Ina Garten Red Wine Braised Short Ribs (Slow Cooker)

Name: Barefoot Contessa's Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs | Barefoot Contessa: Cook Like a Pro | Food Network
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 h 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2.3 kg meaty bone-in beef short ribs; olive oil, for brushing; 22 ml fine salt; 7.5 ml black pepper; 60 ml olive oil; 3 cups leeks, sliced and dried in a salad spinner; 3 cups celery, chopped; 2 cups carrots, chopped; 2 cups onions, chopped; garlic, chopped; 750 ml Cotes du Rhone red wine; 950 ml beef stock; 240 ml tinned crushed tomatoes; Irish stout; fresh thyme, tied in a bundle; 15 ml fine salt; 7.5 ml black pepper

Ina sheet-pan roasts 5 lb of meaty short ribs to skip the spitting frying pan, then builds a sauce on leeks, celery, carrots and onions sweated in olive oil. A whole bottle of Cotes du Rhone red wine and a bottle of Irish stout go in together, with beef stock, crushed tomatoes and a thyme bundle. In the original she braises it in the oven at 325F for two hours, lid on then off. For this site the braise moves to the slow cooker and the sauce is reduced on the hob at the end to keep it thick and glossy. She serves it with blue cheese grits or a big puddle of mashed potatoes.

Slow cooker notes: Ina braises in a Dutch oven at 325F for two hours (1 hour covered, 1 hour uncovered). Adapted to slow cooker: roast the ribs and sweat the vegetables as on camera for depth of flavour, then transfer everything to the slow cooker for 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High. Lift the ribs out at the end and reduce the sauce in a pan on the hob for 20 minutes as Ina does, since slow cookers do not evaporate liquid. Beef stock not reduced from Ina's 4 cups because the sauce is reduced on the hob at the finish.

Ingredients

Short ribs

2.3 kgmeaty bone-in beef short ribs
olive oil, for brushing
22 mlfine salt
7.5 mlblack pepper

Stew base

60 mlolive oil
3 cupsleeks, sliced and dried in a salad spinner
3 cupscelery, chopped
2 cupscarrots, chopped
2 cupsonions, chopped
garlic, chopped

Braising liquid

750 mlCotes du Rhone red wine
950 mlbeef stock
240 mltinned crushed tomatoes
Irish stout
fresh thyme, tied in a bundle
15 mlfine salt
7.5 mlblack pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 425F (220C). Lay the short ribs on a sheet pan, brush all over with olive oil and sprinkle with the 1.5 tbsp salt and 1.5 tsp pepper. Roast for 20 minutes until well browned.
~25 min
While the ribs roast, heat the 60 ml olive oil in a large pan. Add the leeks, celery, carrots and onions and sweat for 20 minutes until tender. Keep the vegetables dry going in so they saute rather than steam.
~22 min
Stir the garlic into the vegetables and cook for 1 minute, just until fragrant.
~1 min
Pour in the whole bottle of red wine, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes to take the raw edge off.
~12 min
Add the beef stock, tinned crushed tomatoes and the bottle of stout. Drop in the thyme bundle and season with the 1 tbsp salt and 1.5 tsp pepper. Stir well.
~3 min
Transfer everything to the slow cooker. Nestle the roasted short ribs into the sauce along with any juices from the sheet pan. Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours until the meat is fork-tender.
Lift the short ribs out with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Discard the thyme bundle.
~5 min
Pour the sauce into a pan and simmer on the hob for about 20 minutes to thicken. Skim off the fat that rises to the top.
~20 min
Return the short ribs to the reduced sauce and warm through for 5 minutes. Serve with blue cheese grits or mashed potato.
~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I really need to roast the short ribs first?

Yes. Slow cookers steam rather than brown, so the colour and depth of flavour come from the sheet-pan roast before everything goes in the pot. Ina uses the oven specifically to dodge the spitting frying pan.

What wine should I use?

Ina uses a Cotes du Rhone, a full-bodied French red. Her rule is to use something you would happily drink, not anything too fancy. A whole 750 ml bottle goes in.

Can I skip the stout?

You can, but the stout is doing real work here. Layered with the red wine it gives the sauce a darker, almost roasted flavour. Any Irish dry stout works.

Why reduce the sauce on the hob at the end?

Slow cookers hold all their liquid in, so the sauce comes out thinner than an oven braise. Twenty minutes of simmering in an open pan thickens it to the rich, glossy consistency Ina is after.

What do I serve it with?

Ina serves it with blue cheese grits or a big puddle of mashed potato. Anything that catches the sauce works: soft polenta, buttered noodles, or a chunk of bread to mop up.

Extraction notes (transparency): Garlic quantity not stated (Ina says 'some garlic'). Stout bottle size not stated. Thyme quantity given as 'a sprig... a little bundle', no count. Olive oil for brushing the ribs not measured. Servings not stated on camera; 6 is a working default for 5 lb of short ribs and is flagged needsReview-safe at this confidence.