There's something magical about slowly cooked sous vide beef short ribs.
To the uninitiated, the beef short rib is a hunk of meat about the size of a teenager's fist that's usually attached to the bone.
Most people cook them in a Dutch oven with herbs, wine, and aromatic vegetables until the meat falls off the bone tender.
Recipe Ingredients
- Beef short ribs that preferably are taken from the plate
- Flanken-cut beef short ribs
- Salt and pepper
Our beef ribs will be cooked a bit differently. The meat is cooked sous vide and then finished over an open flame with a kiss of smoke.
Sous vide cooking means we vacuum seal the meat in a food sealer and then cook it gently under vacuum at a low temperature, submerged in a water bath.
Now, this isn't your ordinary water bath.
Sous vide machine or an immersion circulator heats and circulates the water at a specific temperature allowing food to cook evenly at your desired temperature.
This meat will cook for over three days, and our sous vide machine is designed to maintain a consistent temperature for that amount of time.
Harder working cuts of meat are tough.
But if you know how to tame the toughness, you are rewarded with an intensely strong beef flavor that is both tender and delicious.
Traditional braising methods yield well-done meat that is dark and gray but tender. When we cook using sous vide, we can achieve the same amount of tenderness and retain a beautiful pink interior color to the beef.
Fortunately, there is very little trimming involved in making beef short ribs. You can inspect the ribs for any large chunks of fat and remove them if you wish. But typically, there is little trimming required.
You will, however, want to make sure the meat is well-rinsed. Beef short ribs, especially the flanken cut rib, are cut with a butcher's saw. Sometimes this cutting process leaves small shards of bone stuck to the meat.
To remove any bone fragments, allow the meat to soak in a pot of cold water for 10-15 minutes and then give it a second rinse.
Pork ribs and BBQ beef ribs, like spare ribs, do have a membrane on the bone side that should be removed before cooking. But fortunately, that's not the case with beef short ribs.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep
Start by rinsing the ribs thoroughly or washing them in a large bowl with water. The main objective is to remove any bone fragments that may be remaining from the butcher.
Be sure to pat the ribs dry with a paper towel before vacuum sealing them in a sous vide bag
Sous vide
Build your water bath with the sous vide immersion circulator and set it to your desired temperature. This will allow the water to start rising to temperature before cooking.
The Sous Vide portion of the cook cannot be easier.
Vacuum-seal the ribs and place them into the water bath. No pre-seasoning is required.
When the ribs are done cooking in the Sous Vide, it's amazing how fragrant the cooking juices are.
These juices have a rich mahogany color and are an immediate reminder that the moisture stays in the bag and with the meat during cooking.
Finish the ribs by searing them over a hot fire
Although fully cooked, the ribs are not yet ready to eat. To supercharge the flavor and texture of the ribs, they must be seared over a hot fire.
My preferred searing method is using a kamado-style grill with all-natural hardwood lump charcoal.
How long should I smoke them for
Hardwood lump charcoal will provide a rich smoky flavor to these short ribs, but you can add even more smoky flavor by adding a few chunks of hardwood to your firebox.
Since the meat is already cooked, you will more be seasoning the meat with smoke rather than cooking it.
Starting with cold meat helps the smoke adhere to the protein. Also smoking over indirect heat, or away from the coals at a lower temperature will add flavor without the meat becoming overcooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best temperature for sous vide short ribs is 180F. This will allow the meat to break down by melting collagen and other connective tissue turning it into a flavorful gelatin and making the meat more tender.
Although you can sear short ribs before sous vide cooking, you really don't need to. Some people feel it provides additional texture and flavor but I find it hard to tell much of a difference.
There are several reasons why beef ribs can turn out tough.
One of the most common reasons is that the meat was not cooked long enough.
Low and slow is the key to cooking beef ribs until tender. Our sous-vide technique helps mitigate this and gives you a better chance of making your meat more tender.
Another reason that beef ribs can turn out tough is if they are overcooked. This can happen if the meat is cooked at too high of a temperature or if it is cooked for too long.
Another factor that can contribute to tough beef ribs is the quality of the meat that is used. Choosing choice or even prime cuts of beef when it's on sale will always give you an advantage to a flavorful and tender dish.
The Sous Vide portion of the cook cannot be easier.
Vacuum-seal the ribs and place them into the water bath. No pre-seasoning is required.
Some people prefer to add a little salt and pepper to the meat before putting it in a sous vide bag and vacuum sealing.
Different than braised beef short ribs that often cook in beef stock, olive oil, and a red wine reduction, these ribs go into the sous vide bag without any additional liquids.
