Making Instant Pot Short Ribs couldn’t be easier! Try this recipe for tender, succulent, fall off the bone braised short ribs, made even more delicious with a secret ingredient! 🙂
These Instant Pot Ribs are a delicious & easy dinner recipe!
I first owned a pressure cooker in 2011, when I first moved into my own apartment. Instants pots weren’t around at the time, and it was simply called a “multi cooker”. Thanks to my lack of proper meal planning, I quickly learned to appreciate the pressure cooker function on my multi cooker. The fact that you can get a kick ass meal made in less than 30 minutes, starting from frozen meat was a god send to me!
I think I’ve come quite far now in terms of meal planning, but the Instant Pot is still a beast! 🙂
This Best Instant Pot Short Ribs recipe is one I’ve used countless times, and I’ve used this same recipe for lamb chops as well. It works beautifully for any kind of red meat, really, but it’s just perfect with beef short ribs. The flavors here are simple but robust, and complement each other well. Plus, I’ve got a secret ingredient that makes these pretty much the BEST instant pot short ribs in the world! 🙂
So what’s my secret ingredient?
BOURBON WHISKEY! You can use Scotch whiskey if you prefer as well, but bourbon is my choice over Scotch. The taste that it leaves behind is subtle, but it really adds to the depth of flavor in these instant pot short ribs.
Can I skip the alcohol?
If you’re worried about the alcohol content, you need not be.
Since the alcohol in this recipe is being used to deglaze, it does evaporate a lot. However, if you prefer the alcohol to be completely gone, cook it a little longer before adding the other liquids. You can also add less burbon.
I have also had readers who substituted the bourbon with wine (which has less alcohol), and even coffee.
These pressure cooker short ribs are braised in my own homemade beef and chicken stock, but you can braise them in a good quality beef stock instead too. These instant pot short ribs are cooked to perfection in a slightly sweet and slightly spicy base. I added cayenne pepper and paprika to give these short ribs a little spicy kick. I usually add up to 2 tsp of cayenne pepper (even then, it’s only slightly spicy for us). But I’ve adjusted it to a milder level in this recipe. But feel free to adjust the level of spice to your liking.
The first step to making these instant pot short ribs is preparing the short ribs. This step is all the labor required for this recipe on your part!
- Soak the beef short ribs in COLD WATER for just a couple of minutes to wash off any excess blood and bone dust.
- Pat dry each rib with paper towels. Wet short ribs take AGES to sear and to form that beautiful golden crust, so make sure they are dry.
- Season GENEROUSLY. You can even cover the short ribs and leave them to marinate for about one hour if you wish. But honestly, you don’t have to. The instant pot (or pressure cooker) will take care of that!
- SEAR each short rib in the instant pot. This step is important!
Searing the meat will caramelize the surface of these short ribs. The caramelization adds another layer of flavor to these braised short ribs. Make sure to do this in batches, so that you don’t overcrowd your instant pot. If the bottom of the pan is too crowded, you’ll end up “boiling” the short ribs instead of searing them. Not good. So this caramelization step requires a bit of patience and time on your part, but I promise the result will be deliciously tender, succulent, fall off the bone, braised short ribs!
After this step, everything else is hands-off. So while these pressure cooker short ribs are cooking, you can prepare the rest of the meal.
How do I serve these braised instant pot short ribs?
I served these with garlicky, creamy, mashed cauliflower. But here are some more ideas!
- Mashed potatoes
- Cheesy polenta
- Roasted root vegetables
- Roasted sweet potatoes
- Potato medallions
- Toasted crusty bread
I guarantee you will LOVE these instant pot short ribs! 🙂 What I cannot guarantee however are any leftovers! But just in case, here are some great options for leftover instant pot short ribs,
- AMAZING beef tacos
- Southwestern omelets
- Grilled cheese sandwiches with beef
- Steak and eggs with toast (for breakfast)
- Beef fried rice
If you liked this best instant pot short ribs recipe (braised short ribs), don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing.
Other recipes you may like,
Instant Pot Honey Soy Chicken Thighs
Korean BBQ Short Ribs (LA Galbi)
EQUIPMENT & TOOLS I USED FOR THIS RECIPE
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Instant Pot Short ribs
Ingredients:
- 6 lbs short ribs about 8 short ribs
- Salt to season generously
- 1 medium onion sliced thickly
- ½ cup bourbon
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or 2 tsp if you prefer it spicier
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 6 cloves of garlic
- Thyme 2 - 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 cup beef stock I used homemade chicken and beef broth
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour)
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions:
- Fill a large bowl or pot with cold water. Immerse the short ribs, and rinse the ribs in the cold water to wash off excess blood and bone dust.
