These braised Irish whiskey short ribs will melt in your mouth. They are wonderfully tender and are easy to make. This is a perfect meal for date night to impress someone special or as a hearty meal to feed your whole family.
I love how easy short ribs are to make. Almost all of the best part is done in the oven. In the end you will have tender short ribs that will melt in your mouth. Place over some mashed potatoes and drizzle on the reduction of the braising liquid and you have an impressive dish for a date night or to feed your entire family.
In this recipe
This recipe has quite a few ingredients however they don’t take long to prepare when cooking.
Short ribs: you will want to get English cut ribs with minimal fat on top if possible.
Brown sugar: yes it will provide sweetness however it will add a richness and caramel flavors to the braising liquid as well.
Irish whiskey: this is going to be a large component of the flavor profile. I like to use whiskey with coffee notes. Just make sure to use a whiskey that you like the taste of.
English vs Flanken cut ribs
When you are at the store you will run into both cuts of ribs for braising. I advise that you go with the English cut rib. The biggest difference between the two is that English cut is one rib bone. Flanken cut ribs cut across several bones and are normally cut thinner which means they will cook faster than the English cut. The fat from the English cut can be used when searing the ribs at the beginning without having to add additional fat to the Dutch oven.
Building flavors
While you can add all of the ingredients to the pot at one time and then cook them by taking a little bit of time you can build flavors that will make this dish special. Start with browning the short ribs and give them a nice sear. This helps make the meat more flavorful but it doesn’t lock in the juices. Once you are done you will start to caramelize the onions with the other vegetables. Then by browning the tomato paste you will add additional rich flavors to the short ribs.
Braising Irish whiskey short ribs
Once everything is ready then it is time for the best part. Where you can just place it in the oven and go about the rest of whatever you need to do. Braising a method of cooking that normally starts with cooking at a high heat to brown and then adding a liquid and cooking at a low temperature for a prolonged time. When braising meat it makes tougher cuts so tender that they can be shredded or cut with a fork.
Looking for other beef recipes?
Braised Irish Whiskey Short Ribs
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 5 pounds beef short ribs
- 1 quart beef broth
- 1½ cups onion chopped
- 1¼ cups celery chopped
- 1¼ cups carrot chopped
- 1½ cups leeks sliced
- ½ cup Irish whiskey
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons shallots chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons garlic sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 6 sprigs thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, 177°C or gas mark 4. Salt the short ribs.
- In a Dutch oven brown the short ribs on all sides. Remove the ribs from the Dutch oven and place on a plate.
- Add the butter and reduce the heat to medium and add the carrots, celery, leeks, shallots, and onions. Cook until the onions start to brown, about 10 min.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes to brown the paste.
- Add Irish whisky, brown sugar and garlic to the Dutch oven and cook for 2 minutes and add the ribs, thyme, and beef broth.
- Cover and place in the oven for 2½ hours
- Remove the ribs from the broth, strain the broth and then reduce over medium high heat. Drizzle the reduction over the ribs.
Nutrition