We cook the meat for so long in an effort to make the food more tender. 48 hours or more may seem like a long cook time for a short ribs recipe These cuts of meat are hard-working ones and bring loads of flavor that we can't get from more tender cuts like steaks.
Cooking the meat for a long period of time in medium-high heat makes the ribs far more tender than other methods of preparation. Sous vide cooking is perfect for these cuts of meat.
Typically beef ribs will require no trimming. Flanken cut ribs and short ribs can use a rinse under cold water to wash away any fragments of bone the butcher may have left behind. Be sure to pat then dry after washing with a paper towel before putting them in the sous vide bag.
Expert Tips
- Cleanliness is essential, so prevent anything other than meat from getting inside your sous vide bag. Although not required, wearing disposable gloves is always a good idea.
- Dry your meat with a paper towel before putting it in the sous vide cooking bag and vacuum sealing.
- Start the sous vide with warm water. This will get your food up to temperature and cooking sooner and be less of a burden on your immersion circulator.r
- When searing, flip the food frequently over medium-high heat. The flavor of the meat will benefit from the additional browning.
- Adjusting the cook time and temperature can give similar results in 48 hours.
- Unlike braised beef short ribs, these ribs will have a steak-like quality. After sous vide cooking and before grilling, be sure to season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Feel free to experiment with your sous vide time and temperature to achieve your desired tenderness.
Flanken cut ribs are a slab of small connected pieces cut from the main portion of the ribs. Taken from the chuck primal, Flanken-style short ribs are cut across the bone and consist of the first five ribs of the ribcage.
When chuck short ribs are obtained by cutting across the bone, they are called Flanken-style short ribs. However, chuck short ribs cut parallel to the bones are known as English-style short ribs.
Flanken-style ribs are very popular in Asian cooking and the Koreans do a wonderful job of making them delicious. Although these ribs are delicious on their own, I like to finish them with some smoke, and this sauce that's absolutely delicious.
These juices released from meats when cooked sous vide are called the purge. You can make the purge into a nice sauce if desired.
Yes- you can make a sauce from the sous vide liquid.
A good trick is to take the purge and strain it into a tall microwave-safe dish. Unless you want a mess on your hands, ensure the dish is at least twice as tall as the depth of your liquid.
Microwave the purge until it boils and then carefully remove and strain again.
When you microwave these liquids until they boil, albumen or proteins will coagulate and separate from the flavorful liquid. Although these components are safe to eat, they are undesirable and make the sauce look cloudy.
I've had great results using this method and reducing the juices with a little fresh ginger, garlic, and brown sugar for a nice dipping sauce.
When meat is cooked, sous vide it needs a finishing smoke and sear to bring out additional flavors.
Hardwood lump charcoal is a fuel that can achieve temperatures perfect for searing. It also provides a delicious smoky flavor that works wonderfully with beef short ribs.
📖 Recipe
Sous Vide Beef Short Ribs Recipe
Equipment
- Sous vide cooking machine
- Water reservoir
- Food sealer
Ingredients
- 32 oz beef short ribs
- 32 oz flanken cut beef ribs
Instructions
- Soak the ribs in a deep pot of cold water for 20 minutes
- Rinse the ribs and pat dry
- Place the ribs in a food sealer bag in a single layer
- Remove the air and seal the bags
- Preheat the water in a large sous vide tub to 132F
- Add the sealed bags with the short ribs to the sous vide bath
- Cook the ribs in the sous vide bath for 75 hours
- Remove the bagged ribs from the sous vide bath and plunge them in an ice-water bath for 30 minutes
- Keep the ribs chilled or refrigerated until just before smoking or searing
- Prepare your Big Green Egg or other Kamado style grill for cooking with hardwood lump charcoal
- Remove the sous vide cooked meat from the food seal bags and pat dry
- If you wish to add additional smoke to the meat add wood chunks to the kamado and smoke the meat over indirect heat at about 225F for 30 minutes
- Raise the temperature of the grill to sear at about 425F
- Sear the meat on all sides until it develops a beautiful charred crust
Notes
Nutrition
If you prefer pork ribs over beef ribs I have a fun method for sous vide cooking pork ribs you will want to check out!
What To Serve With This Recipe
I'm always a fan of potatoes when eating beef and this twice-baked potato recipe is one of my favorites.
If you're feeling something a little spicy, these bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers make a wonderful side dish and these smoky s'mores make a delicious dessert.
I'm looking for a good grill now because of you I'll be looking a the big green egg.
James- thanks for the comment! The Big Green Egg is quite a grilling machine. Unfortunately, it comes at a hefty price and fuel is an issue (Lump charcoal). On the other hand, it is such an amazing and versatile grill and I cannot say enough good things about it. I hope that you read some of the Big Green Egg forums and join the club! P-