Tender short ribs in a tomato red wine sauce with Parmesan mashed potatoes – this hearty slow-cooked short rib ragu is worth the time! Grab the recipe and be sure to check out more of my delicious beef recipes!
In our house, there are two kinds of cooking – weekday and weekend. It’s a simple way to classify, but I find that during the week it’s all about speed and simplicity, while the weekends are the opposite.
With the extra time, I tend to slow down in the kitchen and I don’t get bothered by lots of steps, lots of pans, and lots of time spent in the kitchen. During the week I love short-cuts and quick wins, but I tend to focus more on the process when I cook on the weekends. Cooking from scratch, taking my time with steps, and challenging myself with recipes and ideas I can’t imagine trying to execute during the week after a long day at work. I guess my weekdays are more Rachael Ray, while the weekends are more Julia Child.
Slow-Cooked Short Rib Ragu
This slow-cooked short rib ragu is a great weekend cooking project. It can’t be rushed. There’s no dumping and stirring. It’s not a one-pot wonder. There’s a lot of chopping, dicing, searing, deglazing, simmering, straining, reducing, and shredding and all of it is necessary to develop a rich and complex sauce. Dumping it all in a crock pot for eight hours just won’t produce the same result. You can’t set it and forget it.
The time investment to make this dish is well worth it – one bite of the tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef will make you so happy and so comforted you will try and figure out how to make this a rotating dinner in your weekend line-up.
In an unexpected turn of events, I paired this rich and hearty red wine and tomato beef ragu with some parmesan mashed potatoes, which make a delicious base for all the rich sauce and beef, but it can easily be served with pasta. We also used some leftovers for sandwiches by piling the shredded beef onto soft rolls with a drizzle of sauce. Depending on how many you have to feed, you should get some mileage out of this one making the time investment even more worthwhile.
Some Ingredients You’ll Need
- I used boneless short ribs, which are readily available at most grocery stores.
- Carrots, celery, onion, and garlic are sauteed in the same pan as the short ribs and soak up all the beefy flavor.
- Red wine and tomatoes are the base for the braising liquid.
- I served my ragu with mashed potatoes made with Yukon Gold potatoes, butter, sour cream, and grated Parmesan cheese.
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Slow-Cooked Short Rib Ragu
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This slow-cooked short rib ragu is hearty and comforting. The short ribs are simmered in the oven until they are fall-apart-tender.
Ingredients
For the Ragu
- 3 pounds boneless short ribs, patted dry and well seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 ribs of celery, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano plum tomatoes, including juice
- 2 cups red wine
- 2 cups water
- 6 sprigs fresh parsley
- salt & pepper, to taste47.1g
Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
- 3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the short ribs and brown on all sides until the outside is nicely caramelized. I had to do this in 3 batches so the pan wouldn’t be too crowded. Once browned, remove the ribs from the pot and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the diced carrots, celery, and onion. Cook for about ten minutes until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste until all of the veggies are coated. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat all of the vegetables. Continue to cook the mixture for another few minutes.
- Pour in the wine and increase the heat until the pot begins to simmer. Deglaze the pot by scraping the bottom with the spatula to pull up all of the browned bits. Next, add the tomatoes, first squishing each with your hands and all of the juice from the can. Pour in 2 cups of water and stir. Then add the short ribs back to the pot. Be sure they are completely covered by the liquid. If needed, add more water to ensure they are covered. Toss in the parsley (no need to chop it) and give it all a big stir. Bring the pot to a strong simmer (increase the heat if needed) and then cover it, remove it from the heat and transfer it to the preheated oven. Let it simmer in the oven for 2-3 hours, or until the beef is fork tender. For me, it took about 2 1/2 hours – start checking yours at the 2-hour mark.
- Once the beef is fork tender, remove the pot from the oven. Remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside. Using a fine mesh strainer, carefully strain the liquid into a large sauce pot. Press on the solids to extract all of the liquid before discarding them.
- Shred the short ribs before adding them to the sauce.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat. You want the sauce to thicken and reduce, which will take at least 30 minutes or so. While the sauce is reducing periodically skim the surface to remove the fat.
- While the sauce is reducing, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil them until they are fork tender (time may vary based on the size of your potato pieces.)
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the cooking pot. Add in the butter and, using a potato masher, mash up all of the potatoes along with the butter. Add the sour cream and parmesan cheese and stir well to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Once the potatoes are done the sauce should be ready. Don’t worry if the sauce isn’t ready, you can keep the potatoes warm on the stove until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve the ragu on top of the parmesan mashed potatoes. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes
Make it Ahead! You can make the ragu up to one day in advance. Just follow the recipe steps and once you’ve reduced the sauce and added the ribs back in, let it cool and then keep it in the refrigerator. Heat it up in a saucepan on the stove before you serve it. If needed you can thin the sauce with a splash of red wine, water, or beef stock. I don’t recommend making the potatoes ahead – do those the day of!
You can also serve the ragu with pasta or rice.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 1210
- Sugar: 7.8g
- Sodium: 490.5mg
- Fat: 122.9g
- Saturated Fat: 47.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 45.1g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 32.2g
- Fiber: 6.5g
- Protein: 41.2g
- Cholesterol: 205.9mg
Keywords: short rib ragu, braised beef recipe, braised short ribs
The nutrition information in this recipe is an estimate only and was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Leah says
what kind of red wine do you recommend?
