Recipes

Braised short ribs

Gluten-free, oven-braised in red wine. Broiled instead of seared in oil. Serves 4, about 3½ hours, mostly hands-off.

PrepSalt 1 hr ahead

BrownBroil 8–10 min

Braise325°F · 2½–3 hr

SauceReduce 10–15 min

Plate~5 min

Log this

Braised short ribs

4 servings · 1 rib with sauce is a log

~620 cal ~47g protein ~8g carb ~42g fat

Sides not included: mashed potatoes, polenta, green beans.

Estimated from USDA braised short rib data (bone-in, about 6 oz cooked meat per serving, fat skimmed). Not from MyFitnessPal. Roughly 550–650 cal per meaty rib with sauce.

Gear

Dutch oven with a lid. Snug fit keeps the liquid up the sides.
Sheet pan lined with foil, for broiling

Ingredients

Ribs

4–5 lb bone-in beef short ribs
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Pot

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 Tbsp fat: rendered rib fat, oil, or butter
6 cloves garlic, smashed
2 Tbsp tomato paste

Braising liquid

1½ cups dry red wine (or extra broth)
2 cups GF beef broth
1 Tbsp coconut aminos or Lea & Perrins Worcestershire (US version is GF)
2 sprigs rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
4 sprigs thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
2 bay leaves

Only if the sauce needs it

1 Tbsp cornstarch + 2 Tbsp cold water, stirred into a slurry

Prep

Season the ribs all over with 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper, ideally 1 hour ahead.
Set a rack about 6 in under the broiler and turn the broiler on. Chop the onion, carrots, and celery. Smash the garlic.

Brown

No frying in oil. Lay the ribs on the foil-lined sheet pan and broil 4–5 min per side until deeply browned. Most of the flavor comes from this step.
Ribs out from under the broiler: switch the oven to 325°F bake so it’s ready for the pot.
Start this while the ribs broil: soften the onion, carrot, and celery in the Dutch oven with 1 Tbsp fat over medium heat, about 5 min, until soft and starting to brown. No liquid yet. Add a splash of water only if it starts to scorch.
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste for 1 min.
Add the wine and simmer 5 min, scraping up the bottom.
Add the broth, coconut aminos or Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves.

Braise

Nestle in the ribs bone side up. The liquid should come about ¾ of the way up.
Cover and braise at 325°F for 2½–3 hr, until the meat is falling off the bone.

Check at 2½ hr. If a fork doesn’t slide in easily, give it another 30 min.

Sauce

Lift out the ribs and keep them warm under foil.
Skim the fat off the top and fish out the herb stems and bay leaves. Then pick one: blend the softened vegetables right into the liquid with an immersion blender (recommended: thicker sauce, usually no cornstarch needed), serve them on the side rustic-style, or strain them out for a smooth sauce.
Simmer the liquid 10–15 min until it coats a spoon. Or stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer 2 min.

Don’t skip this. Unreduced braising liquid is thin and watery.

Plate

Ribs over mashed potatoes or polenta, sauce spooned on top, green beans on the side.

Short ribs are rich. Pile on extra green beans to keep dinner in range.

Why the oven

The oven browns the exposed tops and slowly reduces the liquid, so you get deeper flavor and a thicker sauce. The Instant Pot slow cook setting runs weak and traps all the moisture, which gives paler meat and a thin sauce.

Instant Pot instead

Use pressure, not the slow cook setting. Brown the ribs and build the pot the same way, on sauté.

45–50 min high pressure
15 min natural release
Sauté to reduce the sauce after the ribs come out

Leftovers

Fridge 3–4 days, ribs in the sauce. The fat solidifies on top overnight, so it’s easy to lift off. Reheat gently in the sauce.