How To Braise Short Ribs Slow Cooker

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Our easy Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs recipe is melt-in-your-mouth tender and so delicious! With only 15 minutes of prep and simple ingredients, you can set it and forget it while it cooks.

Pouring gravy onto short ribs in a bowl ov er vegetables

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Crockpot Short Ribs Ingredients
How to Cook Short Ribs in a Crockpot
How to make Short Rib Gravy
Recipe Tips
FAQs
What to serve with Short Ribs
My Favorite Short Rib Recipes
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Our readers love this recipe!
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💬 Reviews

Beef Shortribs in the crockpot is the ultimate comfort food! They are so juicy and literally melt in your mouth. This is a slow cooker recipe I make again and again for my family, especially as a part of my favorite Sunday dinner ideas. Our other favorite is my slow cooker lasagna. It is so easy to prepare ahead of time for a crowd!

My other top recipe for Sunday supper that is requested again and again is my beef chuck roast recipe. It just melts in your mouth and the potatoes are as good as the beef when they are cooked in the delicious broth.

Such a great recipe! You can taste the build of flavors in the meat. It's not an overpowering punch, but more of a slow progression of flavors, which I feel like makes this dish taste and feel sophisticated.
Rachael on Pinterest

Crockpot Short Ribs Ingredients

beef chuck short ribs
salt approx
pepper
onion
celery
carrots
vegetable oil
garlic crushed
red wine
balsamic vinegar
tomato paste
beef broth
rosemary
bay leaves

How to Cook Short Ribs in a Crockpot

Pat beef short ribsdry if necessary.
Finely dice onion, celery ribs, and carrots.
Season all over withsaltandpepper. Pat the seasoning into the meat.
Warm half of yourvegetable oilin a skillet over medium-high heat and sear the short ribs on all sides, in two batches so you don't overcrowd the skillet. Make sure to sear until you have a nice mahogany crust.
Add theonion,celery, andcarrotsto the skillet along with the remainingoil. Reduce the heat slightly so the vegetables don't burn.
Cook the vegetables for a couple minutes, then add 1 clove mincedgarlic. Cook a minute more, then add red wine to deglaze the pan. Scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.
As it starts to simmer, add balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, beef broth, rosemary, and bay leaves.
Add the short ribs to the slow cooker.Bring the vegetable mixture to a simmer then pour over the short ribs.
Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for 6 – 8 hours.
Remove the bay leaves when it is done and discard them.
Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or thick pasta like pappardelle.

How to make Short Rib Gravy

You can serve the braised short ribs in its own drippings (which is absolutely amazing) or make it into a gravy. Homemade gravy is easy, delicious, andadds so much flavor to the dish

When done, remove the short ribs to a platter, tent with foil.
Strain the liquid and remove any large chunks of meat and vegetables.
Add the strained liquids back to the pot, then add 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour and stir to make a gravy. It's that easy!

Recipe Tips

I used bone in short ribs for this recipe but boneless also work well.
Make sure to give the short ribs a good amount of seasoning with salt and pepper to intensify the flavor.
Important step: Heating oil in a skillet and searing the ribs on all sides in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. This step is key to beautiful and flavorful short ribs.
You can also use large pieces of carrots and serve them as your side dish.

FAQs

What are short ribs?

Tender beef chuck short ribs are one of the best cuts of beef for slow cooking and grilling. They come from the front section of the backbone and are beautifully marbled.

What are the different cuts of short ribs?

There are two cuts: flanken and English-style.
Flanken means "flank" in German, and it refers to ribs located along the back towards the belly of the cow, cut across the bones. They are cut into short ½ inch lengths. Sometimes, a few cross-sections of ribs are left in a strip.
The English-style of short rib is cut between each rib to separate them. This leaves a thick piece of meat sitting on top of the bone. English ribs can be left in one long piece or cut into smaller, 2-inch pieces. Some are bone-in while others are boneless beef short ribs.
They are both immensely juicy and packed with flavor!

Can you substitute boneless beef short ribs for bone-in?

Yes, you can. They are both amazing and both work perfectly in this recipe.

What is marbling on beef?

Marbling refers to the white lines of fat running through a cut of beef. If there is a lot of web-like marbling, you know you are in for a treat!

Do you have to brown short ribs?

