; if they are cooked too long, the meat will just fall apart. The key to preparing short ribs is to cook them until they reach a point that is just before they would fall apart.
Braising, which is actually slow simmering (after browning in a bit of oil or butter), brings irresistibly tender and boldly flavored results to this meaty cut of beef. Because short ribs require long, slow cooking for tenderness and flavor, braising is the perfect technique for cooking them.
Nothing that a little sauce can't fix, and it does mean you get more of the pork flavor, but they're not as nuanced. And the winner is: The slow cooker, but just by a hair (by a rib?). If you're pressed for time, pressure cooker is the way to go.
Pretty much every rib recipe out there calls for using a low and slow, indirect grilling method. Grilling them over direct, high heat is a great way to overcook them and have them turn out tough. Indirect, low heat will help create tender meat that will easily tear off of the bone.
You want liquid to come about a quarter and no higher than half way up the side of the meat. Because of the curvature of the dino ribs, we'll be cooking them on their sides, so they make a crescent in the pan. Then, of course, you must cook them.
You don't need any special equipment to braise ribs. First, brown or sear the ribs at a high temperature then cook them in liquid at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. This is an excellent cooking method for tougher cuts of meat that will become tender after prolonged cooking!
It's a combination of dry and moist cooking methods where you sear the meat and then cook it in a liquid. While braising short ribs is a traditional technique that requires patience and time, thankfully, we live in the age of slow cookers and instant pots, so cooking short ribs can be much easier than it used to be.
The braising liquid needs to fill the pan enough to cover most of the meat, which gives it time to break down the sinews and connective tissue. However, if you use too much liquid, you run the risk of diluting flavor and having a runny sauce.
Grilling to a final internal temperature of 130°F (54°C) ensures that the short rib's intramuscular fat has softened but not yet rendered out, resulting in an unctuous and juicy steak. Slicing short rib steaks across the grain further tenderizes the meat by shortening muscle fibers.
While washing meat and poultry to remove dirt, slime, fat or blood may have been appropriate decades ago when many slaughtered and prepared their own food, the modern food safety system doesn't require it. Meat and poultry are cleaned during processing, so further washing is not necessary.
The ideal short rib serving size varies by the weight of the short rib pieces and the style they're cut in, but you can estimate that you'll need between one to three short ribs per person. You'll want to serve each person approximately one pound of bone-in short ribs.
It's wonderful if you can cook them to extreme tenderness, but even better if you can get a little crunch to the same bite. The trick to making this happen is cooking them twice. Once for the soft and gentle braise, then a blast under the broiler to shock the outsides into a crustified state.
Short rib is a bit tougher than the premium cuts of meat, so once again, slicing thinly against the grain before serving (or at least instructing your diners to do as much) is the way to go. Trust me. Once you've tried short rib on the grill, you will never want to ruin it by braising it in the oven again.
Cooking any kind of meat for too long will usually leave it dry, tough, and utterly unappealing. In all honesty, cooking BBQ ribs to perfection is something of an artform. It's not something the home chef does very often, and overcooking the ribs is a common way to disappoint yourself when you sit down to eat.
Introduction: My name is Kelle Weber, I am a magnificent, enchanting, fair, joyous, light, determined, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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