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Truly the best way to make boneless, fork-tender, fall-apart beef short ribs. These Slow Baked Boneless Beef Short Ribs will melt in your mouth with a luscious gravy that just begs for creamy mashed potatoes!
Sundays are meant to be lazy I think however sadly I rarely get a “do-nothing” Sunday or day for that matter. Working two full-time jobs (my day job and TKW) leaves very little downtime.
Most of you know I’m a girl on the go-go-go who pretty much never sits still let alone takes time for herself. Maybe I’m afraid I’m going to miss out on something awesome life has to offer or perhaps I’m just so used to it that it’s just become part of my ‘norm’.
If I had a dollar for how many times I heard “How do you do it? Just listening to what you do makes me tired! Where do you get the energy??? Can I have some???”
We’re all so busy these days
Ever since I made a life choice years ago to live a healthier lifestyle that incorporated a better eating plan, exercise (trust me at one point in my life exercise was a 4-lettered word and punishment), and a more positive outlook that seemed to kick things off. Now I’ve always worked insane hours.
Again this stems from growing up as poor as we did. Truth be told, is that poor sucks, no one should go without even the little things in life but I’m not one to depend on others to help make my life better.
If I want my life better then *I* have to make the change and *I* have to make it happen. My parents always told me “Anything worth doing is worth doing the very best you can” and I have made that my mantra in life.
Ingredients needed to make the BEST Boneless Beef Short Ribs
Friday after work is when I hit up Costco I found the most gorgeous boneless beef short ribs. Honestly, they are the only place that has them, not even my local butcher does.
Now I’ve made this with bone-in and while bone-in has a deeper flavor I find them a pain in the butt as I want all meat, not just bone. Plus they are the same price (which I still don’t quite understand).
5 pounds of boneless beef short ribs don’t equal the same amount of meat in 5 pounds of bone-in beef short ribs. I actually debated this with a butcher once and we left it as I said he was wrong and he disagreed. Am I wrong on this?
- Boneless Beef Short Ribs – if you only have bone-in, you can use those but they have to be the English cut *see below for differences
- BBQ Sauce – I used my bacon bbq sauce but any tangy bbq sauce would work.
- Liquid smoke – I use this to give it a smoky taste. You can omit if you want.
- Seasonings
- Ketchup
Difference between Flanken and English Short Rib Cuts
I use boneless English Short Ribs in this recipe as they are meatier and fatter
English Short Ribs
The English style cut is where the short rib is cut between the ribs leaving a thick piece of meat sitting on top of one piece of the rib bone. So in the images below, my ribs are English-style cut where the piece of meat is cut off of the bone.
Flanken Short Ribs
The Flanken cut is the thin cut of a short rib that is cut across the bones at about a 1/2″ thickness. In this piece of meat, you’ll see meat, bone, meat, bone, meat, and so forth. This is a very popular cut in Korean bbq. I, personally, am not a fan of these as when I make short ribs, I want more meat than bone.
Making these Slow Baked Boneless Beef Short Ribs
These ribs I make in the oven but if you look at my site, you’ll see that I have several recipes where you can make short ribs in the Instant Pot. While I love the IP, there’s just something about a slow bake and this recipe.
- Mix together the ketchup, liquid smoke, brown sugar, minced onion, garlic powder, and bacon bbq sauce and cook until thick and bubbly.
- Season the ribs and place them into a large baking dish.
- Add some of the sauce, cover, and roast for 2 1/2 hours.
- Remove the foil, flip, add more sauce, and cook uncovered for another 30 minutes or until the meat is cooked through.
When I make these all I literally do is put them in a pan, cover them with some bbq sauce, cover with foil, and slow bake. This is one of those dishes I’ll throw in the oven and take a nap.
The first time I made these, that’s exactly what I did. Into the oven, they went and off to bed I went to nap. Guys, I had the most amazing dreams too and it’s funny as all I kept dreaming about was bbq and food.
However, I think those dreams were influenced by the fact that I had the most amazing beef and bbq sauce scents wafting throughout my house. Now I did have my alarm set however the smells from the oven woke up me. I knew dinner was close to being done as I could smell the ‘doneness’.
