Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs Slow Cooker Recipe
Enter in the giveaway for America’s Test Kitchen’s Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook – the recipe below came from this book!
I LOVE beef short ribs. It all started when I had a pasta dish at a restaurant that had braised short ribs in it (and yes I have ideas swirling around in my head on how I’m going to attempt to replicate this dish). After that, I wanted to try making them myself. At first, I couldn’t find it in the grocery store but now it seems not all that hard to find in my local grocery stores. I can never find them boneless so when buying bone-in beef short ribs, I always look for the ones with a lot of meat on them.
I have made beef short ribs in a slow cooker several times now and when I was provided with a copy of Slow Cooker Revolution from America’s Test Kitchen, I knew I had to try this recipe: red wine-braised short ribs. Who could resist that?
First things first, this recipe is not your run of the mill, throw all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and forget about it for 6 hours. There is a certain amount of prep work and we really wanted to have this meal on a weeknight. So when I read the directions, I knew it would be too much to try to do before going to work in the morning. So I did everything the night before, all of the steps up until turn the slow cooker on. I put the crock in the refrigerator so all we had to do was put it into the slow cooker unit and plug it in.
This recipe is amazing…we followed the instructions and cooked on low for 11 hours, well worth the wait! The depth of flavor was amazing and the tenderness of the beef so delightful. I have definitely noticed the difference in following slow cooker recipes when using the low setting and America’s Test Kitchen recommends this if you have the time. If you don’t have the time, you can still cook this recipe on high for 5-7 hours.
I will definitely be making more Slow Cooker Revolution recipes in the future!
Onions, Carrots and Celery. I always cut my vegetables first before cutting any meats on my cutting board.
This is what they look like after I de-boned them. See how thick the pieces of meat are?
This is what they looked like after being microwaved. Microwaving the bones renders the fat and gives this dish the roasted flavor without having to use the oven.
After browning the short ribs, place them into the slow cooker on top of the microwaved bones.
This is after the vegetables have been added and the sauce has been reduced.
This is when I wrapped the crock in plastic and put it in the fridge. In the morning, I just removed the plastic, placed the lid on top. I did wipe off the crock to get rid of some of the condensation.
This is what they look like after coming out of the slow cooker before putting the strained liquid onto it.
This recipe is a keeper.
Notes on the red wine: I used Como Sur Cabernet Sauvignon. My sister brought it over during the holidays. This is my new favorite Cabernet now.
Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs Recipe
Yield: Serves 4
Prep Time: 45 min
Cook Time: 9 to 11 hours on Low/5 to 7 hours on High1 hour
Total Time: 5 hours 45 min
Why this recipe works: Short ribs are all about the meat and the sauce, so to get a deeply flavored sauce, we first focused on the bones, which we knew were one key to flavor. Not wanting to roast the bones in the oven, we turned to the microwave, which helped in two ways: It rendered out unwanted fat (and short ribs are notoriously greasy), and it gave the bones a roasted flavor which in turn deepened the sauce during the long cooking time. One taste of these long-cooked ribs with their dark glossy sauce and you’ll be glad you put your microwave and skillet to work first.
Ingredients:
5 pounds bone-in English-style short ribs, meat and bones separated
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped medium
1 carrot, peeled and chopped medium
1 celery rib, chopped medium
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups dry red wine
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Directions:
- Arrange beef bones in a dish and microwave (in batches, if microwave is small) until well browned, 10 to 15 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.
- Dry short ribs with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12‑inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of short ribs well on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes; transfer to slow cooker. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and remaining short ribs; transfer to slow cooker.
- Add onions, carrot, celery, tomato paste, and thyme to fat in skillet and cook over medium-high heat until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine and vinegar, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps. Bring to simmer and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.
- Stir broth and bay leaves into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.
- Transfer short ribs to serving platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let braising liquid settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Strain braising liquid, discarding solids, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in parsley. Spoon 1 cup sauce over short ribs and serve with remaining sauce.
Posted in its entirety with permission from America's Test Kitchen
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Serve this over mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetable and you’ll be transported to a wonderful world of flavor. Serve it with my best mashed potatoes recipe.
Verdict on the Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook? It’s a keeper, even if I hadn’t received it for me, I would have bought it. I can’t wait to try tons more recipes in the book such as Chicken Vesuvio, Chicken Curry in a Hurry and Korean Braised Short Ribs! By the way, I’m giving away a copy of the cookbook right here on the little kitchen but hurry, it ends on March 1, 2011.
