Our easy English short ribs recipe comes out fork tender every time in less than 1 hour. Fall-apart with potatoes and vegetables all cooked at the same time in a pressure cooker.
What are English Cut Short Ribs
These cuts run parallel to the bone, resulting in individual pieces that include a single rib bone with a thick slab of meat attached. These are typically about 2 to 4 inches long and have a good amount of marbling, which contributes to their flavor and tenderness when cooked.
Not only will they get super tender cooked under high pressure but you can cook carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips and celery with it at the same time! Talk about an easy complete one pot meal done in about one hour. Just one of many easy Instant Pot recipes on our blog.
Do English short ribs get more tender the longer you cook them?
Yes, the meat on these short bones do get more tender the longer you cook them, but it’s important to cook them correctly using low and slow methods. English ribs are a cut that includes a significant amount of connective tissue and fat, which requires time and low heat to break down into gelatin so don’t rush things.
Baby back, spareribs and country style ribs would be the most commonly used and they get the most tender in a shorter time period. The latter having the most meat on the bones, pork is typically more popular than beef but we are going to explore the cow today. 😉
What is the best way to tenderize beef short ribs?
Under high pressure is best by far, just like we made our Ninja Foodi ribs. That was just the meat and it had a bbq base. I thought we’d try to cook vegetables and short ribs together this time though with a milder flavor profile. If you have never worked with this cut before it is different than others for sure.
Ingredient Notes
- For the timing below and keeping the size of the 6 quart pot in mind we used 4-5 pounds of English cut short ribs, fresh or defrosted really doesn’t change the cook time though if hard you cannot saute at the start.
- When you do saute you will want a bit of either olive oil or avocado oil to brown the outsides. This will lock in the moisture and keep them super moist. If skipped it will still turn out but recommended.
- Diced or sliced onions will not only add flavor but texture as well. I like white or yellow in color personally.
- I will typically add a few stalks of celery sliced, baby carrots wou;d work well if you wanted to really load up on the vegetables.
- Minced garlic goes in all of our dishes. If you have followed my blog for any length of time you know this, buy it in bulk at costco we love it so much.
- Beef broth or stock is needed for the liquid to steam it until it literally wants to fall off of the bones.
- Sweet potatoes peeled and cubed are a nice touch but of course an optional add in. My kids absolutely love pressure cooker sweet potatoes, in this case I dice them smaller though
- Turnips peeled and sliced my husband likes but again, optional veggie to add.
- For a fresh touch I will dice some sprigs of thyme
- Red wine vinegar will bring a rich flavor to the sauce.
with Frozen English Cut Short Ribs
If you only have access to meat right out of the freezer we have you covered still. You would want to follow the directions with our Instant Pot frozen short ribs as far as timing goes but honestly there isn’t a huge difference, they come out delicious as well.
Tips
To begin with, beef ribs take a lot longer to get tender than their pig counterpart. Note that. They really need to be submerged in some sort of liquid, broth is best to break down the connective tissue. Another tip to get them just right is to remove the membrane from ribs if it is still in tact.
I love to season them at the beginning, that is best so when they brown the salt, pepper, garlic powder can really stick on the outside nicely. You can use a blend you love on beef, use what is listed below or choose one of our oxtail seasoning ideas.
The process under high pressure is simple and allows the meat to fall apart quickly and easily. There is another style you’ll find in the meat section in your store too though called flanken style short ribs. I would not recommend getting those. They are cut thin across the ribs and if you ask me are much harder to get the meat out.
Final quick tip is to sear the outsides a bit before pressure cooking. This is recommended for any type of meat really, but for sure when making any sort of meat like you see here. The purpose for this step is to seal the juices in.
Then if you follow our suggestion to make Crockpot Express ribs or Instant Pot teriyaki ribs you’ll want to scrape all of the stuck on bits of food off the bottom of the pot. Why?? If you don’t these pots can be sensitive and trigger the burn notice on the screen. When that happens all cooking with cease and you’ll be super frustrated, and have a late dinner.
Before this we made Crockpot ribs all the time. Another great way to cook for a LONG time to get it as tender as possible, then just broil the crispiness on at the end.
English Cut Short Ribs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4-5 lbs short ribs, fresh or defrosted
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small onions, diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 3 whole turnips, peeled and sliced
- 8 sprigs thyme
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Season the English cut short ribs with salt and black pepper on all sides. Heat the electric pressure cooker using the “saute” setting until hot. Add the olive oil and brown the short ribs in small batches until golden brown on all sides.
- Remove the ribs and keep warm. To the pot add the onions and celery. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic. Deglaze the bottom of the pot by adding the beef broth and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon.
- To the broth, add the remaining vegetables. Place the short ribs on top. Lay the fresh thyme over the ribs and drizzle with red wine vinegar. Close the lid and set the valve to “sealing.”
- Pressure cook for 50 minutes. Allow the electric pressure cooker to naturally release the pressure for 15 minutes before performing a quick release of the remaining pressure.
- Serve meat with vegetables and a spoonful of the sauce in the pot on top.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
They should be fall off the bone tender cooked this way to serve or make Short Rib Tacos with. I would not recommend doubling what I have listed here. If you overfill your pot it may not reach pressure and take a lot longer to get to the texture you want.
Ribs are cut already so there really isn’t any prep once it is done unless you want a second side dish. For more of a Korean barbecue flavor you can brush some of this sauce on the top when done. Either way, enjoy your tender and flavorful dish together and enjoy!
How to save leftovers
If you have leftovers, they save quite well. Just slide them into a freezer bag once cooled and put into the fridge. When you’re ready to reheat ribs, leave them on the countertop for 20ish minutes first. Then you can follow our air fryer ribs recipe, but just for 4 minutes or so to warm them again and get some crisp on the top. It is even better if you brush bbq sauce or something on to the top and then heat so it gets baked into the top layer.
Or add a bit of water to a medium high heat pan, add meat and cover for a few minutes to steam them. Add sauce and enjoy for a second go around.
Are English short ribs beef or pork?
I know, there are so many different varieties and sometimes it can get a bit confusing for sure. They are in fact from the cow so beef would be correct. They have a small portion of rib bone with a piece of meat on top. This variety has the thickest chunk attached to it.