The most amazing BBQ Beef Short Rib Smell
The smells from this – if I could bottle it, it would be a huge hit! As I approached the kitchen the smells were just intoxicating! I removed the foil and let them bake another 30 minutes to get that deeply caramelized char on top.
Once they were done I pulled them out of the oven and plated them. Dear GOD, they were GORGEOUS! I brushed them with some of the reserved bbq sauce and then with what was in the pan, I actually poured it into a fat-separating container and let it sit for a bit.
Once it did, I poured out the good stuff into a pan and left the fat stuff stay behind. I brought that pan to a boil and thickened it up with some more bbq sauce and some cornstarch. No way was I letting those flavors go to waste! By the time Mr. Fantabulous got home, I had made a pot of perfect mashed potatoes to go with these, some rolls, and a nice Caesar salad.
As he walked in with his gear you could see him immediately perk up and start sniffing the air like a dog.
Cutest thing ever when he does that! Immediately came his smile and I swear he ran to bring in the rest of his gear! Dinner was awesome and I was rested. That truly was a fantastic Sunday and one that I think I need more of!
Crock Pot Instructions
Many of you asked if you can make this in the Crock Pot. Yes, you can! It’s pretty straight forward.
- Make the sauce as-is.
- For the beef short ribs, let them come to room temperature then season with salt and pepper. Put them in a heated skillet to pan-sear on all sides (about 2-4 minutes per side).
- Place in the crock pot, pour the sauce over top, and then cook on low for 7-8 hours or until the meat is fork-tender.
- To thicken up the sauce, remove the meat (carefully) and then strain following steps 14-16.
Slow Baked Boneless Beef Short Ribs
- Prep Time: 3
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Slow Baked
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Beef
Truly the best way to make boneless, fork-tender, fall-apart beef short ribs. These will melt in your mouth with a luscious gravy that just begs for creamy mashed potatoes!
Ingredients
- 4 pounds of boneless beef short ribs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups ketchup
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
- 1/2–2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 cup Bacon BBQ Sauce or any BBQ sauce
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F with a rack in the middle. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add the ketchup, liquid smoke, brown sugar, minced onion, garlic powder, bacon bbq sauce and mix until combined. Cook until thick and bubbly; stirring occasionally. ~10 minutes.
- Season the short ribs all over with salt and pepper. Place in a 13×9″ glass baking dish. This will be a tight squeeze. Pour about 1/2 cup over the short ribs.
- Using tongs, flip the ribs over and spoon another 1/2 cup of the sauce over top. Reserve the remaining BBQ sauce to spoon over the cooked ribs. Cover the pan with foil and roast for 2 1/2 hours.
- Remove the foil and gently flip the short ribs. Spoon more of the sauce over top. Cook for 30 minutes more (uncovered), until the meat is tender and browned. Check the ribs every 10-15 minutes to ensure that they are coated with sauce and that the pan did not go dry. Transfer the short ribs to a serving platter. Baste the short ribs with some of the reserved BBQ sauce.
- At this point you can discard the cooking liquid or you can pour it into a fat strainer to allow it to separate. (This is what I did). Pour the juices into a medium saucepan leaving the fat greasy part behind. Add in about 1/4 cup bbq sauce and bring to a boil. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and water and whisk into the liquid to thicken. Use this to thicken the sauce as a dipping sauce/gravy.
Notes
See the post for Crock Pot instructions.
Drew says
Oops, got my names mixed up. Thanks TKW.
TKWAdmin says
Tee hee it’s okay 🙂 And it’s Lori for the record 🙂
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Drew says
Hi Jen!
Thanks for a great recipe. I used the Bacon BBQ sauce exclusively instead of mixing it into what seems to just be another less complex BBQ sauce. Any reason why you chose not too? In fact the BBBQ sauce is so good I am going to try using it for everything, including making a perfume essence as my boys were all over the Kitchen and wouldn’t leave while it was being made – I might chop up the bacon a bit finer though. I also used a real smoky bacon and left out the liquid smoke though I guess you can’t be too “smokey”. In any case my youngest suggested I only make this three times a week or he might get bored of it. Cheers. All the best, Drew
TKWAdmin says
Hey Drew 🙂
Honestly there is no rhyme or reason as to why I used this sauce over the other. Not everyone is a bacon fan (I know, right! What’s wrong with “those” people??? lol) so I do my best to give a variety. I, too, have use the BBQ bacon sauce this this recipe and loved it. HAHAHA OMG perfume essence! I LOVE it!!!
