These Cranberry Braised Beef Short Ribs are rich savoury, succulent and delicious. They can be made in the oven or Instant Pot. Perfect for a special holiday meal | imagelicious.com
4poundsbeef short ribs(bone-in, cut into 3-inch cubes)
1onion(cut in wedges)
5clovesgarlic(smashed)
1teaspoonsaltpepper
1teaspoonpepper
1teaspoonpaprika
1/4cupflour
2cupscranberry juice(See note!!)
1cupdry red wine(such as Merlot)
10sprigsthyme
fresh or frozen cranberries for garnish(optional)
Instructions
Oven Braised Beef Short Ribs
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large Dutch Oven or other large and heavy oven-proof pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat.
In batches, brown the ribs on all sides and transfer to a plate.Make sure to not brown too many ribs at a time or they will start steaming instead of searing.
Once all the ribs are seared, pour off most of the fat from the pot.
Reduce heat to medium-high and add onion and garlic.
Cook, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until the onion is slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the salt, pepper, paprika, flour and stir to coat.
Whisk in the cranberry juice and wine.
Add the sprigs of thyme.
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Return the ribs with all the juices to the pot, cover, and transfer to the oven.
Cook in the oven until the ribs are easily pierced with a tip of a pairing knife, about 3 hours.
Once cooked, with a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer ribs to a large platter and cover with foil.
Strain the liquid into a fat separator, let sit briefly, and pour back into the pot, discarding fat. Although, I prefer using the fat separator twice.
Bring the liquid to boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to a sauce-like consistency, about 10 minutes.
Strain again if desired, adjust the seasoning if needed and pour over ribs.
Garnish with fresh or frozen cranberries if desired.
Instant Pot Braised Beef Short Ribs
Press sauté button on your Instant Pot. Depending on your model of Instant Pot, you may have different temperatures for sauté mode, if so, then choose high temperature. Add the olive oil and wait until it heats up. The display should read hot.
In batches, brown the ribs on all sides and transfer to a plate. Make sure that you do not overcrowd Instant Pot or the ribs will begin to steam instead of searing.
Once all the ribs are seared, pour off most of the fat from the Instant Pot.
If your Instant Pot model allows to change the temperature of sauté function, then reduce it to medium. Add the onions and garlic.
Add a splash of cranberry juice (about 1/4 cup) and scrape really well to make sure that there are no brown bits stuck to the bottom of Instant Pot, otherwise it may give a burn notice.
Once the bottom is clear, cook for a few minutes until the cranberry juice evaporates.
Add the salt, pepper, paprika, flour and stir to coat.
Whisk in the cranberry juice and wine.
Add the sprigs of thyme.
Return the ribs with all the juices to the pot.
Turn sauté mode off.
Close the lid of your Instant Pot and turn the valve to Sealing.
Press Manual or Pressure Cooker button (depending on your model) and use the arrows to select 45 minutes. Use default High Pressure. It will take about 10-15 minutes to come to pressure.
Once the Instant Pot beeps that the 45 minutes of cooking are done, do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes (it means that you need to just wait for 10 minutes). Then do a quick release. This should take another 4-5 minutes.
With a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer ribs to a large platter and cover with foil.
Strain the liquid into a fat separator, let sit briefly, and pour back into Instant pot, discarding fat. Although, I prefer using the fat separator twice.
Click cancel to turn off Keep Warm function.
Press sauté mode on. Bring the liquid to boil and cook until reduced to a sauce-like consistency, about 10 minutes.
Strain the sauce again if desired, adjust the seasoning if needed and pour over ribs.
Garnish with fresh or frozen cranberries if desired.
Video
Notes
Use 3 cups cranberry juice for oven recipe.Use 2 cups cranberry juice for Instant Pot recipe.Check out the body of the post for my tips for searing the meat and using the fat separator.