Braised beef short ribs in a red wine gravy

Beef short ribs in a red wine gravy cooked until they are juicy and succulent, with the meat simply falling off the bone. I made mine in a pressure cooker, but you can just as easily make them on the stovetop, in a slow-cooker, or even in the oven (all directions included below).

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The ultimate in comfort food

This recipe for beef short ribs in red wine gravy is something that I grew up eating, probably due to the fact that back in the day, short ribs were a relatively cheap cut of meat, a little went a long way and you could stretch it out even further by adding extra vegetables to the pot!

I remember coming home from school on a cold winter’s day, to be greeted by the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen, and then later being presented with a plate of succulent melt-in-the-mouth beef accompanied by a mound of creamy mashed potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding covered in gravy and lots of vegetables.

Comfort food doesn’t get much better than that!

With the price of electricity sky-rocketing in the UK, I thought it time to dust off the old pressure cooker and recreate this culinary gem (with the addition of red wine of course). And I wasn’t disappointed. The meat was as soft as I remembered it, the gravy was full of flavour, and the vegetables were cooked to perfection.

What’s even better, is that the vegetables are all cooked alongside the meat so apart from the initial prep there’s very little else to do other than to sit back and wait for the compliments.

What are beef short ribs?

The cut of beef known as short rib comes from the bottom part of the ribs below the chuck and in front of the flank.

It is a tough cut of meat, making it ideally suited to a long slow cooking time in plenty of liquid. This gives the fibres and collagen in the beef plenty of time to break down and tenderise, resulting in succulent juicy beef that practically melts in your mouth.

My favourite way of cooking short ribs is in a pressure cooker because you get all the benefits of long, slow cooking, but in a fraction of the time. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, I’ve included instructions for cooking these beef short ribs in a slow-cooker, in the oven, and on the stove so there’s no excuse for not trying them yourself 🙂

The red wine gravy

I personally think the red wine gravy is the star of the show. It’s packed with flavour, not only from the beef and the vegetables but also from the red wine.

Because there is no thickening agent added to the short ribs while they are cooking, the gravy does need to be thickened before serving. I like to remove the meat and vegetables once they are cooked and transfer the cooking liquid to a saucepan, where I thicken it with a slurry of cornflour and water. If you prefer you could blend the cooking liquid with some of the vegetables to thicken it instead.

If you don’t drink alcohol or don’t want to use it, you can substitute the red wine with additional stock.

What you will need

Equipment

I used a pressure cooker, because like everyone in the UK, I’m trying to cut back on energy consumption. You can also make this recipe in a slow-cooker, in a casserole dish or dutch oven in the oven, or in a saucepan on the stove.

Ingredients

**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making these braised beef short ribs in red wine gravy on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Beef short ribs – there is a lot of bone in these ribs so you will need between 300 and 350 grams (or 10 to 12 ounces) per adult depending on appetite. If you are feeding 2 adults and 2 children for example, you will need less.

Vegetables – you can change the recipe to use whatever vegetables you prefer. I used carrots, celery and shallots, cut into chunks. Why not try swapping some of these out for leeks, onions, parsnips, swedes or cabbage. You will need about three-quarters of a cup of these vegetables per person.

Mushrooms – white or chestnut mushrooms work well in this recipe. If they are quite small you can leave them whole, or cut them into halves or quarters if they are quite large.

Potatoes – I used baby potatoes which I left whole. Cut the potatoes into smaller chunks if they are very large.

Red wine – use wine that you would actually drink – a poor quality wine won’t improve the flavour of the food and may even spoil it. My motto as always is ‘if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it’.

Stock – if you have fresh beef stock, then use that, otherwise, just make up an equivalent amount using a beef stock cube and boiling water.

Passata – this is tomatoes that have been liquidised and then sieved to remove any bits of skin and pips. It is readily available in the UK in either cartons or bottles. If you can’t find passata you can substitute with chopped canned tomatoes.

Worcestershire sauce, salt and sugar – for seasoning. A small amount of sugar helps bring out the flavour of the tomatoes.

Olive oil or sunflower oil for browning the meat before cooking it.

What to do

This recipe was made using a Pressure King Pro electric pressure cooker. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your own particular pressure cooker.

You can peel and chop the vegetables while the meat is cooking.

Arrange the meat on a plate, surround it with the vegetables and pour over lots of the delicious gravy. Serve immediately.

Cook short ribs in the slow-cooker

To cook the short ribs in a slow-cooker:

• Sprinkle the ribs with salt and brown them in a little oil in a frying pan.
• Transfer them to a slow-cooker and add the chopped vegetables.
• Combine the stock with the red wine, passata, Worcestershire sauce and sugar and pour it over the meat and vegetables.
• Cover the slow-cooker with a lid and cook as follows:
  • High – 4 to 5 hours
  • Medium 5 to 7 hours
  • Low – 7 to 9 hours.
• Prepare the gravy according to the pressure cooker instructions.

Cook short ribs in the oven

To cook the short ribs in the oven:

• Heat the oil in the base of a Dutch oven, sprinkle the ribs with salt and brown them on all sides.
• Combine the stock with the red wine, passata, Worcestershire sauce and sugar and pour it over the meat.
• Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and transfer it to the oven.
• Cook for 1 and a half hours at 180C / 360F then add the vegetables.
• Check the level of the cooking liquid and top up with more stock if necessary.
• Leave it to cook for a further 1 and a half hours until the meat is tender and the vegetables have softened.
• Prepare the gravy according to the pressure cooker instructions.

Cook short ribs on the stove

To cook the short ribs in a saucepan on the stove:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan, sprinkle the ribs with salt and brown them on all sides.
• Combine the stock with the red wine, passata, Worcestershire sauce and sugar and pour it over the meat.
• Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and leave for 2 hours.
• Check occasionally to ensure the cooking liquid is not evapourating and top up with extra stock if necessary.
• After 2 hours, add the vegetables and continue to simmer for another hour until the vegetables have softened.
• Prepare the gravy according to the pressure cooker instructions.

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Other recipes

You may also like to try some of my other beef recipes:

• Slow-cooker beef topside with horseradish
• Slow-cooker beef Trinchado
• Slow-cooker beef silverside
• Steak and mushroom pie with puff pastry
• Minced beef hotpot
• Slow roasted brisket with onion gravy

The recipe

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