Easy Braised Boneless Beef Short Ribs

Braised Boneless Short Ribs: fork-tender boneless short ribs in a smokey, coffee and wine-infused gravy. The rich sauce you’ll want to sop every last ounce of after devouring the fall apart mouth tender beef ribs. Complete comfort food, ideal for family dinner but fancy enough you could serve this for a special occasion with a nice bottle of wine.

This recipe for Boneless Beef Short Ribs will make you shriek with delight. The best part of this easy short rib recipe is how little work they require but still have amazing flavor and tenderness!

Seriously, when you take a bite of these braised boneless short ribs you will be amazed how they just melt in your mouth. The flavor is rich and velvety, just what you need on a busy day to give you that comfort food bliss.

Boneless Beef Short Ribs:

Short ribs usually come in short pieces with bone-in or longer strips of meat without the bone. If you purchase the long boneless ribs, you can cut them to smaller pieces when cooking them easily.

I prefer the boneless ribs because when you are cooking them there is a lot more fat that renders if you cook them with the bone in them. A trick to removing the fat is to cook them a day ahead of time and then refrigerate the gravy/sauce overnight. You can then use a spoon to remove the excess fat that will rise to the top and be easily seen to remove.

Are Beef short ribs the same as Beef Ribs

Beef ribs are cut from the rib section, but short ribs are cut from the plate section.

There are two versions of short ribs if you get them with the bone in. Their cooking method is different, the short ribs are similar to chuck roast in that you want to braise them on medium heat for a long time to break down the fibers so they are very tender.

English Cut

English cut short ribs are cut parallel to the bone.

Flanken Cut

Flanken short ribs are cut across the bone with several bones in each piece

How Many Ribs Per Person

Figure .75 – 1 pound per person if you use boneless ribs and 1.5 pounds per person if you buy bone-in ribs. The reduce a lot during the braising.

Ingredients to make Short Ribs

• garlic
• fresh basil leaves – fresh herbs imparts more flavor
• Olive Oil
• Boneless Beef Short Ribs – Boneless ribs cook up less fatty, but bone in will work too. (There is an easy way to remove the excess oil)
• Salt and Pepper
• Flour – to dredge the beef ribs in to give a more concentrated deep crust and flavor in the braise
• Paprika – mild seasoning, can use more of this in place of cayenne if you prefer more mild
• Cayenne Pepper – gives a little heat, not in your face at all
• Onion – cooked in the braise so they are sweet and very tender
• baby carrots – Baby carrots don’t require peeling so they save tons of time!
• Jalapenos
• tomatoes
• Chicken Broth – Beef broth will work, but thats ususally something I have to buy and chicken broth is always in the pantry
• Strong Coffee – adds a smoky deep flavor to your dinner
• Red Wine – Cabernet or Pinot Noir work well since they are full bodied
• Cumin
• Bay Leaves
• Red Wine Vinegar

How to Prepare Slow Braised Short Ribs

• To give the ribs additional flavor, you’ll marinate them for several hours or overnight in garlic, olive oil and the chopped basil. This gives the time it needs to penetrate beyond the exterior layer. Easy to do in a large zip lock back that you can just toss once you are ready to beging the cooking process.
• To develop a full flavor, you dip the ribs in flour and brown them. Then heat the oil in a cast iron pan or dutch oven you can really get a good sear on the meat.
• You might need to cook in batches, putting them too close together will steam the meat and you’ll get a grey ash color instead of caramelized brown edge. Place them on a side plate until ready to use, be sure to keep the accumulated juices for added flavor.
• Be sure and scrape up the browned bits to allow to incorporate the deep flavor into your cooking liquid.
• You’ll want to have the pan on medium high heat / high heat then brown on all sides in a little oil. The biggest tip is to not to keep seeing if the meat is browned. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes – then flip it, moving it around too often the flour wont stay on and will be a light color.
• Once that is done, caramelize the onions, garlic and carrots so they are ready to release all of the flavor into the braising liquid.
• Finish by continuing to layer the flavor by building it with a full bodied dry red wine, chicken stock, tomatoes, spices and lastly the smoky goodness of coffee (adding coffee to this recipe has some people refer to the sauce as a red-eye gravy.)
• Once all the flavors are in the pot you braise on low for a couple of hours. By braising the meat you break down the tough cut of short ribs to make a fork-tender bite of meat.
• TIP FOR BRAISING: The liquid should softly bubble up, not a rolling boil, that will be too high. Low to medium low works best so the meat is cooking nice and slow.

What to serve one pan Short Ribs with

• Mashed Potatoes
• Creamy Polenta
• Buttered Noodles
• Atop Roasted Vegetables

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More Comfort Food Recipes you may enjoy!

• Irish Lamb Stew (easy how-to video in the post!)
• Spicy Thai Shrimp Soup
• Balsamic Beef Roast in the slow cooker
• Corned Beef and Cabbage Stew
• 3 Ingredient Beef Brisket in the Crock Pot is a set it and forget it dinner your family will beg for! ANd you can make sandwhiches out of the leftovers so make a double batch.

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