Unlike the quick everyday recipes we typically share, this one is a little more indulgent so we reserve it for more special occasions (a good contender for date night in or a weekend dinner)! We used to get our short rib fix at weddings or fancy restaurants, but over a year of quarantine, Nick has been experimenting with cooking it and the results are pretty darn good. **Update: For a budget-friendly version, we just made this with beef stew meat on the Instant Pot for 35-40 minutes and it was also a hit!**
This recipe marries the thicker cut short ribs typically found at American grocery stores with the savory soy-based flavor of Korean BBQ-style short ribs (the ingredients list on the back of TJ short ribs served as a starting point!) and results in a satisfying, delectable dish that is melt-in-your-mouth tender. All the family members Nick has cooked this for -from our toddler to our parents- gobble it right up, leaving me always wishing for leftovers!
The InstantPot is awesome for getting short ribs perfectly tender and also infusing them with flavor and depth, however you can get similar results using a Dutch oven on low heat for several hours. Nick simplified the recipe below using just regular soy sauce since it’s more common in household pantries, but the best tasting batches he makes use some dark soy sauce and fish sauce as well (see the notes at the bottom of recipe card), so do try that modification if you happen to have all those ingredients!
Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone in short ribs the thick American grocery store cut, not the thinly sliced kind
- 1 to 2 packages whole baby bella or white mushrooms cut into halves (these will cook down tremendously)
- 2 medium potatoes cut into halves
- 1/3 cup light soy sauce see notes section
- 1/2 cup low sodium broth we use Pacific low sodium beef
- 2.5 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 5 cloves garlic minced or smashed whole
- 2 teaspoons ginger minced
- frozen peas optional
- cilantro or scallions, sesame oil optional for garnish
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Salt & pepper the short ribs, then add oil to the InstantPot and set to "Saute." When the oil is heated, brown the short ribs a few minutes on each side, in batches if necessary (careful not to burn, as the InstantPot gets hot fast on Saute depending on your model)
- Turn off the heat, remove browned short ribs to a plate and set aside. Carefully scoop or pour out excess oil / fat from the pot.
- Add soy sauce, broth, sugar, garlic, and ginger to the pot. Stir gently to mix, scraping up any browned bits off the bottom.
- Place the short ribs back into the pot so that they sit in the sauce mixture. Add in mushrooms, then layer the potato halves on top.
- Cook on the "Meat / Stew" pressure setting for 45 minutes. Do natural release for at least 20 minutes and carefully remove the lid after venting fully.
- Stir in frozen peas until heated through. Serve with the potatoes (which can be cut just a little smaller and kept in the pot, or mashed up separately on the side), rice, or a hunk of bread. Garnish with optional cilantro or scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil on top if desired.
- Optional but recommended: de-fat the dish if you're able to make it in advance, or use a fat separator (see reader comments!). This will take extra time and effort but we always try to do it! After opening up the Instant Pot, use tongs or a large slotted spoon to remove all the potatoes and short ribs from the sauce and place them in a separate bowl. Let the sauce cool and then chill in the fridge, and skim off and discard the white layer of fat on top. Reheat everything together when you're ready to eat.
Notes
- If you have these in your pantry, Nick likes to sub in a little dark soy sauce and fish sauce as well for added depth of flavor. To make it this way, instead of 1/3 cup regular soy sauce from the ingredients list above, do: 4 Tablespoons regular soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon fish sauce.
- If you don’t have time to mince the ginger, you can do thick slices but use more like a generous 2 to 3 inch chunk.
- We included carrots in the photos but note they get mushy after the longer pressure cooking time (our toddler doesn't mind).
- For a little heat, you can add gochujang or chili flakes into the sauce.
Below: Start by browning the salt & peppered short ribs on the “sauté” setting and then remove them from the pot. Combine the sauce mixture directly in the pot before adding the browned short ribs back in.
After adding the browned short ribs back into the pot, we layer the mushrooms and halved potatoes on top before closing the lid. We all love mushrooms in this dish, so usually do 2 boxes!
Tip: we love our Instant Pot glass lid, convenient for popping leftovers in the fridge directly in the pot!
After the optional (but highly recommended) step of de-fatting the chilled sauce, you can combine and reheat everything right back up within the InstantPot using the Sautee setting again. Or, use a separate pan that’s easier to serve out of.
You can keep the potatoes in the dish as part of the stew (see above) to eat with rice, or take them out and mash them up as a side (see below)!