Thanks again for making my day!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Jen says
My store only had boneless pork ribs. Will this recipe work with pork?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Jen!
Yes, this works beautifully! Same amount of cooking time as well.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
shante says
Hi ! I only made a pound of meat I reduced all of the ingredient sizes but do I keep the same time?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Shante,
Yes you keep the same time.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Michelle says
Can you make these in the crockpot?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Michelle!
Yes you can. Make the sauce as-is. For the beef, let them come to room temperature then season with salt and pepper. Put them in a heated skillet to pan sear on all sides (about 2-4 minutes per side). Place in the crock pot, pour the sauce over top, and then cook on low for 7-8 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
To thicken up the sauce, remove the meat (carefully) and then strain following steps 14-16.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Tiffany says
If I am buying a 2 lbs of boneless ribs, what should I shorten the cooking time to? thanks is advance!!
TKWAdmin says
Tiffany,
You won’t shorten the time – you’ll still be slow cooking the meat regardless of how much their is. What you will need to do is cut the other ingredients in half since you’re using half the amount of meat. If you don’t you’ll end up with a boatload of sauce.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Tiffany says
Perfect. Thank you so much for your response!!
TKWAdmin says
You are most welcome!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Liz says
Sounds really good. Thank you. I do mix my food up and in most cases the food is better.
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Liz! Yeah I’m a mixer through and through. And I agree, it tastes better!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Mary Beth Hunt says
I just made the Bacon BBQ sauce and it is simmering. I plan to make the ribs with the sauce, but I see that I only use a portion of the Bacon BBQ sauce and end up making ANOTHER sauce to use on the ribs.
Can I just use the Bacon BBQ sauce on the ribs and call it good???
(I’m not trying to be rude. I don’t understand the need for the new sauce.)
TKWAdmin says
Hi! Yes you can use just the bacon BBQ sauce. I liked both as it adds another level of flavor. Since the bacon BBQ sauce doesn’t have liquid smoke in it the other BBQ sauce adds that depth of flavor to it.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Jilly says
Sooo, I went to BJ’s since we do not have a Costco and I asked the butcher for boneless beef short ribs. He handed me a package and I headed to the check out. When I got home I noticed what I think are bones. The label on the package reads “Beef Chuck Short Ribs”. Will I need to adjust the cooking times or temp due to the presence of bones? Thanks for your advice!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Jilly,
You can keep the temp the same, same with the cooking time. The bones actually give it a more richer flavor. If you want, check the beef at the 2 hours mark. The meat should be tender but not “tender enough”. You want this meat to just melt in your mouth when you eat it. I’ve made it bone-in and like I said, about the 2 hour mark I tend to uncover it. What you will have to watch out then is you may have to baste it a few times or flip it so the meat doesn’t dry out while it’s finishing up in the oven.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Jilly says
Omg! Sooooo delicious! Followed the recipe, other than the bones in my ribs and I couldn’t find bacon BBQ sauce so I used regular. I knew they were good, but didn’t realize just how good until I looked at my husband who had a mouth full of food and a rib dangling from his hands as he uttered “I knew I couldn’t eat another rib but I just can’t stop”! And I got the ultimate seal of approval…a sticky kiss! Thanks for another awesome dinner!
TKWAdmin says
Jilly,
The Bacon BBQ sauce (when you look online here) links to the recipe on my site. Trust me when I say this.. the Bacon BBQ Sauce is LIFE CHANGING! Seriously, it’s EPIC! http://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2013/06/08/bacon-bbq-sauce/ You can thank me now for it 🙂
I LOOOOOOOOOOVE your story! The sticky kiss is the best compliment ever! Love it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Sandy B says
Trying these ribs for the first time since I’ve been married, 60 years. Our son, Mike does all the bar b Q and he does a fantastic job. Hope mine are half as good.
Wish me luck.