April says
Hi Leah – a good rule of thumb is to use a red wine that you like to drink. I like to use a pinot noir, but a merlot or cabernet would work well, too.
Mandy says
I just made this recipe as a Sunday night treat for my husband and I. It was amazing! Felt like an expensive restaurant meal. Took all day, but it wasn’t actually too hard to make. I plan to make this the next time my mother in law comes over!
★★★★★
April says
That’s great, Mandy! This has always been a favorite of mine, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Jeff says
Has anyone tried cooking this in advance and reheating? I am looking to do this for Christmas dinner and any advance work is welcome.
April says
Hi Jeff! You can make this in advance and keep it in the fridge – I’ve made batches that I keep in the fridge and a it’s still as good as the day it was made. To re-heat it I recommend warming it in a pot on the stove. Hope that helps!
Breanna says
Hello,
Thank you for the recipe!
Does this really need 2 stalks of celery or is it 2 ribs of celery?
Thank you!
April says
Good point! Thanks for pointing that out – you’re right, it’s 2 ribs 🙂 Updating the recipe!
Maureen says
This was a so delicious and a big hit. I’m looking at doubling the recipe and cooking in a slow cooker. Has anyone tried? If so how did you convert the recipe for a slow cooker?
April says
Hi Maureen, I’m so glad you liked it! I haven’t tried this in the slow cooker and it would require adjustments to make it work. In the original recipe the sauce first reduces the oven since it’s cooked uncovered and then it’s further thickened on the stove. This wouldn’t happen in the slow cooker, so reducing the amount of liquid used would be important and you may want to still reduce the sauce on the stove. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out.
Kelly says
Wait? I just read your reply above. Uncovered in the oven? The recipe says to cover? I just made it, smells delicious, haven’t tried it yet but wondering about the sobered/uncovered in the oven?
April Anderson says
Hi Kelly – sorry for the confusion! It should be cooked covered in the oven as directed in the recipe.
jennifer says
Hi did you use boneless short ribs or bone in?
April says
Hi Jennifer, I used boneless short ribs —
Julie Wallace says
I made this on Saturday, this past weekend and wow. It was absolutely delicious. I love to cook like you, quick and easy during the weekend and explore real flavors on the weekend. This recipe was just that. Real flavors. I also made the mashed potatoes, which were absolutely perfect. Thank you for sharing this. It’s a keeper!
April says
Thanks so much, Julie! This is a great weekend project – one of my all time favorites, so happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Ashley says
Looks amazing! Do you know how long I would throw it in a slow cooker for? I tend to come home too late from work to be able to make it in the oven but would love to prepare this for my family
April says
Hi Ashley! I haven’t made this in the slow-cooker, but I’ve made other short rib recipes using my slow cooker and it’s worked fine. I recommend following the steps through step 5, except instead of transferring the pot to the oven, go ahead and place everything in the slow cooker. Depending on the size of yours, you may not need as much water – just make sure everything is covered with liquid. If you really want to shorten the process, you could skip cooking the veggies and just add them straight to the slow cooker, however I would still brown the beef in a pan. Then just use some wine to deglaze the pan and then add that liquid and the beef to the slow cooker with the veggies and liquid. Cook it all on low for 6-8 hours – hope this helps!
Rebecca says
My 11 year old and I made this for supper tonight – absolutely amazing and she was so proud to make such a fancy meal. Worth every minute!
★★★★★
April says
Hi Rebecca – thanks so much for letting me know! So glad you both enjoyed it 🙂
Tiffany says
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it! One quick question though… can I use another cut of meat? I just bought a half of a cow and I have plenty of roasts and sirloin steaks but no short ribs. Thank you for you time!
April says
Hi Tiffany! I haven’t tried this recipe with a different cut of meat, but any cut of beef you would use for a pot roast should work fine (i.e. round or chuck). You will want to adjust the cooking time, as well, depending on how tough a cut your are using – short ribs have a lot of fat, so a leaner cut may need more time. Hope that helps!
Diane says
I just made a two day roasted pepper/tomato marinara sauce. Wow It’s good, but not a quicky. Your dinner here looks worth the work alright. Slow savory sauces and meats are in a class by themselves. This just looks divine!
April says
Thanks, Diane! I love a slow-cooked meal – they’re the best!
Byron Thomas says
Oh my Lord! That looks so damn good! I’ve never tried short ribs before, but I’d love to try this yumminess!
Brian Jones says
This is my kinda food and it is coming up to slow cooking season for me when I love dishes that require a little bit of care an attention, I may have to double quantities of it though as I think this would make a wonderful sandwich/bread roll filling, not to mention flipping upside down adding a few vegetables and baking in the oven with the mashed potato on top. So much great food from a days worth of work, my kinda cooking!
April says
I love the idea of using this for sandwiches!
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
Everything about this is stunning! I need to make this!
Tracy @ Served From Scratch says
I can seriously taste the deep rich flavors of this dish through the screen!!