- Drain and pat dry the short ribs with paper towels. Generously sprinkle salt on all the ribs, on both sides.
- Switch on the Instant Pot to the saute setting on high. When the instant pot is hot, pour about 2 tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, place about 3 - 4 short ribs in the instant pot to caramelize or to sear. It's important not to overcrowd the bottom in order to get nice caramelization on your short ribs. Sear the short ribs on all sides, about 2 - 3 minutes per side. Place the caramelized short ribs on a plate.
- Repeat with the rest of the short ribs.
- For the next step, you will only need about 1 tbsp of oil in the instant pot. Discard the excess oil if there's more than 1 tbsp of it in the instant pot at this point.
- Place the thickly sliced onion in the pot, and add the boubon. De-glaze the bottom of the instant pot to make sure that all of the caramelized bits on the bottom are mixed with the bourbon (de-glazing is an important step, so don't skip it). Add the paprika, cayenne pepper, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Then switch off the saute function on your instant pot.
- Place the short ribs back in the instant pot, and add the garlic, thyme and a pinch of salt (how much salt to add at this point depends on how well you seasoned the short ribs earlier - be careful not to over-salt, since you can always add more salt at the end if needed).
- Pour the stock over the short ribs. Close the instant pot. Choose the manual high pressure function and set it to high. Cook the short ribs for 45 minutes, followed by a 10 - 15 minute natural release.
- Gently remove the short ribs on to a plate, and turn the saute function back on for the liquid/broth in the instant pot.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add it to the liquid/broth in the instant pot. Mix it in and bring it to a simmer until the liquid has thickened. Taste and season the liquid with more salt or balsamic vinegar, if needed. Transfer the short ribs back into the instant pot and switch off the saute function.
- Optional step - once the short ribs have cooled off, place your instant pot cooker pot in the fridge (covered). Leave it overnight, or for at least 4 hours, until the fat has solidified on the surface. Then remove this layer of fat, and reheat the short ribs in the instant pot.
- Serve with creamy cauliflower mash or mashed potatoes.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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Sandie says
We absolutely loved this recipe!! I made 6lbs of ribs for 4 people, and there wasn’t a morsel left! Also cooked my fingerling potatoes it the insta pot with the gravy from the meat…. unbelievable! I will definitely be making this again!
Lydia says
We loved this recipe! Definitely a repeat! Would recommend halving sugar content.
Enjay says
I had no whisky to hand so used a mix of port and red wine instead.
Added a small spoon of jaggery instead of sugar.
Went large on the cayenne, which was the right decision for us.
Left it in the fridge overnight, and removed loads of solidified fat the next day before thickening the sauce.
Excellent and will go on the list of Instant Pot favourites.
Bones are in the stock pot today.
Danette Miller says
This is the first time I made short ribs. I am not sure what happen but the meat, eventho it was fork tender, it was bland. I didn’t have balsamic vinegar so I used soy sauce. Was that the issue?
Dini says
Hi Danette
It’s hard to tell what went wrong. The meat needs time to absorb the flavor of the gravy, if they are larger pieces. That’s why they taste better the next day. Was the gravy bland or the meat pieces?
Also soy sauce is not a good substitute for balsamic vinegar. Soy sauce adds a salty flavor, while balsamic vinegar is sour. The sourness helps round out the sweetness.
Bill Winchester says
Great recipe thank you
Leslie says
I tried out this recipe tonight and it was very good. I made a few modifications such as using brown sugar instead of white, chicken stock because it was homemade and available and only used a 1/2 teaspoon of the cayenne because my grandson doesn’t like much heat.
I added chopped russets in a metal bowl on top of everything to mash up as a side and that was a nice time saver too.
Next time I’d like to cool the sauce to skim off some of the fat because it was a little heavy for my taste but that is all I would do differently. This looks like a keeper!
Kari OBrien says
Very flavorful recipe. I think the bourbon adds a subtle sweet note.
Christian and Erleen says
I have made this three times in my Insta pot, and will say that this is the most excellent recipe we have ever uncovered! There is no reason to avoid the bourbon since the alcohol is cooked out, and making 4 pounds of boneless short ribs with the balsamic/bourbon/paprika/cayenne flavors are just marvelous! This recipe well earned our Thanks and at least 100 stars out of the five we are allowed to click.
Aubrey Cullum says
Great
Roxanne says
Excellent recipe!! We like spicy so we added extra cayenne. Will also try brown sugar next time. Served with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and a really nice Cabernet. Yum!!
