Our 20 Best Recipes for Braised Short Ribs

Cola-Braised Short Ribs with Parmigiano Risotto
Photo:

Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Braising is an excellent cooking method to produce tender, tasty short ribs. Your choice of braising liquid imparts unique flavor, and this collection of braised short ribs recipes includes an array of options. Reach for red wine to make a riff on Korean kalbi jim or sommelier Clint Sloan's excellent Syrah-Braised Short Ribs. For a toasty, malty rendition, try a stout or porter. We've even got a recipe with hard cider and another with cola. Short on time? Use your Instant Pot to turn out fork-tender short ribs with long-cooked flavor in a mere hour. All routes lead to delicious!

01 of 20

Braised Short Ribs

Braised Short Ribs

© Lucy Schaeffer

Chef Tom Colicchio is a master with meat, and his tender, succulent braised short ribs are much in demand at his Craft restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. He marinates the short ribs along with vegetables in wine, then discards those vegetables and braises the ribs with fresh vegetables. At home, use the same vegetables in the marinade and the braise.

02 of 20

Soy-Braised Short Ribs

Soy-Braised Short Ribs
© Christina Holmes

Traditional Korean cooking meets French technique in this elegant take on kalbi jim from chef Sohui Kim of The Good Fork in Brooklyn. Kim braises the short ribs slowly in red wine, instead of boiling them, for extra-tender meat and a rich, flavorful sauce.

03 of 20

Short Rib Ragù with Orange-Parsley Gremolata

Short Rib Ragu
Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

This ragù stands apart from most with the addition of fennel seeds, ground allspice, and habanero hot sauce. Like most great braises, it tastes even better after a day or two in the fridge, making it an ideal do-ahead dish for entertaining. Be sure to look for meaty short ribs; they can sometimes be skimpy, consisting of mostly bones.

04 of 20

Braised Short Ribs with Root Vegetable Mash

Braised Short Ribs with Root Vegetable Mash
© John Kernick

This twist on the British Sunday roast swaps tender, red wine-braised short ribs and a root vegetable mash for the traditional roast beef and potatoes.

05 of 20

Syrah-Braised Short Ribs

Wine Braised Short Ribs.
© Theo Morrison

Charleston sommelier Clint Sloan swears by this easy short ribs recipe, adapted from the Joy of Cooking, because it brings out the flavors in the braising wine. Serve it over polenta with roasted carrots.

06 of 20

Short Rib Chili

Short Rib Chili with Pickled Red Onion
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Fresh jalapeños, smoky chipotles in adobo, and fruity ancho chile powder give this thick, meaty short rib chili layers of heat, while red wine and tomato add acidity to balance out the richness of the tender short ribs. Homemade pickled red onions provide a colorful, tasty, crunchy topping.

07 of 20

Beet-Braised Short Ribs

Beet-Braised Short Ribs
© Nicole Franzen

Chef Erin French cooks her ultra-tender short ribs with beets, then serves them with buttery pureed parsnips, horseradish cream, and pickled onions.

08 of 20

Stout-Braised Short Ribs

Stout-Braised Short Bits
© Christina Holmes

Braising short ribs in beer makes them super tender and adds a slight bitter note. Chef Sarah Simmons cooks her ribs in Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout; you can use any dark beer you fancy.

09 of 20

Cola-Braised Short Ribs with Risotto

Cola-Braised Short Ribs with Parmigiano Risotto

Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Nothing is cozier than a Dutch oven filled with braised, fall-off-the-bone tender short ribs served over risotto. Here, the classic wine and stock braising liquid get a surprising addition from cola, which balances the savory with a touch of complex sweetness to create a smooth, rich sauce.  

10 of 20

Braised Short Ribs with Miso Collard Greens

Braised Short Ribs with Miso Collard Greens
© Christina Holmes

To go with his tender braised short ribs, chef Hugh Acheson puts a spin on the classic Southern side of collard greens by adding a few tablespoons of umami-rich miso.

