Beef short ribs braised in a thick, rich BBQ sauce in the oven until meltingly tender. Serve these BBQ Braised Short Ribs with carrots and onions over a mound of mashed potatoes for a rustic, soul satisfying meal.
You will love the simplicity of this easy short ribs recipe. Once you get it started, you can walk away and come back a couple of hours later to incredibly tender beef ribs with perfectly cooked carrots and onions in a rich tomato-based BBQ sauce.
This is the perfect Sunday supper on a crisp fall or winter day.
This recipe goes waaaaay back to the time I used to contribute recipes on Allrecipes.com. It’s one of those recipes that just never goes out of style. Classic comfort food!
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Beef short ribs – You can use bone-in or boneless short ribs. If they come in long strips, cut them down to 3- to 4-inch pieces. See more below on the difference.
- Onion – I’ve used both red and yellow onions for this recipe.
- Carrots – Peeled and cut into chunks.
- Garlic cloves – Coarsely chopped.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil – A neutral oil, like vegetable oil, is a good choice for searing at a high heat.
- Beef broth – Use low sodium broth. I always mix up my own with Better than Bouillon beef base.
- Canned tomato sauce
- BBQ sauce – Since BBQ sauce is the primary flavor, you want to be sure to use a good one. I like Kinders Mild which is a good basic, not too sweet sauce. Go with your favorite store-bought sauce to make this recipe so easy.
Bone-In vs. Boneless Short Ribs
I’ve made this recipe with both bone-in and boneless short ribs and love them both equally.
Bone-In Beef Short Ribs – This cut is the short portion of the rib bone and the surrounding meat that’s cut from the front belly of the cow. Bone-in short ribs are fattier and more costly than the boneless variety. If prepared properly, they’ll cook to a fall off the bone state. This is the cut used in the images in this post.
Boneless Beef Short Ribs – Despite being called “ribs”, boneless short ribs are cut from the chuck, or shoulder, of the cow, not the rib section. They are basically very well trimmed sections of chuck roast but pricier because of the amount of work involved in trimming. The main reason I like using this cut is that it is less fatty than bone-in ribs which leads to a cleaner, less greasy sauce.
How to Make BBQ Braised Short Ribs
- Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven. Brown the ribs on all sides, about 5 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Season the ribs with salt and pepper as they brown. Transfer the seared ribs to paper towels to blot up any excess oil.
- Stir the onion rings and carrots into the same pot, and cook and stir until the onions turn translucent and start to brown. Stir in the garlic, and cook until fragrant.
- Mix in the tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, and beef broth. Bring the sauce to a boil, and simmer briefly to blend the flavors.
- Return the browned ribs to the sauce. Cover the pot, and bake in a preheated 325 degree F oven until the very tender, about 2 ½ hours.
The total cooking time may vary depending on the size of your short ribs and whether they are bone-in or boneless. Allow them to cook until they moist, fork tender, and the meat pulls away easily.
Serving Suggestions
If there was ever a recipe that called out for mashed potatoes, it’s braised beef short ribs. The braising liquid creates the most delicious sauce as they cook that’s perfect with Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, or for a veggie twist, try my Broccoli Cheese Mashed Potatoes.
Since carrots cook along with the ribs, a warmed loaf of French bread and maybe a nice glass of wine makes this a complete and absolutely delicious meal.
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BBQ Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 to 3 ½ pounds bone-in or boneless beef short ribs, cut into 3-to 4-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large onion, cut into thick slices and separated into rings
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 16 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Heat the oil over MEDIUM heat in a large, heavy, oven-safe pot or Dutch oven. Brown the ribs on all sides, about 5 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Season the ribs with salt and pepper as they brown. Transfer the seared ribs to paper towels to blot up excess oil.
- Return the pot to the heat (there should still be oil and grease in the pot) and add the onion rings and carrots. Cook and stir until the onions turn translucent and start to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 more minute. Mix in the tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, and beef broth and bring the sauce to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute to blend the flavors. Stir in the browned ribs.
- Cover the pot and bake in the preheated oven until the rib meat is very tender, about 2 ½ hours. Turn the ribs occasionally while cooking. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, if needed, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Comforting Meals
This post was originally published September 28, 2011. It has been updated with new text and images.
From my published recipe on Allrecipes.com
Delicious! I didn’t have onions or beef broth. Used chicken bouillon cube dissolved in water instead. Came out so luscious; the veggies were a luxurious, soft yumminess and the meat was fall-off-the-bone scrumptious. This has officially become a go-to recipe for my family!
I followed the recipe. The mashed potatoes were watery and gave no taste. When I use my recipe, they are creamy and have taste. I gave it a shot. So- a no go for the potatoes.
I think using a Crock-Pot for the meat is a better option. They weren’t tender shredding. Just chewy. Good recipe though because they were tasty.
Which recipe for mashed potatoes did you use? If they were watery, I’m wondering if you skipped the step of tossing the boiled potatoes in the dry pot over low heat before mashing them? I always recommend this for the best result. Short ribs will cook down to an extremely tender state if you allow them to cook long enough. If yours were tough, they most likely just needed a little more time in the oven. Hope this helps!
I just made this for dinner last night. We had Katie here and also my brother in law. This was absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making this again, everyone loved it. Thanks for posting! :o)