Beef Short Ribs in the Crock Pot

Beef short ribs in the crock pot are close to effortless once the first half hour is done. Brown the ribs well, soften onions with garlic and tomato paste in the same pan, pour in stock and a splash of soy sauce, and let the slow cooker run on low for about 8 hours. The meat slides off the bone. Skim the fat from the juices, simmer them for a few minutes, and you have a sauce.

Short ribs are sections of rib bone with a thick layer of meat on top, marbled with fat and threaded with connective tissue. Cook them fast and they are chewy. Give them hours of gentle, moist heat and that connective tissue turns soft, the fat melts through the meat, and the beef pulls apart with a fork. Few cuts suit a slow cooker better.

At a glance: serves 4. Prep 35 minutes, cook on low about 8 hours, finish the sauce 15 minutes.

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This recipe uses 2 packs of short ribs, enough for four generous servings.

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Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, was talking about feeding a crowd when he said this, and he had the smoker in mind rather than the crock pot:

“pulling out the smoker and putting on a brisket or some chuck roast or some short ribs, you know, that's a good way to kind of do a lot of food and low and slow and take the time to get something that really stands out.”

Gray Shipley

The slow cooker is the indoor, hands-off cousin of that idea. Short ribs need hours at a gentle heat before they turn tender, and the crock pot gives them those hours while you get on with the day. The browning at the start is where the effort goes, and it is worth it.

Ingredients

• 2 packs bone-in beef short ribs, about 4 pounds, fully thawed
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or avocado
• 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch stirred into 2 tablespoons cold water (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Instructions

1. Make sure the short ribs are fully thawed; FSIS advises against putting frozen meat in a slow cooker. Pat them dry and season them all over with the salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the ribs in batches, without crowding, until deep brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Move them to the slow cooker as they finish, meaty side down, in as even a layer as you can.
3. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet. Lower the heat to medium, add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft and browned at the edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the paste darkens.
4. Pour in the stock and soy sauce and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer, then pour everything over the ribs. Tuck in the thyme and bay leaf.
5. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is very tender and pulls away from the bone.
6. Lift the ribs onto a platter with tongs and cover them loosely with foil. Pick out the thyme stems, bay leaf and any loose bones. Pour the liquid into a fat separator or a tall container, wait 5 minutes, and pour or spoon off the fat that rises to the top.
7. Simmer the skimmed liquid in a saucepan over medium-high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly reduced. Stir in the vinegar. For a thicker sauce, stir in the cornstarch mixture and simmer 1 minute more, until glossy. Taste for salt.
8. Spoon the sauce over the short ribs, scatter with parsley and serve with mashed potatoes, polenta or egg noodles. Refrigerate any leftovers within two hours.

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How long do beef short ribs take in a crock pot?

About 8 hours on low is right for thick, bone-in short ribs. They are usually tender by 7 hours and still hold their shape at 9. Past that, the meat starts to turn stringy and falls apart into the sauce. On high they take 4 to 5 hours. Every slow cooker runs a little differently, so check at the early end the first time: the meat should give way when you press it with a fork, and the bones should slide out cleanly.

This recipe is written for thick, English-style short ribs, with one bone per piece. Thin, cross-cut flanken ribs work too and need about an hour less.

Short ribs slow cooked on low or high

Low, if you have the time. A slower rise in temperature gives the connective tissue longer to soften before the meat itself tightens, and the ribs come out a little more tender and juicy. High is there for the days you start late.

Whichever you choose, brown the ribs first. A slow cooker never gets hot enough to brown anything, so the deep, roasted flavor of a good braise has to be built in the skillet before the lid goes on. You can skip it, but the sauce will taste flat and the meat pale.

Skimming the fat

Short ribs give off a lot of fat as they cook, and a slow cooker keeps every drop, since very little liquid evaporates. Do not skip the skimming. A fat separator is the quickest tool. Without one, let the liquid settle in a tall container and spoon the fat off the top. If you are cooking a day ahead, refrigerate the ribs and the liquid separately; overnight the fat sets into a solid layer that lifts straight off. The guide to greasy braises below covers the rest.

Other ways to cook beef short ribs

The same short ribs braise well in the oven. Brown them in a Dutch oven, build the same base, add enough liquid to come about halfway up the ribs, cover and cook at 325 degrees for about 3 hours. Swapping some of the stock for red wine makes a darker, richer sauce, which is the direction the red wine recipe below takes. Short ribs also smoke well over several hours at a low temperature.

Food safety

FSIS advises thawing meat completely before it goes into a slow cooker, refrigerating leftovers within two hours, and reheating them to 165 degrees F on the stove, in the microwave or in the oven, never in the slow cooker itself. The safe minimum for whole cuts of beef is 145 degrees F with a rest of at least 3 minutes. A braise passes that long before it is tender, but check with a thermometer all the same. See the FSIS guidance on slow cookers and food safety and the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.