Short ribs served with rich gravy over mashed potatoes is a classic comfort meal on a cold winter day. An Instant Pot makes them fall-off-the-bone tender in just 45 minutes.
Want to make this recipe on the stove-top? GettheinstructionsinmyRed-Wine Braised Short Ribspost.
There are some recipes that I make that I love. That I still think about days, weeks, even months later. Red-wine braised short ribs are one of those recipes.
It's a really rich, filling recipe, one that I only make on the coldest of winter days. Even when there is no short rib meat left, the sauce and veggies are almost like a thick soup, delicious when sopped up with a piece of hearty bread.
As I linked above, I've made this recipe before, in my Dutch oven on the stovetop. Since that post published, I caved to peer pressure and bought an Instant Pot. I wasn't sure what I would think of it.
Well, since then, I've made some delicious dinners that I had previously put off due to the time involved. You can't decide at 3 p.m. on a Sunday evening that you'd like to have barbacoa tacos for dinner that evening if you don't have a pressure cooker.
And unlike a slow cooker, you can do all of your searing and sauteeing right in the Instant Pot. Geez, this is starting to sound like an ad for the Instant Pot, but honestly, I just really enjoy using the appliance.
These short ribs came out just as fall-off-the-bone tender as if they were simmered all day on the stovetop. I didn't do the degreasing step that's listed in the stovetop version, and next time I probably will, but other than that, I can't wait to make these in the Instant Pot again!
Short ribs served with rich gravy over mashed potatoes is a classic comfort meal on a cold winter day. An Instant Pot makes them fall-off-the-bone tender in just 45 minutes.
Ingredients
3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3 lbs bone-in, individual-cut short ribs
Kosher salt and pepper
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves, garlic minced
1 ¼ cups dry red wine
2 cups beef stock
1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste
2 stalks fresh rosemary, leaves plucked from stems and chopped
1 bay leaf
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup cold beef stock
Instructions
Turn your Instant Pot to saute mode. Once hot, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil.
Season the short ribs on both sides with salt and pepper, and saute them in the Instant Pot until they no longer stick to the bottom, then flip and brown the other side. Remove to a plate.
Add the remaining olive oil, and saute the onion, carrots and garlic until soft and the onions are slightly translucent.
Add ¼ cup of the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula or wooden spoon to release the bits stuck to the bottom.
Add the remaining wine, beef stock, tomato paste, rosemary leaves, and bay leaf. Add the short ribs back into the Instant Pot, submerging as much as possible in the liquid.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the valve to "sealing" and set it to pressure cook for 45 minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully move the valve to "venting" to release remaining pressure.
Use tongs to remove the short ribs to a plate. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and beef stock.
Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode, and bring the sauce to a boil. While stirring, slowly drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the Instant Pot. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Boil the mixture for 1 minute to cook out the starch taste.
Place one or two short ribs on a plate, and ladle some of the gravy over top.
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Why are my short ribs tough in the Instant Pot? If beef short ribs are tough, they simply haven't been cooked long enough. If your short ribs aren't completely tender after 45 minutes, simply pop the lid back on and cook at High Pressure for another 5-10 minutes or until tender.
The tannins will become more concentrated in the heat and pressure and the final dish could end up tasting unpleasantly astringent. A fruitier red wine, such as a Merlot or Zinfandel, will work best. And if you are concerned that the alcohol will not “cook off” or evaporate in the Instant Pot, you are correct.
These ribs are chunky, with plenty of meat surrounding the bones and dense fat marbling throughout. This flavoursome fat and connective tissue means that beef short ribs need long, slow cooking in order to become tender.
The Instant Pot is the perfect vehicle to cook tender, fall off the bone meat in a short amount of time. Because you pressure cook the ribs, they are super tender, but they do need another quick cook either in the oven or on the grill to finish them off and give them a nice crust.
A meat tenderizer doesn't do much for ribs, especially pork ribs. The problem is the amount of collagen. The best way, in fact the only way I know for sure, it to cook them low and slow. You can use the oven, braise them in a slow cooker, smoke them in a smoker, or even cook them indirectly on a grill.
You will need to brown the short ribs before braising. Using a dutch oven or a sauté pan, add the short ribs on one layer and use medium-high heat to brown them. Sear them on each side and let them get a deep brown. Browning is an art form that can take years of practice.
You want liquid to come about a quarter and no higher than half way up the side of the meat. Because of the curvature of the dino ribs, we'll be cooking them on their sides, so they make a crescent in the pan. Then, of course, you must cook them. Cover the pan in which you are braising and put the ribs in the oven.
Wine is basically an acid ingredient (which helps tenderize the outside of the meat) and it has a lot of flavor. The wine-based marinade helps keep meat, poultry, or seafood moist while it cooks, too.
The truth is that you can use old wine for cooking a variety of dishes. Whether you use red or white wine doesn't matter. You can cook with wine for up to two months or longer after the bottle has been opened. Even if the wine you use for cooking is unfit for drinking.
As a reference, here's a helpful rule of thumb: After 30 minutes of cooking, alcohol content decreases by 10 percent with each successive half-hour of cooking, up to 2 hours. That means it takes 30 minutes to boil alcohol down to 35 percent and you can lower that to 25 percent with an hour of cooking.
If they aren't braised long enough, they can be super tough to eat; if they are cooked too long, the meat will just fall apart. The key to preparing short ribs is to cook them until they reach a point that is just before they would fall apart.
Short ribs aren't tender, they need to be braised in order to make them edible. A long slow cook in a flavorful liquid will break down the connective tissue within their meat, transforming it into luscious gelatin and give you a satiating satisfying meal.
Short ribs usually come with quite a bit of fat, and while you can trim some of this off before cooking I prefer not to, since it insulates the meat and keeps it moist and tender while cooking. But all that fat, melted off during cooking, can give a pronounced greasy feel to the meat.
If it's still tough, you will need to cook it longer. The pressure cooking process breaks down tough meat, making it tender. Put the lid back on, seal the pressure cooker, and cook at high pressure for another 10 to 20 minutes.
If they aren't braised long enough, they can be super tough to eat; if they are cooked too long, the meat will just fall apart. The key to preparing short ribs is to cook them until they reach a point that is just before they would fall apart.
Braising allows the ribs to tenderize while bathing in a flavorful liquid, absorbing the flavors as they also melt their connective tissue and release their own meaty essences into the mix. You end up with a meat and a sauce that are ideally suited to each other and are both incredibly tasty.
Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat. Earlier, I explained how ingredient size affects the cooking time.
Introduction: My name is Dr. Pierre Goyette, I am a enchanting, powerful, jolly, rich, graceful, colorful, zany person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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