These sweet and sticky slow-cooked short ribs use my fail-proof method for fall-apart meat that’s packed full of flavour.
Like your meat? Then you’ll love these sticky short ribs!
Slow cooked until the meat is falling off the bone, then pan fried to crisp up the edges and given a sticky coating right at the last minute.
It’s a technique I first used for my Chinese pork belly (which is the most popular recipe on the blog) and I’ve been using it ever since. It works best for meats that are fatty and/or a little on the tough side, and it turns a cheap piece of meat into something amazing!
The slow cooking process makes the meat melt-in-the-mouth, and most of the fat renders away. Any fat that’s left, is soon crisped up during the second stage.
These ribs are soooo meaty.
I don’t often buy short ribs – mainly because they don’t often sell them in the supermarkets where I live in the UK, so it means a trip to the farm shop to source some.
Of course, once I’m in a farm shop, I then proceed to spend an absolute fortune on all the gorgeous produce. Shiny polished apples, carrots with the green tops still on, smoked garlic, homemade giant meringues and the best cuts of meat. I want them all!!
The ribs are the best though!
If you can’t manage to eat all the meat, chop it up and freeze it, then add to fried rice (so good! Just remember to defrost and fry until hot before adding to the rice).
I save the bones too – so I can use to makes stocks and soups.
In fact I used the leftover bones from these ribs as part of my three-bone soup that I’ll be putting up on the blog very soon (beef, lamb and chicken bones – sounds a little unusual, but it’s very tasty).
Serve with rice and stir-fried veg or salad for the best weekend dinner!
The Recipe:
Sweet and Sticky Slow-Cooked Short Ribs
Ingredients
Slow cooked stage:
- 4 short ribs
- 1 ¼ litres beef stock - use gluten free stock cubes or bouillon if required
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger - peeled and finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic - peeled and chopped in half
- 1 tbsp rice wine - (replace with sherry for gluten free - check the brand you're using to ensure GF)
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
For the crispy/sticky coating:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger - peeled and minced
- 1 red chilli pepper - I use Fresno chillies, de-seeded and chopped finely)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce - use Tamari for gluten free
- 1 tsp lemon grass paste - optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Start with the slow cooked stage – Preheat the oven to 170c/350f. Place all of the ingredients from the slow cooked stage into a large oven-proof casserole pan. Heat over a high heat until boiling, then place a lid on and place in the oven for 3 hours. Check a couple of times during the last hour of cooking and top up with water if it’s starting to go dry.
- Take out of the oven and carefully remove the ribs from the pan (the meat will want to fall off the bone, so I find a good set of tongs helps to get them out). Drain any excess liquid off the ribs. Discard the cooking liquor – or use in soup or Ramen.
- Heat the vegetable oil on a high heat in a large frying pan (skillet). Add the ribs and cook, turning once or twice until the edges are golden and crisped. It takes about 6-7 minutes. Be careful as the oil will spit due to the fat on the meat.
- Mix together the remaining sticky coating ingredients in a small boil and add to the frying pan. Bubble together, tuning the ribs to coat, until the sauce thickens to a sticky glaze.
- Turn off the heat and serve the ribs with rice and stir-fried vegetables or salad.
✎ Notes
Nutrition
Helen Bennett says
Delicious!!!
Terry Gorka says
This short rib recipe was outstanding! I pretty much just followed the Instructions. After the long over bake the magic really happened with the glaze. Oh my gosh! We had friends for dinner along with our picky daughter ... it was a HUGE hit with everyone. Thank you! A final note: My personal search for a recipe to bring out the most in short ribs has been a long journey. This really was the end of the rainbow for me! Looking forward to more good recipes in the future.
Shirley says
What is 11/4 litres as er your Sweet and Sticky Slow-Cooked Short Ribs recipe??
Chris Corbishley says
Hi Shirley,
Are you referring to the one and a quarter litres of beef stock? This is five and a quarter cups if you are in the US.
Thanks
Chris
Terry Gorka says
This was a fantastic recipe ... I've been looking for a tasty short rib recipe for a long time. The barbecue recipes have been unappealing to me ... over emphasizing the use of processed ketchup and other sweeteners. This sweet and tangy recipe had complexity and great flavor. I was concerned the amount of ginger would be overwhelming but that wasn't the case. Thank you!
Chris Corbishley says
We are so glad that you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
Adrian Amos says
Fantastic recipe. Have cooked a couple of times about to cook again. An extra step that I added was to make the slow roast stock, cooled it, then marinated the ribs in the fridge for 24 hours. The flavour was amazing. The stock left over from cooking was packed with so much flavour. I could’ve almost drank it be itself as a soup. I used some of it in the sticky sauce and froze the rest for later.
MM says
My son sent me the link to this recipe, with a note saying 'yes please next weekend'. Hope the butcher has some beef short ribs! Looks so yummy.