Sometimes I don’t have a lot of time to cook and I need dinner ready by – well – dinner time. Slow cookers are perfect for easy meals that pack a lot of flavor. One of my favorite foods to make in the slow cooker is braised short ribs.
When made in the slow cooker, braised short ribs take on a somewhat beef stew character making them a classic comfort food dish. Sometimes slow cooking meat can result in a mushy unappetizing texture, but tougher cuts like short ribs with their natural fattiness hold up wonderfully to slow cooking. The mushrooms in this recipe add an umami flavor that rounds out the dish while the carrots add a touch of sweetness. The red wine sort of classes up the short ribs by adding a French/Italian influence that really deepens all of the natural flavors with its earthy fruit sweetness. Meanwhile the tomato paste works in some natural acidity to help break up some of that rich fattiness.
All together the ingredients make these some of the tastiest and easiest braised short ribs you can make. In the directions there are steps for searing the beef and then simmering the ingredients together before adding everything to the slow cooker. If you’re in a rush, however, the recipe will work if you put everything directly into the slow cooker and mix. It’s a very versatile and delicious recipe that will feed four to six people.
Red Wine Braised Short Ribs in the Slow Cooker Recipe
This recipe uses a slow cooker to make fork tender short ribs accented with an umami red wine sauce.
Nutrition
~650 calories per servingIngredients
- 2 pounds Boneless beef short ribs
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 medium Onion
- 8 oz White mushrooms
- 12 oz Baby carrots
- 1/4 tsp Dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp Dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp Granulated garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp Granulated onion powder
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp Black pepper
- 1 cup Red wine
- 2 tbs Tomato paste
- 2 tbs Butter
- 1 cup Water
Equipment
- Slow cooker
- Cup, tablespoon, and teaspoon measurements
- Frying pan
- Tongs
- Large spoon or ladle
Directions
- Heat a pan on the stove with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in to medium-high heat.
- Using tongs, sear each side of each piece of short rib (2 pounds is often 4 pieces) for 30 seconds to a minute on each side until a deep brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan or the beef will just steam rather than sear.
- Once seared, place the boneless short ribs into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- In the same pan used to sear the beef, add a chopped medium sized onion and saute until it just starts to take on a golden color or just starts to get translucent.
- Add the mushrooms and continue to saute the ingredients until the mushrooms take on a little color.
- Add the baby carrots and saute with everything else.
- Add a 1/4 teaspoon of oregano, parsley, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a 1/8 teaspoon of ground pepper.
- Mix all of the ingredients well together and add a cup of red wine to the pan. Bring the wine to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low and keep it at a simmer.
- Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste to the pan and stir well.
- Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and stir until melted.
- After about 5 or ten minutes and the red wine seems to have boiled off and thickened slightly, remove the pan from the heat and dump the contents over the beef in the slow cooker before adding a cup of water to the slow cooker.
- Set the slow cooker to low heat and set a timer for 7 or 8 hours.
- When the slow cooker is done, the beef is ready to serve!
- Serve the boneless short ribs as they are, or serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or even egg noodles.
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