Cast Iron Skillet Braised Beef Short Ribs

Hands down the BEST short ribs I’ve ever had. 

Before I jump into this please beware you are about to scroll through a ton of meat. This was one of those recipes where I didn’t intend on posting for the blog as it was strictly supposed to be dinner, so the styling and effort I take to make pictures look pretty does not exist here. I honestly don’t even think you’ll care. 

Every morning the other sales manager and I start the day off talking about what we made/ate for dinner the night before. You’ve probably read this 1234643 times because in the last two years a TON of my recipes have been inspired by these morning chats. Including this heavenly one. 

Jane mentioned she took boneless short ribs, seared them, deglazed with tomato paste, and threw it in the crock pot with a mixture of beef broth, Worcestershire, onion, bay leaf, garlic, and two ingredients which threw me off but at the same time left me intrigued…

Apple cider vinegar and ketchup.

I immediately thought barbecue but then was confused as I was trying to build the flavors in mind. Beef broth doesn’t normally go in barbecue sauce. Jane had a hard time explaining the flavor profile. It had the tang of barbecue sauce but it WASN’T. I had to try it for myself and let’s just say the meatiness, the tang, and the richness from the beef and tomato really set this off into a beef flavor profile that I’ve never had before…I guess I’m just used to short ribs in red wine with carrots and herbs!

I could talk days about short ribs but I’ve already done there HERE in my Red Wine Braised Short Rib recipe.

This recipe is pretty much the same as Jane’s although I sear, cover, and cook the meat all in my cast iron skillet. One pot wonder babbbyyy. I’d give that post a read so you can find out all about boneless vs. bone-in short ribs. For this recipe I prefer boneless. 

This recipe will take about 3 hours to make, which is not nearly the amount of time it would take in the crockpot. After the meat has been seared, it’s transferred into the oven tightly covered with foil. I’m thinking since cast iron holds heat so well, once it’s baked in the oven it really helps speed up the cooking process (way faster than your slow cooker). Your house will smell of a tang and soon enough you’ll be salivating over a skillet of beef that literally melts away. SO YUM. 

Typically short ribs that have been braised in red wine are too rich to do anything fun, like adding onto a pizza, taco, or best yet ramen. This stuff you can do all of the fun things AND the basic short rib things like adding to polenta, rice, or grits. I SO recommend adding this to some ramen even if it’s carry out. 

I have more short ribs in my freezer and I know it won’t be long until I make these so I promise I’ll get more drool worthy pictures updated here. In the meantime, hopefully I’ve done enough to convince you that you NEEEEEED these. 

PS: next post you’re meeting the boyfriend. Enjoy!