11 of 20

Morisqueta con Costillas de Res en Salsa Roja (Rice with Saucy Braised Beef Ribs)

Morisqueta
Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey

Morisqueta is Mexico's unsung rice-bowl hero found in regions along the Pacific, specifically Michoacán. It's essentially a taco in rice form: rice topped with a saucy pork, beef, or seafood guisado, beans, raw cabbage for texture, and some crema to pull it all together. Bone-in beef short ribs are essential for maximum flavor and texture in the dish — ask the butcher to cut the flanken through the bone into smaller pieces.

12 of 20

Madeira-Braised Short Ribs with Parslied Potatoes

Madeira-Braised Short Ribs with Parslied Potatoes
© Quentin Bacon

Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse uses boneless short ribs for this dish, which is excellent served with his buttery parsley potatoes.

13 of 20

Braised Short Ribs with Daikon and Glass Noodles

Braised Short Ribs with Daikon and Glass Noodles
© Tina Rupp

These tender short ribs are served in an intense broth made sweet with mirin and brown sugar and dark with soy sauce and sherry. "This is a variation of a Korean dish called kalbi tang," chef-restaurateur Sang Yoon says.

14 of 20

Smoked Porter-Braised Beef Short Ribs

Smoked Porter-Braised Beef Short Ribs
© Fredrika Stjärne

This rich braise is sweet, smoky, and pleasantly bitter all at once. The recipe calls for a smoked porter; if unavailable, substitute a regular porter or another dark beer. Polenta is the ideal accompaniment for the short ribs and their luscious sauce, but mashed potatoes or egg noodles would also work well.

15 of 20

Instant Pot Red-Cooked Short Ribs

Instant Pot Red-Cooked Short Ribs Recipe
Jen Causey

With cooler weather comes the season of slow cooking — long-simmered stews and braises that sing with richness and depth. Thank goodness for the Instant Pot, which allows you to braise meat to fork-tender butteriness in far less time than the oven or stovetop. Here, beef short ribs cook to fall-apart perfection in barely an hour, thanks to this handy appliance.

16 of 20

Oven-Braised Short Ribs with Pasilla-Tomato Mole

Oven-Braised Short Ribs with Pasilla-Tomato Mole
© Christina Holmes

Inspired by his grandmother, chef Hugo Ortega uses smoky pasilla chiles, tomatoes, and spices to make a rich, tangy mole sauce for braising tender short ribs.

17 of 20

Hard Cider-Braised Short Ribs

Hard-Cider-Braised-Short-Ribs-FT-Recipe2019297.jpg
Jennifer Causey

"Nothing takes away the damp and chill quite like the warming scent of a good braise bubbling away in the oven," writes cookbook author Leah Koenig. "In this recipe, I employ a hefty glug of hard cider to flavor the braising liquid. Be sure to use a hard cider that you like the taste of — ideally one that is on the crisp and dry side of the spectrum, and not overly funky. The cider’s crisp, fermented flavor offsets the ribs’ richness. It’s a match made in braising heaven."

18 of 20

Texas Chile Short Rib Tacos

Texas Chile Short Rib Tacos
John Kernick

The sauce for these tender beef short ribs is intense. To round out the tang and heat from the tomatoes and chiles, cookbook authors Matt and Ted Lee add a little semisweet chocolate. “It’s mellow and sweet,” says Ted. “The chocolate puts everything in balance."

19 of 20

Spiced Short Rib Tagine

Spiced Short Rib Tagine
© Fredrika Stjärne

Lior Lev Sercarz, chef and owner of the spice company La Boîte in New York City, uses North African flavorings to make a delicious sauce for luscious short ribs. They're served over couscous and tender honey-lemon-glazed turnips and radishes.

20 of 20

Short Rib Bourguignon

Short Rib Bourguignon

© Michael Turek

The French created beef bourguignon to turn tough beef into a delicious dish. Here, chef Aaron Barnett upgrades it with short ribs. The cooked stew is refrigerated overnight to allow the flavors to meld and the fat to rise to the surface; simply skim the fat, reheat, and garnish with parsley to serve (perhaps pour some glasses of Beaujolais, too).

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