Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

Name: Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 195 min
Ingredients: 3 lbs beef short ribs; salt; black pepper; 2 tsp cooking oil; 1 small white onion (finely chopped); 1 cup carrots (finely chopped); 1 bottle red wine; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 3-5 cloves garlic (smashed); 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme; 2-3 bay leaves

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An elegant and lovely meal that is surprisingly easy to make! This fall-off-the-bone Red Wine Braised Short Ribs is made in the Dutch Oven – first briefly on the stovetop, then slow cooked in a a red wine herb sauce in the oven for a few hours.

The result is a tender, flavorful piece of meat that is comparable to the ones you get from fancy restaurants…only that it is much cheaper!

Braised short ribs sitting on top of a bed of mashed potatoes, smothered with gravy

Here’s the good news for those of you who took one look at this and go: err, no way I’m attempting this fancy thing.

This fancy thing is actually SUPER EASY to make!

This Red Wine Braised Short Ribs might exude all the fanciness, but it takes 15 minutes of active time, while the Dutch oven and oven do all the hard work.

Yes, you’ll need a couple of hours so that the fiber in the meat is broken down and the end product is tender, juicy and just falls off the bone at the touch of your fork.

But that is all passive time. Time where you can walk away, finish up laundry, cook another meal, take care of the million and one things you have going on in the house.

It is quickly becoming my go to fancy-meal-at-home recipe. Perfect for dinner parties, romantic dinners, cooking at home on special occasions, Valentine’s Day, or a small Christmas or any holiday gathering.

I love how it mimics something you get at a fancy restaurant, and yet is very attainable in an everyday kitchen.

A bowl of mashed potatoes topped with a piece of beef short ribs, topped with herbs and gravy

Table of Contents

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Beef Short Ribs – it is usually already cut into smaller pieces (a few inches long) and is attached to a bone.
Red wine – use dryer red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Shiraz/Syrah etc. Avoid sweet wines.
Tomato paste
White onion – or sweet onion and yellow onion
Garlic – use fresh! Avoid substituting with garlic powder.
Carrots
Fresh thyme – fresh thyme brings about a more intense flavor to the dish. Avoid using dried thyme.
Bay leaves
Salt and black pepper

How to Braise Beef Short Ribs

We will start by seasoning the short ribs generously on all sides with salt and black pepper.

And when I say generous, I mean very generous.

Uncooked short ribs seasoned with lots of salt and pepper

We will be braising these beef short ribs, so that means we will be searing it on the stovetop and then slow cooking the beef short ribs under low heat so that it is tender and falls apart easily.

To do that, we will be using a Dutch oven. Dutch oven retains heat well and cooks evenly, which yields a very delicious product. Any Dutch oven larger than 5 qt should work well for this recipe calling for 3lbs of short ribs.

After seasoning the short ribs with salt and black pepper, sear them on medium high heat with cooking oil in the dutch oven. Do not overcrowd Dutch oven and sear in two batches if necessary.

Remove short ribs and bring the chopped onions, carrots, and garlic into the Dutch oven. Sear until they are tender, then bring the short ribs back into the pot.

Vegetable sauteed in a Dutch Oven, then beef short ribs are added

Next, we will be adding a very important ingredient: WINE.

One whole bottle of red wine. Just pour it all in.

If you need to, a small sip is allowed. Now is the time to do it. 😉

And then add in tomato paste and smashed garlic.

Give it a gentle stir to combine everything, then place the herbs on the top before covering Dutch oven and letting it cook in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours under a low 325℉ heat.

Pouring wine onto Dutch oven filled with short ribs, then add herbs to the top

When it is done, meat should be very tender and falls off the bone easily.

In addition to being juicy and tender, short ribs are flavored with the gorgeous flavors of wine, garlic and herb. It will melt in your mouth and taste like a dream.

It is seriously one of my favorite meat dishes.

Tips and Tricks

A few quick kitchen tips when making Red Wine Braised Short Ribs!

When searing the beef short ribs, do not overcrowd the Dutch Oven and sear in two batches if necessary. We want to make sure each sides of the beef ribs has a nice light brown sear to it. Searing the short ribs will produce some nice flavor to the dish and also help lock in the moisture.
Recipe calls for finely chopped onions and carrots, but if you want the vegetables finer, you can also chop it up in a food processor.
If you use more than 3lbs of short ribs you will need a longer cook time than what is recommended.
Short ribs should be mostly submerged in liquid when baking. If needed, add some water or beef broth to Dutch oven if one bottle of wine is not enough and submerge at least 3/4 of short ribs in liquid.

How to serve this

I highly recommend serving this on top of a bed of mashed potatoes or polenta, then drizzling the yummy juices all of the top of the short ribs and also all over the potatoes.

Drawn them in the juice if you have to. That’s how I do it!

Also serve this with some Honey Butter Rolls, and a simple vegetable side dish on the side such as Easy Garlic Parmesan Asparagus, Roasted Lemon Garlic Broccoli, Roasted Zucchini or Garlic Honey Roasted Carrots.

Yum yum yum!

A plate of mashed potatoes topped with Red Wine Braised Short Ribs and gravy

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cook this without red wine?

I highly recommend cooking with wine because it is hard to achieve the depth of flavor red wine brings to this dish. However, if you really want to avoid red wine, replace it with beef stock and 1-2 cubes of beef bouillon for flavor.

I would like to thicken the gravy…how do I do that?

After removing Dutch Oven from the oven, remove all the beef short ribs and set aside, leaving the liquid/juice in the Dutch oven. Then remove 1/2 cup of liquid and combine with 2-3 tbsp of flour. Then pour flour+juice mixture back into Dutch oven. Heat gravy in Dutch oven, bring to a boil, and stir continuously until thicken.

How long do I cook this if I am using the Instant Pot?

Pressure cook on high for 45 minutes. Then natural release for 15-20 minutes.

Fall apart short ribs on top of mashed potatoes in a bowl, with fork next to it

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