Eduardo Rodriguez says
I did this recipe with Elijah Craig bourbon. It turned out very very good, You could still get the notes of the bourbon ( Cinnamon, brown sugar, maple, Oak). I will definitely make this meal again. Thank you for sharing it.
Renee says
Lord have Mercy. Used only one Tbsp of sugar and Dusse to deglaze. So damn good.
Jackie J says
Fantastic recipe that I’ve made twice already I substituted brown sugar and used honey whiskey to deglaze. I used red wine the first time and both were so so good . Thanks for sharing !
Sarah Thies says
My first time tasting short ribs, let alone cooking them! I’m so happy that I found this recipe. It was Amazing! Ribs were tender and fell off of the bone and flavor was fantastic. I had to use moonshine in place of bourbon, I had red wine but it’s my favorite bottle and I couldn’t bear to cook with it- moonshine not so much though! The flavors worked great, I used the sugar and cayenne as recommended and it was the perfect amount of spice and not too sweet. I had to use rice wine vinegar because I had no balsamic. I will use this recipe for the rest of the short ribs that I have in the freezer from now on. Thank you!
Patty B. says
So good and savory. It was so tender, it fell right off the bone. My family loved it!
Connie Stafford says
Made these last night–they were amazing. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Joanna says
It was delicious! The only thing the ribs fell apart. Will try 30 minutes with the 15 min slow release. This would be a perfect stew too. Thank you.
Shelley says
Fantastic! I made these ribs tonight in my Quick Cooker and they were delicious! I used grass fed beef short ribs and substituted monkfruit sweetener for the sugar and red wine as no bourbon in the house. Thanks so much for the recipe! Oh and I live in Ottawa too! I LOVE cooking and changing up recipes to make them low carb and gluten free!
Brianna says
Wow wow wow!
Even with my small changes, I am so happy with these!!
I only had merlot, so I used that in place of bourbon, turned out great! A little sweet so I might use less sugar next time if using wine again. I had to use less paprika and cayenne due to hubby being sensitive to spice, but I am thrilled with how these came out. Wish I made more!!!
Esther Leung says
Easy to follow steps by steps. I used Cabernet Sauvignon instead of bourbon and leave out the cayenne pepper .
Served with mashed potato. So yummy, everyone in the family enjoy this dish so much. Thank you.
Erin says
I made this exactly as stated and it couldn’t have been easier. I thought that 1 tsp of cayenne pepper sounded aggressive, but I put it in anyway and it tasted great. It added that little bit of heat to balance the sweet. I’m curious if anyone has tried this with brown sugar? I might do that next time. Overall, a great dinner over cauliflower mash and a side of broccoli. Thank you!
Stephanie Salyer says
I am making this right now and I used brown sugar instead of white sugar. I usually use brown sugar on my beef ribs so I thought it would also taste good here. Used beer to deglaze instead of bourbon too. I usually keep a bottle or two around for this purpose : )
Hillary Morgan says
I wanted to do something different than my usual Korean Style short ribs so I went looking and found this recipe.
These were SOOOOOO good! Not even sure if I will make them the Korean style any more they were that good. I used to be a pro chef so I do a lot of experimenting with food. I invited my best friend over for dinner and he said in all the years he has known me this was probably the best thing I have ever cooked for him. I served them with extra thick Yukon Gold mashed potatoes (thick so they would stand up to the sauce well) and steamed zucchini, buttered and salted. All of it was YUMMMMM! I don’t have a single negative thing to say about this recipe which is unusual for me being a chef, it was that good.
Douglas Holgate says
Made it totally keto and oh my goodness it was wonderful. Served it with fried cauliflower rice and asparagus. Rave revues from my group
Anne Keene says
Everyone loved it! Had friends over for dinner and the ribs were a hit. What was great was getting everything ready so all I had to do was start the pot, then enjoy our guests, and thicken gravy before we ate. Yum!
Tamesha says
Restaurant Quality short ribs. The flavors are very balanced in this recipe with the balsamic answering the fat, the sugar balancing the heat of the cayenne.
Jane says
Thank you! Was very good. Made it with the cayanne pepper. We will be doing this one again!!!
J Kasten says
I’ve never had short ribs, and probably won’t again because of the type of meat….but your ingredients and sauce was fantastic! So delicious! I’m going to try it out with other proteins, like chicken, possibly fish. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Shanda says
Oh my! This was so yummy. My hubby already is planning on this for dinner again soon. So delicious! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
vicmacbou says
This recipe is DELICIOUS! I used boneless beef short ribs, followed the directions and look forward to making them again! Served over creamy polenta, the leftovers I’ll serve over noodles.
Patrick says
Fantastic. Kids ate it like Champs as well
Paula says
So easy and delicious–bourbon has to be the key!