Oven Roasted Beef Short Ribs
An oven method for roasting beef short ribs, making its own roasting pan gravy, delicious over mashed potatoes.
This is a revised beef short rib recipe I originally created in 2016. I've made a number of ingredient improvements and technique refinements that necessitated an update.
Almost all short rib recipes have one thing in common: they're cooked in liquid, or "braised" using culinary terminology. Some of these recipes also call for two cooking procedures by browning the ribs in hot oil before braising. While there are times when going to all that trouble is no trouble at all, I was searching for a way to cook short ribs that would deliver the rich, caramelized, beefy goodness without so much effort. This was a way to steam-braise the ribs until tender, and then roast them in the last hour of cooking to create that caramelized deliciousness. You'll have to be a little creative to make this work, however.
You will need a roasting pan with a rack of some sort that will keep the ribs above the liquid that is going to braise the ribs with its steam. I used a small roasting pan turned upside down inside my large roaster. This served as a platform on top of which I put two wire racks. The ribs sat on the wire racks and allowed me to keep them from actually touching the braising liquid.
Sealing the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil then ensured the ribs would be steam-braised for three-quarters of the cooking time. The foil is then removed and the ribs roast for another hour, creating that highly prized caramelized crust. This is almost a "set it and forget it" recipe.
This recipe was made for 10 ribs, which was about all my roasting pan would accept as it's important not to crowd them, allowing the steam to circulate freely. Using a submersion blender on the rendered braising liquid made a very rich gravy as the perfect accompaniment to mashed potatoes.
Oven Roasted Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 10 beef short ribs
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste (like, Hunt's)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Chipotle chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground rosemary
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp prepared horseradish
- 4 tbsp ketchup (like, Heinz)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked salt (like, San Francisco Salt Company Cherry Wood
- non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
- 1 bottle dark ale (like, Berkshire Irish Red)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups beef stock (like, Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 medium red or yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 large Jalapeño pepper, cored, seeds removed and finely diced
Instructions
- Take the short ribs out of the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking.
- Combine all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk well to combine.
- About an hour before putting the ribs into the oven, coat them all around with the coating mixture. Your hands are the best tool for this.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
- Put all the ingredients for the cooking liquid in a deep roasting pan. Place your racks above the liquid so the steam will be able to envelope the meat without being in direct contact with the liquid.
- Spray the racks with the non-stick cooking spray and then lay out the ribs on the rack above the cooking liquid. Leave plenty of room between each rib so the steam can effectively surround them.
- Cap the roasting pan with foil. It is important that you get a good seal on the whole affair. Put something on top of the foil to keep the steam from pushing the foil open as the ribs cook. Another couple of small wire racks will do.
- Roast at 400°F for 30 minutes, then back the temperature down to 325°F for three hours.
- After three and a half hours, carefully remove the foil and lift the oven temperature to 375°F and roast the meat uncovered for another hour.
- Remove the ribs to a warm platter and tent with foil for 15 minutes while you make the gravy.
- Use a submersion blender to blend up all the vegetables into the liquid, then spoon the gravy over the your potatoes, rice or noodles.