Slow Cooker Short Ribs Recipes

The best way to cook short ribs is with a delicious sauce bursting with flavor. You can also use a dry rub to make this cut of beef genuinely flavorful. People often think a cut of meat like short ribs should be cooked on a grill. But an even better option is with a crock pot. Plenty of slow cooker short ribs recipes serve as excellent examples.

​Slow cooker short ribs recipes utilize slow cooking to allow the individual ribs to soak in great flavor from the barbecue sauce or seasonings you include. What are short ribs, and are there easy short rib recipes?

Short ribs are not to be confused with beef or even pork ribs. Short ribs are a cut of beef that can come from the chuck, brisket, plate, or rib sections. The best cuts come from the chuck portion of beef near the second rib.

Ordering short ribs from a restaurant will often get you the English-style short ribs, though the flanken cut is a more popular home-cooked option. We call them short ribs because they have short rib bones, which means boneless beef ribs are not short ribs.

We can get boneless short ribs, but that just means the meat was separated from the bone after butchering. Like any other rib meat, short ribs benefit greatly from low and slow cooking.

That’s what makes slow cookers the perfect kitchen appliance to use for cooking short ribs. Slow cooking is done with a homemade BBQ sauce, store-bought, or dry rub for ribs. The cooking time will be longer, but that’s what we want.

You can even set it to cook in the morning before you leave for work and come home to a delicious, bone tender short rib filled with flavor.

Slow Cooker Short Ribs Recipes

The first time you make short ribs is exciting, not because you are learning something difficult but because they will be delicious. Placing ribs into a small bowl for seasoning is the best way to start.

This will ensure the ribs get fully coated in the seasoning before you place ribs in the low heat of a slow cooker. Of course, we want a recipe for this step, but we must make some decisions. Do we want to season ribs for an Asian short ribs recipe like Korean short ribs?

Or do we want something with a little more cayenne pepper for a smoky flavor, like a classic BBQ short ribs recipe? There are just so many different ways to season short ribs. Red wine is another popular ingredient for short ribs.

Red wine can be used to make braised short rib recipes. Braised short ribs will take a little more time and effort because you will want to brown the ribs in a large skillet first. The braising liquid can just be added straight to the slow cooker.

But there are more ways than braised to make short ribs.

How Long Does it Take for Short Ribs to be Tender?

Nothing is better than opening a slow cooker after making one of the best slow cooker short ribs recipes and pulling out tender meat. Beef short ribs are tough, one might say very tough. We can find recipes that show us how to make tender short ribs.

However, learning the process can help us better understand the recipe, thus increasing our odds of making delicious beef. Short ribs are tough cuts of meat with fatty connective tissue going through it.

The goal is to get that extra fat between the fibers to melt away. Melting the fat will make the meat tender. The problem is that you can also overcook the meat. Getting rid of all the fat will make the short ribs completely fall apart.

This might be good if you want to go with Mexican recipes for short ribs tacos. However, we need to find the sweet spot of melting the fat away and leaving some behind if we plan on serving the short ribs with mashed potatoes, French fries, or a veggie puree.

Since the bones will cause higher internal temps, we want to cook beef short ribs to 205 degrees Fahrenheit internal temp.

How to Not Overcook Short Ribs

The best slow cooker short ribs recipes will make it almost impossible to overcook them. However, overcooking is a possibility. Overcooked short ribs will have mushy meat, and no one wants that.

People often get overcooked short ribs from braising too long or cooking in the oven for more than the recipe card suggests. A tomato paste sauce like the classic beef short ribs recipe will help.

This is because the acidity of the tomatoes will help cook the meat a bit faster. Ultimately, any slow cooker recipes will help reduce the risk of overcooking. You can even find a recipe that allows you to include ale and cook the ribs for 10 hours without overcooking.

Ale braised short ribs are worth trying the next time you have short ribs in the freezer to cook. While overcooking is a risk for almost every cut of meat, short ribs don’t top the list of riskiest.

Do You Have to Brown Short Ribs?

The short answer, pun intended, is no. Browning the short ribs is crucial in getting the best flavor from your slow cooker short ribs recipes. A delicious balsamic braised short ribs recipe requires browning.

A traditional beef short ribs with rich gravy recipe also asks you to brown them a little bit before putting them in a slow cooker. However, many recipes rely more on the sauce and seasonings to absorb the flavor without browning the meat.

Teriyaki short ribs will only require browning if you want. This means browning them is optional. However, most recipes will require browning, even if there is a lot of juice, like in this classic braised short ribs slow cooker recipe.

Personal consumption is going to be the deciding factor. Do you have time to brown the ribs beforehand? Will we enjoy the flavor profile without the browning? The choice is yours to make.

Unique Short Ribs Recipes

There are a lot of slow cooker short ribs recipes for us to choose from. However, many of the recipes are for braised short ribs. The uniqueness will come from how you braise the short ribs. Did you use a bay leaf?

Are we looking more for Korean barbecue? What liquid base did you use for the braising? These things all factor into how unique your short ribs recipes can become. We can braise the ribs with plenty of things; try using a Guinness beef ribs recipe, or ditch the wine and beer and go for something a little stronger with bourbon beef short ribs.

You can never go wrong with the classic idea of how to cook beef short ribs in a slow cooker. However, there is nothing wrong with getting a little crazy and making short rib ragu for a night filled with Italian recipes.

No matter which route you decide to take, short ribs are always a good idea for dinner, and the slow cooker is the best way to cook them.

More Slow Cooker Recipes

How to Make Crockpot BBQ Ribs | You can also make regular ribs in your crockpot. In fact, they might be better than off the grill.

Crockpot Turkey Chili Without Beans | Chili is another recipe that benefits greatly from low and slow cooking methods.

Budget Friendly Beef Stroganoff | Stroganoff is a pasta dish that we should be adding to our rotation more frequently.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken for Tacos | Salsa chicken is perfect for making tacos more flavorful and juicy.

Healthy Crockpot Breakfast Casserole Recipe | Wake up to a breakfast that is ready to eat with the help of your slow cooker.