Slow-cooker short ribs in monkey gland sauce

I think everyone loves a hearty roast beef dinner, and this recipe for slow-cooker short ribs in monkey gland sauce is a winner! A slow-cooker is ideal for cooking this cut of meat as the long, slow cooking time allows the meat to tenderise to fall-off-the-bone succulence, while the tasty cooking sauce penetrates the meat adding a deliciously different flavour!

I absolutely love beef short ribs, especially when cooked in a slow cooker. The long, slow cooking time turns what could be a tough cut of meat into tender, melt-in-the mouth perfection. Pair this succulent beef with a delicious monkey gland sauce, serve it over a mound of creamy mashed potatoes, and you have a meal that would be at home in any fancy restaurant.

Jump to:

• What is monkey gland sauce?
• What you will need
• What to do
• How to serve short ribs with monkey gland sauce
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

What is monkey gland sauce?

Let me start by saying that contrary to the name, this sauce is definitely not made from monkeys. Instead, it is a tangy, slightly sweet sauce with a hint of umami, made from simple pantry staples. The flavour is similar to that of a barbeque sauce, but in my opinion, it tastes even better.

Monkey gland sauce is popular in South Africa, and if you have ever been there, you will probably have either noticed bottles of the sauce on supermarket shelves or seen a recipe for monkey gland steak on a restaurant menu.

The origins of the sauce are shrouded in the mists of time, but from what I have read, it seems to have originated about 100 years ago.

It appears that a French doctor with Russian origins, Dr Abrahamovitch Voronoff, was conducting medical experiments into male impotence. He mistakenly thought that transplanting monkey glands into humans would increase virility. His early experiments (which were not surprisingly later discredited), were well-received in the 1920s and he became rather famous. So famous in fact that the chefs at the Savoy hotel renamed his favourite steak to 'monkey gland steak' in his honour.

Another story (which I prefer) is that the chefs at the upmarket Carlton Hotel in the centre of Johannesburg became upset with patrons covering their finely-cooked steaks with tomato ketchup and various other condiments so they devised a sauce to serve with the steaks. They made the sauce with a concoction of tomato sauce, chutney, Worcestershire sauce, onions and spices and named it monkey gland sauce, presumably after the sauce made for Dr Voronoff.

You can buy authentic South African Steers monkey gland sauce on Amazon. However, it is easy to make monkey gland sauce at home using just a few pantry staples.

You can use the sauce as a dipping sauce for various finger foods such as fried onion rings, french fries or chicken drumsticks. You can also pour it over steaks or grilled chicken. I like to use a less condensed version as a cooking sauce to make these slow-cooker short ribs.

Once cooked, I like to pile the short ribs onto a pile of mashed potatoes, add a few vegetables on the side and smother them with the monkey gland sauce.

Here's how to make it.

What you will need

Equipment

I made this recipe in a Ninja multi-cooker, using the slow-cooker function, but you can use any slow-cooker.

For blending the gravy you will need a stick blender.

Ingredients

This recipe will serve 2 people, but you can easily scale it up by adding extra meat.

The gravy makes too much for 2 people, but you can freeze any leftover gravy and use it to add to other stews and casseroles.

**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making slow-cooker beef ribs in monkey gland sauce on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Beef short ribs - this cut of meat has a large flat bone running through it so you will need quite a large portion per person (around 350 grams or 12 ounces). If you find you've bought too much, don't worry. Cold leftover short rib makes delicious sandwiches.

Onions - these should be chopped into approximately 1 cm (or half an inch) pieces.

Garlic - you can use freshly minced garlic or for convenience, use ready-minced garlic from a jar.

Passata - this is tomatoes that have been blended and the skin and seeds removed. You can buy it in cartons (as pictured) or in bottles. Make sure you don't get passata that has had herbs added to it - the flavour of the sauce will be wrong.

Tomato ketchup - yes, I know! But trust me, it works.

Chutney - if you are in South Africa, you will no doubt be using Mrs Balls Chutney (here's a recipe to make your own). Anywhere else in the world, just use your own favourite fruity chutney. For the record, I used this recipe for homemade green tomato chutney, but you can obviously use store-bought chutney too.

Worcestershire sauce - this adds saltiness and an umami flavour.

Brown sugar - for a little sweetness.

Tabasco sauce - for heat.

Sunflower oil (not pictured) - for browning the meat and onions.

I haven't included salt in the picture because this is to your own taste. I don't add salt to the sauce ingredients, but I do like to rub half a teaspoon of salt onto the meat as it browns.

Cornflour or cornstarch (not pictured) - this is optional, but I've listed it in case you need to thicken your gravy.

You will also need a cup of water or you will find the flavour of the sauce is too strong.

What to do

In a nutshell, these are the steps:

• Brown the meat
• Soften the onions
• Tip everything into a slow-cooker and leave it alone for a few hours.

If you are using a Ninja multi-cooker you can brown the meat using the saute function. If you don't have a saute function on your slow-cooker you can brown the meat and onions in a frying pan before adding them to the slow-cooker.

Let me show you.

The gravy should thicken sufficiently. However, it if is too thin for your liking you can thicken it with a tablespoon of cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. Set the Ninja to the saute function and drizzle the cornflour, a little at a time, into the gravy, stirring continuously, until the desired consistency is reached. You may not need all the cornflour mixture.

How to serve short ribs with monkey gland sauce

I like to serve this dish on a bed of mashed potatoes or rice, with fresh vegetables, and pour the gravy over the top.

You could also serve the short ribs with some crusty bread to mop up the gravy.

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Save for later

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Related recipes

Here are some of my other beef recipes you may enjoy:

You can find these and other similar recipes on my slow cooker recipes page.

📋The recipe

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