Make these Instant Pot short ribs for restaurant-quality tender fall of the bone meat glazed in a glossy delicious red wine sauce. Braising short ribs in the Instant Pot couldn’t be easier!
Here’s my recipe for the best EVER Instant Pot short ribs! The short ribs are cooked to perfection in so little time (compared to other cooking methods), and with very little effort!
Just like my Instant Pot Lamb Shank recipe, you will end up with fall of the bone tender meat in the richest and most delicious sauce!
I love how glossy and rich the braising liquid turns out, and I often thicken it to turn it into a flavorful gravy to serve over creamy mashed potatoes. Try my recipe for short ribs or use any other red meat here for the best restaurant-quality meal that you’ll make at home!
If you’re looking for baby back rib recipe, then check out this Instant Pot Ribs recipe.
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The Ingredients
To make this Instant Pot short rib recipe, you will need:
- Beef short ribs: Go for the meatiest short ribs that come from the chuck. Look for well-marbled meat without too much fat, and for meat that is firmly attached to the bone.
- Mirepoix: a combination of onion, carrot, and celery.
- Red wine and stock: For the wine choose an inexpensive dry red wine like chianti, sherry, cabaret sauvignon, merlot, or shiraz. As for the stock you can use beef or chicken stock/broth.
- Garlic, tomato paste, oil, soy sauce, salt, and pepper.
- Bay leaves, and fresh thyme.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Prepping the Beef Ribs
There are 2 different cuts of short ribs, English cut and flanken cut. The english cut is widely available, and is what you can see in my images of this post. I prefer the English cut because they’re meatier segments that are taken from one section of the rib as opposed to the fanklen style where you get thinner stips with multiple bone segments.
If you bought a plate/rack, go for English style cut by cutting in between the bones, so each piece has 1 bone.
To prep the beef, start by washing the short ribs from remaining blood and bone dust and pat dry using paper towels. You need the meat to be really dry as you’ll be searing it to give it a great color and flavor when it’s caramelized.
Remove the silverskin/membrane on the boney side with a towel (see baby back ribs recipe for images and tutorial). Trim any excess fat on the external surface/meaty side (not between the connective tissue) as the fat won’t render down since this is not grilling or smoking, but you can leave a little bit if desired as you will sear the meat.
How to Make The Best Instant Pot Short Ribs
Generously season the short ribs with salt and pepper, then heat oil in the Instant Pot and when it’s smoking hot brown the meat from all sides (do this in batches!). What searing does is caramelize the meat and give it a depth of flavor. Remove the meat from the pot.
Cook the onions, tomato paste, and garlic in the pot until everything has softened. Switch off the SAUTE setting, and deglaze the pot with wine using a wooden spoon to scrape off any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. These brown bits hold a TON of flavor!
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, and put the meat back in. Pressure cook for 50 minutes (45 minutes for smaller ribs), let the steam release naturally for 15 minutes then do a quick release.
Carefully remove the lid,
Common Questions
The alcohol evaporates when you deglaze the pot and pressure cook, as you’ll just end up with a flavorful braising liquid rather than alcohol tasting sauce. But to substitute, just use an equal amount of beef broth or stock, chicken stock, or red wine vinegar.
For a smooth sauce, I strain the sauce first, then skim off the fat and thicken with a cornstarch slurry. Just make sure that you mix the cornstarch with water before adding it to the sauce, cook and stir until it has thickened.
How to Serve Instant Pot Short Ribs
Braised beef short ribs are often served with creamy mashed potatoes and its braising liquid. You can also thicken the braising liquid to make a gravy.
You can also serve the short ribs with creamy polenta, roasted vegetables, roasted root vegetables, or a simple side salad.
If you have leftovers, you can easily turn them into delicious tacos, quesadillas, burritos, sandwiches, or fried rice!
More Meaty Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Lamb Shanks (braised in red wine!)
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Cube Steak
- Instant Pot Oxtail
- Mexican Shredded Beef
- Barbacoa Beef
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds (1.4kg) beef short ribs membrane removed, plated separated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion thickly sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ⅓ cup red wine optional – I recommend dry sherry
- 1 cup beef or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Start by removing the excess layer of skin and fat from the ribs. Season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper on all sides.
- On the Instant Pot press on SAUTE twice to choose the MEDIUM setting, and heat the oil. The screen will show the HOT message. Add the short ribs to sear, meaty side down. Work in batches.
- When browning the meat is done, remove the meat onto a plate and set it aside. Add onions to the pot (and a little bit of oil if needed), and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and tomato paste, and cook for 1 more minute. Switch off the SAUTE setting.
- Deglaze the pot with the red wine scrubbing any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the beef or chicken stock, and soy sauce.
- Add the carrot and celery and give everything a quick stir.
- Add the beef ribs back in and a bay leaf, and fresh or dry thyme.
- Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 50 minutes at high pressure (45 for smaller ribs). The Instant Pot will take around 10-15 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, allow the steam to release naturally for 15 minutes then do a quick release.
- Carefully remove the lid, and remove the short ribs onto a plate.
To make gravy
- Strain the liquid, and skim fat.
- Return the liquid to the Instant Pot, and press on the SAUTE setting.
- Thicken with a cornstarch slurry. Start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water. If the gravy isn't thickened, add more cornstarch slurry and whisk. Serve with ribs.
Notes:
- If using wine, choose an inexpensive dry red wine like chianti, sherry, cabaret sauvignon, merlot, or shiraz. Pinot wine isn’t suitable for this kind of cooking.
- Don’t skip searing the meat, as the best flavor develops when searing the meat first.
- If not prepped here’s how you do it: Remove the silverskin/membrane on the boney side with a towel (see pork ribs). On the meaty side, remove the excess fat (the fat won’t render down since this is not grilling or smoking). You can leave a tiny bit if desired as we will sear the meat.
- If you bought a plate/rack, go for English style cut by cutting in between the bones, so each piece has 1 bone.
- Put in a bowl with cold water, rinse from any remaining blood and bone dust. Then pat very dry with kitchen towels, and air dry if you have time so it browns well (otherwise, searing will be a difficult job).
Video
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
KW says
Great recipe! I made it exactly but left out the tomato paste and celery. It was delicious!
Steve says
Hello,Recipe looks amazing. I have 12lbs of English cut beef ribs for an upcoming get together. Would you recommend doing two batch’s 6lbs ea or all in one? If two batch’s
will keeping the 1 st batch warm (180degree) in the oven be acceptable?
Thanks a bunch!
Steve
Diana says
Hi Steve, it depends on the size of your Instant Pot (if you have the 10qt, you might be able to cook everything in one batch). I use a 6-quart, and would do it in 2 batches. And yes you can keep the first batch warm in the oven until serving.
Carol Graziano says
I made this for my New Year’s Day dinner. The best I’ve ever had
Shannon says
Super easy to make! I’d trust hubby to make it 😬😬
Full of flavour, meat was tender, sauce was rich. It’s being added to my recipe book and I’ll make it again.
Dm says
If I wanted todo this in the slow cooker do you recommend the same prep and doing 6-8 hours on low?
Diana says
Yes, 6-8 hours until the meat is tender! Enjoy!