Braised beef short ribs are cooked low and slow for a long time until the meat becomes meltingly tender. This classic recipe is given a deep, spicy kick with the addition of gochujang, a traditional Korean red chili paste.
Beef short ribs are a fantastic cut of meat to cook low and slow. The end result is meltingly tender meat and a rich, savoury sauce that pairs well with many side dishes.
Gochujang Sauce
Gochujang sauce is a traditional Korean red chili paste with a lot of flavour. It kinda looks like ketchup.
Gochujang comes in various heat levels and can be quite spicy — not overwhelmingly so in this particular recipe— but it is also savoury and sweet which gives it a unique depth of flavour. Gochujang is served with many traditional Korean dishes like bulgogi and bibimbap, but it works beautifully with these slow-braised beef short ribs too, giving them a unique flavour.
Gochujang is traditionally made with chili powder, glutinous rice, meju powder, yeotgireum, and salt. The sweetness of gochujang is a result of the starch of cooked glutinous rice which is cultured with saccharifying enzymes during a fermentation process.
You can make gochujang sauce at home, but it is also widely available for purchase.
Gochujang brands I recommend:
Gochujang Recipes:
Go to the best, Maangchi.
Beef Short Ribs
Beef short ribs are a tough cut of meat that work beautifully with long cooking techniques like in this recipe.
Tough cuts of meat like this are usually packed with collagen, and beef short ribs are no exception.
This cut of meat is packed with so many good things like collagen, B12, heme-iron, and lots of protein. They tend to have quite a bit of fat too, which makes them so satiating to boot.
Braised beef short ribs are a traditional winter dish, especially when paired with something like rich, buttery mashed potatoes a pictured, but I eat them year-round.
This cut of meat is still not popular in the west, and I think for many people they just don't know what to do with them. But I'll show you how easy it is to make this restaurant-quality meal at home.
How To Make Braised Beef Short Ribs
Not much is required in the way of ingredients or technique.
We'll start by browning the ribs to get that sweet, savoury fond. Then we will sauté onion, celery, carrots in the fond, deglazing with some wine (water works too, don't worry.)
Then tomato paste, beef stock, and gochujang sauce are added before the beef short ribs are allowed to then slowly braise in the oven until they are falling off the bone and practically melting in your mouth.
The gochujang sauce deepens in colour and mellows out in flavour, I like to serve these ribs with extra sauce on the side for dipping.
This mostly hands-off recipe is simple as it is impressive and it tastes even better the next day — so make enough to pack leftovers for lunch.
Let me know what you think below in the comments.
Ingredients
- 6-8 beef short ribs
- ½ cup of gochujang sauce
- 1 tablespoon of lard or tallow
- 1 teaspoon coffee grinds or coffee/espresso powder
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 onion minced
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce or Worcestire Sauce
- 2 cups beef bone broth chicken broth is fine as a substitute
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit
- Sprinkle beef liberally with salt and pepper. (if you can pre-salt your beef up to 3 days in advance, all the better)
- In a large ovenproof pot like a Dutch/French oven, heat up a tablespoon of lard over medium-high heat, add enough ribs that they are not crowded, and then brown them on all sides. Do this in batches and add more lard as needed.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add the diced onion, carrot, and celery. Allow to soften and turn golden. Do not rush this step.
- Add a splash of water or wine (red or white, doesn't matter) to deglaze the pot, scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon.
- Add the tomato paste and stir until the bright red colour begins to deepen (about 1 minute).
- Add the gochujang sauce, the bay leaves, the fish sauce or worcestire sauce, the cinnamon stick, espresso/coffee grinds or powder, and the beef stock. Stir to combine.
- Add back in the beef short ribs.
- Cover with lid and transfer to oven for 3 hours, or until the meat is falling apart and very tender.
- Remove the beef ribs carefully, trying to keep the meat on the bone.
- Place the pot with all the solids and liquid onto the stove top over medium heat. Mash with a fork or use a stick blender to blend all of the solids. Make it as smooth or chunky and rustic as you like. Let the sauce simmer until it is thick, add more broth or water into the pot if it is too thick.
- Spoon this sauce over the beef short ribs and serve atop creamy mashed potatoes or with a sharp, vinegary salad.
- Serve with additional fresh gochujang sauce on the side for dipping.
Alinn says
COOKS TIP: Use 6-8 short ribs depending on the size of your slow cooker, we tested with 6 as our cooker wouldn't fit 8 in a single layer. This will ensure they cook evenly in the sauce.
The Peasant's Daughter says
Thank you for this tip!