Beer Braised Short Ribs
This is comfort food at its finest!
Short ribs are one of those magical meats that you just really can’t overcook. The longer they braise, the more deliciously tender and moist they become. Braise is kind of a fancy way of saying that you’re gonna stew something. The hardest thing about braising is to plan ahead enough to allow yourself plenty of time for it to go in the oven. Kinda like planning a crockpot meal… as long as you start early enough in the day, you’re golden!
All kinds of liquids are great for braises: wine, beer, any kind of broth, colas, or even water. Here I pair dark beer with chicken broth for delightful results! The addition of onions, garlic, carrots, and thyme round out the flavors, and turn it into a whole meal in one pot!
Join me in welcoming in the cooler weather with these delicious Beer Braised Short Ribs!
Beer Braised Short Ribs Recipe
Print recipe | Meal type | Main Dish |
| Misc | Serve Hot |
Ingredients
- 6 big meaty beef short ribs (this is probably around 3 pounds)
- 1 really large onion (diced)
- 1 one pound bag of baby carrots (cut in half)
- kosher salt
- cracked black pepper
- all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6-7 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 11.2 ounce bottles of dark beer (like Guinness)
- 2 cups broth
Directions
| Step 1 | |
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Preheat your oven to 250 degrees, pull out a large dutch oven, and position an oven rack so that your pot will be in the center of the oven once its lid is on. This is definitely an occasion to pull out the big guns.  | |
| Step 2 | |
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We received this 8 quart Caphalon dutch oven as a wedding present, and it's probably the nicest thing in our house. I love it! Thank you again Miss Joyce! The veggie prep is pretty simple for this dish. First, the entire onion gets diced. Just so you know, when I say very large onion this is what I mean...  | |
| Step 3 | |
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Not to get weird... but we're talking fill your whole hand, feed a family for a week, use it as a weapon in the zombie apocalypse onion. Second, the baby carrots get chopped in half.  | |
| Step 4 | |
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And third, the thyme sprigs (about 6 or 7 nice leafy ones) get tied together with kitchen twine.  | |
| Step 5 | |
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Now that the veggies are prepped (not a very veg-friendly meal I know), move on to the ribs!  | |
| Step 6 | |
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As you can see, no two short ribs are alike. I always check out both meaty sides of the rib, because it's not uncommon to have a nice meaty side paired with a fatty or small side. If you shop somewhere that prepackages its' meat, then you're kinda stuck looking at whatever is face up. If you shop somewhere with a full service case, try asking to see the other side of the ribs (without being a pain)... or you could always tell your butcher that you're hoping for some nice meaty ones and trust their judgement! I love it when customers actually trust/listen to me btw! Anyway, generously season the three sides of the ribs where you see meat and fat instead of bone with kosher salt and cracked black pepper.  | |
| Step 7 | |
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Scoop a heaping tablespoon or so of all purpose flour,  | |
| Step 8 | |
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and sprinkle it over your ribs.  | |
| Step 9 | |
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Rub the flour on the same three sides, so that you're left with a nice light coating.  | |
| Step 10 | |
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Heat 2Tbs. of olive oil in your dutch oven over just above medium heat. When it's hot, add three of the short ribs... meaty side down.  | |
| Step 11 | |
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You want to brown the three seasoned sides about 1-2 minutes each. When the ribs have a nice developed color, pull them to a plate. Add another 2Tbs of oil, and brown the last three ribs. Browning in two batches will help avoid steaming due to overcrowding, and will actually brown the ribs faster than trying to do it all at once.  | |
| Step 12 | |
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Add the last three browned ribs to the plate, and add another 2Tbs oil and 2Tbs butter to the hot pan.  | |
| Step 13 | |
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Once it's brown and bubbly, add the diced onion. Toss around and cook for about a minute or so.  | |
| Step 14 | |
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Toss in the chopped carrots, along with 1tsp kosher salt and a few more cracks of black pepper.  | |
| Step 15 | |
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Give it all a good toss, and cook around 3 minutes.  | |
| Step 16 | |
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Add a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic, and cook for another minute or so.  | |
| Step 17 | |
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Using a slotted spoon, scoop all of the veg out of the dutch oven.  | |
| Step 18 | |
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I put the browned ribs and barely cooked veggies onto the same big platter to await their bath.  | |
| Step 19 | |
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It looks like dinner already! Albeit a chewy crunchy dinner... but still. Anyway, now is not the time to get distracted. Remember you've still got a hot pan on the stove! I didn't go nuts trying to get every last bit of onion out of the pan, so this is what I was left with.  | |
| Step 20 | |
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It's time for some braising liquid! Here are my liquids of choice.  | |
| Step 21 | |
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Ok, so maybe not. If I'd had beef broth instead of chicken, I would have totally used that. But hey, any tasty liquid would work here, so use what you've got. Pour in both bottles of beer along with 2c. of broth.  | |
| Step 22 | |
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Turn the heat all the way up, and keep it at a rolling boil for at least 5 minutes. This will reduce the liquid just a touch.  | |
| Step 23 | |
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Cut the heat off, and get ready to add all of the tasty bits back into the pot. First, add in 1tsp. of kosher salt, and a few more cracks of pepper.  | |
| Step 24 | |
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Then nestle all of the ribs (meaty side down) into the liquid, along with the bunch of thyme.  | |
| Step 25 | |
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Next, transfer all of the onions and carrots into the pot. Make sure to scrape all of the residual juices in as well.  | |
| Step 26 | |
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Spread around the veggies evenly.  | |
| Step 27 | |
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Almost completely cover the dutch oven with the lid, and place in the center of your preheated oven.  | |
| Step 28 | |
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See how the lid isn't completely on? Close the oven, and forget about it! This is what you'll see 3 hours later...  | |
| Step 29 | |
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Yum! It'd probably be delicious now... but I like to braise it a bit longer with the lid off. Place the whole heavy pot back into the oven, and cook for one more hour. Now this is what I call yummy...  | |
| Step 30 | |
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These would be great with all kinds of sides. I served mine very simply atop a pile of mashed potatoes.  | |
| Step 31 | |
| Mashed potatoes, carrots, onions, and of course deliciously moist short ribs... I can't think of many things that sound as warm and comforting as that! | |
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