Simple Sous Vide Short Ribs Recipe and How-To Guide

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• Short Rib Temperatures and Times
• Best 72 Hour Sous Vide Short Ribs Recipe
• Best Braised Sous Vide Short Ribs Master Recipe
• Other Short Rib Recipes
• How to Sous Vide Short Ribs
• How to Pick a Sous Vide Short Rib Temperature
• 72-Hour Short Ribs
• How to Sous Vide Flanken Style Short Ribs
• Benefits of Sous Vide for Short Ribs
• Sous Vide Short Rib Process
• About Short Ribs

Short ribs are a classic "must make" sous vide dish. Due to the high fat content they can be cooked anywhere from 131°F to 185°F (55°C to 85°C) for 12 hours to 3 days and the final dish will greatly depend on the time and temperature you use. The end result will range from a traditional braise-like texture to a chewy steak, or anything in between.

Be sure you aren't confusing beef back ribs with the short ribs. They are a much more tender cut that needs different cooking times.

How to Sous Vide Short Ribs Top

There are few different types of short ribs, as well as a few styles. The most common types are plate short ribs and chuck short ribs. They come from the plate and chuck primals, respectively.

Plate short ribs are usually fattier, while chuck is meatier and often tougher. Both types can be cooked in a pretty similar manner, and the differences in the individual cow will make almost as much difference as the cut.

How to Determine a Sous Vide Short Rib Temperatures Top

There are two main ways you can prepare short ribs are steak-like and braise-like.

Steak Like Short Ribs

For a melty, steak-like texture, cook the ribs at around 131°F (55°C) for 48 to 72 hours, they are worth the wait. If you prefer a more medium doneness, you can up the temperature to 140°F (60°C) for the same time range.

The 72 hour short ribs are one of the most well known sous vide cooks and they are always done at a regular steak-like temperature.

Traditional Braise-Like Short Ribs

For the braise-like sous vide short ribs temperature I usually turn to 150°F (65°C) for between 1 and 3 days.

A more traditional, just starting to fall-apart texture will occur when cooked between 156°F and 176°F (68.9°C and 80.0°C) for a few days. The longer the short ribs cook, the more tender they become so an 18 hour cook will be firmer than a 36 hour cook at the same temperature.

For a truely fall-apart texture, you can sous vide the short ribs at 176°F for 12 to 24 Hours (80.0°C).

Best 72 Hour Sous Vide Short Ribs Recipe

72 hour sous vide short ribs are a classic preparation method that people use to highlight the sous vide method. By cooking them at a lower temperature for a long period of time, you can have succulent, juicy short ribs that are still just medium rare. It's a type of dish that no other cooking method do accomplish.

Recipe Info

• Published: 2021-09-22
• Prep Time: 25 Minutes
• Cooktime: 2 to 3 Days
• Total Time: 2 to 3 Days
• Serves: 4
• Calories: 635 Calories
• Tags: sous vide short ribs, sous vide beef short ribs, 72 hour short ribs, beef short ribs, beef, sous vide, easy, simple

Ingredients Needed

• For the Short Ribs
• 2 pounds short ribs
• 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoons spice rub or herbs (optional)
• To Assemble
• Sides (optional)
• Sauces (optional)
• Garnishes (optional)

Recipe Instructions

Preheat the Water Bath: Set your sous vide machine to 131°F (55.0°C) for medium rare or 141°F (60.5°C) for medium.

Season the meat: Remove any gristle, fat, or connective tissue. Lightly salt the meat and sprinkle with the spices.

Seal in Sous Vide Bag: Place the short ribs in a sous vide bag and seal it. You can use a silicon bag, Ziploc-brand freezer bag, or a heat safe vacuum bag or zip top bag.

Sous Vide the short ribs: Add the bag to the preheated sous vide water bath. Let it cook until it is tenderized, 2 to 3 days.

Thoroughly Dry the short ribs: Once fully cooked, take the sous vide bag out of the water bath and remove the meat from the bag. Pat it dry with a paper towel or dish cloth.

Sear the meat: Heat a heavy pan with some oil in it over medium-high to high heat until it just starts to smoke. Add the meat and sear quickly, about one minute per side. You want the short ribs to just brown but not overcook any more.

Plating: Plate the beef like you would a traditionally cooked version.

Best Braised Sous Vide Short Ribs Master Recipe

There's a lot of ways to sous vide short ribs, but this tender braise temperature is one of my favorite. It breaks down enough connective tissue that they are almost falling apart, but they still retain a ton of their juices. The combination of tender and juicy is hard to beat!

Recipe Info

• Published: 2021-09-22
• Prep Time: 21 Minutes
• Cooktime: 1 to 2 Days
• Total Time: 1 to 2 Days
• Serves: 4
• Calories: 631 Calories
• Tags: sous vide short ribs, sous vide braised short ribs, beef short ribs, beef, sous vide, easy, simple

Ingredients Needed

• For the Short Ribs
• 2 pounds short ribs
• 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoons spice rub or herbs (optional)
• To Assemble
• Sides (optional)
• Sauces (optional)
• Garnishes (optional)

Recipe Instructions

Preheat the Sous Vide Machine: Preheat the sous vide machine to your preferred go-to temperature, 150°F (65.6°C) for the "perfect braise" up through 165°F (73.9°C) for shreddable, fall apart-tender.

Season the short ribs: Remove any gristle, fat, or connective tissue. Lightly salt the short ribs and sprinkle with the spices.

Seal in a Bag: Place the meat in a sous vide bag and then seal.

Cooking the short ribs: Place the sealed beef in the sous vide bath and cook until tenderized, 1 to 2 days.