So what do you think? Are you going to try this recipe? Do you have any beef short ribs recipes you would like to share with me?
Disclosure: I received a copy of America’s Test Kitchen’s Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook. I was not compensated for this post. The opinions are my own and the recipe has been published here with permission. Some links may be affiliate links.
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Hi, my name is Julie and I love to share the cooking and baking adventures from my little kitchen. Cooking and baking is in my blood, thanks to my Mom! 
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No one can resist and I’m glad you didn’t! GREG
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I think I just drooled on my keyboard. Those look delicious! I stumbled this post!
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Love braised short ribs. I’ve always been too scared to try them at home but this seems totally doable!
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JulieD replied: February 22nd, 2011 @ 10:18 pm
Hi Kimmy,
It really is doable, like I said this recipe is definitely a keeper. You should also try this recipe for Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu, it’s even easier!
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Oh how I love beef short ribs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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That looks yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
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Yum!! Looks delish!
Your photos are fantastic!!
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I’m really enjoying the slowcooker recipes. I have one that I use and it makes my life so much easier, but I often have difficulty finding great recipes.
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Oh my! What a great looking recipe and bunch of photos. Braised short ribs are one of my favorite things in the world and yours look spectacular!!! I’ve only done mine in the slow cooker once before. I usually do mine in the oven but you’ve inspired me to make them in the slow cooker next time. Also love that you added balsamic vinegar. I’ll try that too.
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JulieD replied: February 27th, 2011 @ 11:10 am
Renee,
It’s so good! I wish I could take credit for this recipe but it came out of America’s Test Kitchen’s Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook. I’m definitely making this braised short ribs recipe again and again!
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Looks amazing!
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I also love to watch the shows and have followed many of their recipes.
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Wow, now THAT looks yummy! And I JUST ate dinner! HAHAHAHA!!!
Thanks Julie!
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I love short ribs & you can’t go wrong with an America’s Test Kitchen recipe. Will give this a try!
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These look so yummy, have to make them for my boyfriend on our next date night
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I am trying this recipe today, I will let you know my results. Do you reduce the sauce after you drain it?
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JulieD replied: June 12th, 2011 @ 8:09 pm
Hi again, Steven.
The recipe in the Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook does not call for reducing the sauce and I did not. It tastes great. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for visiting my blog.
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This dish turned out great. The only thing I did differently was add a chopped clove of garlic to the sauteed veggies. I did reduce the sauce because I thought mine was a little thin. Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely make this again.
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On the to do list! Hubby was just talking about short ribs! I think I will buy the family pack!
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Looks DE-LICIOUS!
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I tried this last night and it was fabulous. It tasted like it was from a fancy restaurant. My husband was very impressed. I love the Slow Cooker Revolution book. It does take a bit of prep but everything I’ve made from it has been fabulous.
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I made it and the look of it wasn’t as “deep” and “dark” and I seemed to have more liquid in the crock pot, but it tasted GREAT and my husband LOVED it!
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JulieD replied: March 4th, 2012 @ 4:46 pm
So glad to hear he loved them! We love this dish too! I use a 7 quart oval crockpot, I wonder if you use a smaller one? I notice that the beef short ribs don’t fully submerge in the liquids as they cook and I think that accounts for the deep and dark color. Thanks for visiting my blog, Tosha, and letting me know how the recipes turned out!
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I made this yesterday while I was at work and it’s a great recipe. Delicious.
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Hi there! Sounds YUM! One question – why chicken broth and not beef broth?
Thanks so much!
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Did you remove the bones after pulling them out of the microwave? I’m hoping to make these tomorrow.
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Julie Deily replied: January 19th, 2013 @ 10:10 pm
Hi Stella, I removed the bones before microwaving. Only the bones are microwaved. Hope you enjoy!
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Ah! Thanks so much!
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I made this for out super bowl dinner. It was great! Thanks so much! As always, I under-salted, but better under, than over. I served it over mashed potatoes and mashed rutabaga, a family fave.
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I have been eyeing this on your blog for quite some time and I must say, I made them today and they are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!! My family enjoyed them soooo much…it’s the only time I allowed my boys to lick thier fingers at the dinner table…that’s because my husbad and I were too !!! Your blog is fantastic and I have really enjoyed discovering all the great & easy recepies on it!!! Please add some more slow cooker recepies when you can……..Thanks for providing my family with such a great supper !
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This is the first recipe I made in my crock pot and I’ve made it 3 times in the last 2 months. Getting ready to make it again today! Great recipe! Thanks for sharing! Your site has some great ideas that I plan on using again!
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