My recipe requires searing the meat before adding it to the crock pot in order to build flavor. When you sear them, the outside of the meat caramelizes slightly. This builds a more flavorful dish, as that flavor releases as the beef cooks in the crockpot.
I recommend using a cast-iron skillet to sear your beef.

Searing ribs in a cast-iron skillet — Cast iron skillets brown beef the best

What to serve with Short Ribs

Creamy Mashed Potatoes or Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Perfect White Rice or Instant Pot White Rice
Instant Pot Risotto or Mushroom Risotto
Green Beans Almondine
Glazed Carrots.

Pouring gravy on short ribs in a bowl — My family loves this recipe over mashed potatoes

My Favorite Short Rib Recipes

Smoked Short Ribs
Grilled Beef Short Ribs
Braised Short Ribs
Instant Pot Short Ribs

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Beef short ribs in a bowl over mashed potatoes

Our readers love this recipe!

I tried it! It came out amazing!!! So good and flavorful. The hubby loved it!
Jessica

This recipe was amazing! Perfect balance of flavors!
Sandra

Turned out AMAZING. Definitely a keeper!!! 😋😍🥘♥️
Katie

Great recipe! I ended up serving with Mashed Potatoes and Fresh Corn off the Cob. Great for a summer day when you don't want to leave the oven on for a long time!
Lisa

📋 Recipe

pouring gravy over slow cooker short ribs

Amazing Slow Cooker Short Ribs

Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs are a perfect weekday meal or special occasion dinner! Packed with flavor, they take only 15 minutes of prep and are an easy meal to make ahead of time.

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 6 hrs 30 mins

Total Time 6 hrs 45 mins

Course Main

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories 562 kcal

Slow Cooker
Skillet

2½ lbs. beef chuck short ribs
¼ tsp. salt approx.
¼ tsp. pepper approx.
1 onion
8 ribs celery or one stalk
3 carrots medium
1½ Tbsp. vegetable oil or other flavorless oil
1 clove garlic crushed or 1 tsp. finely diced garlic
½ cup red wine
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
¾ cup beef broth
½ tsp. rosemary dried
3 bay leaves

Pat 2½ lbs. beef short ribs dry if necessary. Finely dice 1 onion, 8 celery ribs, and 3 medium carrots.
Season all over with salt and pepper. Pat the seasoning into the meat.
Warm half of your vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sear the short ribs on all sides, in two batches so you don't overcrowd the skillet. Make sure to sear until you have a nice mahogany crust.
Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the skillet along with the remaining oil. Reduce the heat slightly so the vegetables don't burn.
Cook the vegetables for a couple minutes, then add 1 clove minced garlic. Cook a minute more, then add ½ cup red wine to deglaze the pan. Scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.
As it starts to simmer, add 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste, ¾ beef broth, ½ tsp. rosemary, and 3 bay leaves.

Add the short ribs to the slow cooker.

Bring the vegetable mixture to a simmer then pour over the short ribs.
Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for 6 – 8 hours. Remove the bay leaves when it is done and discard them. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or thick pasta like pappardelle.

I used bone in short ribs for this recipe but boneless short ribs also work well.
Make sure to give the short ribs a good amount of seasoning with salt and pepper to intensify the flavor.
Important step: Heating oil in a skillet and searing the ribs on all sides in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. This step is key to beautiful and flavorful short ribs.
You can also use large pieces of carrots and serve them as your side dish.

Calories: 562 kcal Carbohydrates: 9 g Protein: 48 g Fat: 32 g Saturated Fat: 16 g Cholesterol: 146 mg Sodium: 684 mg Potassium: 1230 mg Fiber: 1 g Sugar: 5 g Vitamin A: 3620 IU Vitamin C: 9.7 mg Calcium: 43 mg Iron: 6.1 mg

Keyword beef short ribs, beef short ribs recipe, Crock pot Short Ribs, Short Rib Recipe, Slow Cooker Recipe, Slow Cooker Short Ribs

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About Isabel Laessig

Isabel Laessig, better known as Family Foodie and the founder of the Sunday Supper Movement, is passionate about food and family! She hosts Family Foodie Friday on WTSP's Great Day Tampa Bay, along with other television appearances, to spread her mission of bringing Sunday Supper back around the family table in every home.

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