Remove From Pouch: Remove the sous vide bag from the water bath. Take out the beef and dry it off well. You can use paper towels or dish cloths, both work well.

Searing for Flavor: Quickly sear the short ribs for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until just browned, then remove it from the heat.

Plating: Place the short ribs onto a plate with any salads or sides then serve.

How to Sous Vide Flanken Style Short Ribs Top

Flanken style, or Korean short ribs are basically plate short ribs that have been thin cut across the bone. Because they are so thin, they are often traditionally just grilled over high heat.

To replicate this traditional style, simple cook them until heated through, usually 30 to 60 minutes. I prefer 131°F (55°C) for medium-rare, but you can use your preferred temperature.

However, where sous vide really shines for flanken style ribs is when you tenderize it over a long time. My favorite preparation is to sous vide it at 131°F (55°C) for 1 to 2 days, then chill it and reheat it over high heat.

This makes it similar to the traditional Korean-style ribs, except it is melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Benefits of Sous Vide Short Ribs Top

Sous vide short ribs are often used as an example of how amazing sous vide cooking can be, and with good reason. This is because short ribs are composed of very tough meat and in order to tenderize them enough to eat you have to raise them to a high enough temperature to break down their collagen.

With most techniques, such as braising, by the time all the collagen is broken down the temperature of the short ribs is too high and they are dried out and over cooked. Short rib dishes still taste incredible though, due to the amazing flavor of the meat, which normally turns into a nice sauce.

However, using sous vide to cook the short ribs means you can cook them at a low enough temperature that the meat will not only tenderize, but not squeeze out nearly as much moisture. You can even cook them where the temperature of the short ribs will stay a perfect medium rare. Resulting in a tender, moist, and perfectly cooked short rib.

General Sous Vide Short Rib Process Top

There are many variations on sous vide short ribs. You can use different flavorings and seasoning and finish them differently when they come out of the water bath. Most of these recipes follow a certain formula that is the foundation of sous vide short ribs.

Season the Short Ribs

Even though short ribs have amazing flavor on their own, there are countless ways to season and flavor them. Normally you will rub the seasonings on the short ribs or place them into the pouch before vacuum sealing it. Here are some favorites but feel free to experiment as you like:

• Classic Sous Vide Short Ribs: Salt, pepper, garlic powder, olive oil
• Sous Vide BBQ Short Ribs: Your favorite BBQ sauce
• Asian Short Ribs: Asian 5 spice powder, sesame oil, soy sauce
• Chipotle Short Ribs Sous Vide: chipotles in adobo, honey, garlic

Vacuum Seal the Short Ribs

Place the short ribs and seasonings into the vacuum pouch and seal it using your vacuum sealer. If you don't have a vacuum sealer here are some more options for sealing sous vide food. If the bones on the short ribs are sharp, make sure you don't vacuum seal them too tightly or they could puncture the bag.

Preheat the Sous Vide Water

Pick the short rib temperature that you will use, and set the water temperature for the temperature you want for the sous vide short ribs, I use 131°F (55°C) for medium rare.

Cook the Short Ribs

Place the short rib pouch into the heated water bath and cook it for between 36 and 48 hours.

For more information on the cooking times you can read my detailed article which addresses why is there a range in sous vide cooking times.

Finish off the Sous Vide Ribs

You can serve the sous vide short ribs as is, but many people either sear them off in a pan over high heat or quickly deep fry them in oil heated to 365°F. This adds some nice texture to them and give them the classic seared look.

About Short Ribs Top

Beef short ribs may be cut from two different sections of the cow. Ribs cut from the first to fifth rib are called Chuck Short Ribs or Flanken-style Ribs. These are the ribs commonly referred to as short ribs. Short ribs that are cut from below the rib are called the Plate Short Rib. Not only can short ribs be cut from different section of the cow, the ribs themselves can be cut in various ways.

The most common short rib cut is known as English cut short ribs. This cut usually includes 4-5 bones that can be anywhere from 3-8 inches in length. This cut may or may not include a layer of fat and membranous material. If your butcher did not remove it, it should be removed prior to cooking. Flanken-style ribs are cut across the bone of the short ribs. These ribs are thin and should not be more than about 1/2 inch thick.

Plate short ribs have a good amount of meat however; they also tend to have more fat than other short ribs. If cooked properly, plate short ribs can become fork tender and full of flavor. In fact, often the meat from the plate is used for beef stew. The best way to cook plate short ribs is by sous vide. Another good method is braising. this allows the meat to slowly cook in liquid. This allows the connective tissue to essentially melt away giving the meat its flavor and tenderness.

It may seem like plate short ribs are a lot of work, or not worth the trouble to cook. They can easily be put in a slow cooker in the morning and ready that evening. The liquid usually consists of broth, wine, or tomato. Slow cooked vegetable can be added along with the ribs in the slow cooker. Though these might take longer to cook than other cuts of beef, these ribs are a rewarding treat!

If you want moist and tender, sous vide is a great cooking technique to use with short ribs. Two other common ways to cook them are to braise them or to cook them Korean Kalbi style. The Korean short ribs are generally marinated and then grilled quickly over a hot grill. The marinade is what makes the meat tender in this cooking method.

Braised short ribs become extremely tender due to the amount of connective tissue present in this cut of meat. In this method, the slow cooking is what gives the ribs their tenderness and flavor.

Typical Cooking Methods for Short Ribs

Sous Vide, Braise, and Grill

Other Names for Short Ribs

Back Ribs, Flanken Style Ribs, Korean Short Ribs, and English Short Ribs

Good Substitutes for Short Ribs

n/a

Traditional Dishes for Short Ribs

Korean short ribs

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