Sous Vide Short Ribs (Boneless Beef)
If you own sous vide equipment or are planning to get some, do not miss these boneless beef sous vide short ribs. Beyond easy and melt-in-your-mouth! Definitely worth the 48 hour cook time.
If there was ever a reason to use the sous vide cooking method, sous vide short ribs is it.
The low stress, ‘put the food in and walk away’ feature is the same as with other sous vide recipes.
Sous vide cooking means immersing the food in a vacuum seal bag (or ziploc) into a water bath to cook at a very precise, consistent temperature. It magically achieves the exact food temperature and tenderness you want.
Why you should sous vide short ribs
Short ribs are a tough cut of meat and have a lot of connective tissue that needs to be broken down to become tender ribs. Typically this requires a very long baking/braising method in the oven or slow cooker. The end result can be very tasty and tender.
But medium or medium rare and soft as butter? Not in my memory! That’s exactly what you’ll get with sous vide short ribs. Definitely rave worthy.
These short ribs are even more effortless with a better texture than oven baked short ribs in my opinion. They are tender, easily cut with a fork, not at all stringy and amazingly succulent.
Apart from the great end results, the process couldn’t be simpler. Just 15 minutes hand-on time, including making a BBQ sauce. The other 48 hours for cooking is all done by the sous vide machine. Ok, I know that’s a long time. But as I said, put them in. Walk away.
After the long cook, you can finish them in 2 minutes by searing them in a cast iron skillet, on the BBQ or under the broiler. I find the best way to finish the ribs is on the grill if you have one easily accessible – no smell and no extra pan.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Short ribs: I use beef boneless short ribs that are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick from Costco. You can also use a bone-in short ribs if you prefer such as an English style cut with a thick piece of meat sitting on top of a bone. You will need to trim the excess fat from these.
Seasoning: Keep it simple with kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Season generously. Add a touch soy sauce if you like. Or feel free to use your favorite dry rub instead.
BBQ sauce: I used a basic BBQ sauce (see recipe card) to finish them off, but you can try a glaze with an Asian flair, a peppercorn sauce or a wine reduction. Here’s a great red wine sauce I use sometimes. To simplify, use your favorite bottled bbq sauce.
Time and temperature
I cook the short ribs at 135F/57.2C for 48 hours. This low temperature results in a medium rare-ish temperature.
For a medium to medium-well doneness, try 140F-144F (60-62C) for 48 hours. And for well done, use 155F/68C – same time.
You will have to experiment to find your sweet spot.
Step by step instructions
Shortcut
Use a good bottled BBQ sauce or glaze to finish off the boneless ribs. You can even brush the meat with it before adding it to the ziploc bag.
What to serve with sous vide short ribs
I love to serve these ribs with mashed potatoes, curried rice with raisins, grilled coleslaw (no mayo) or grilled corn salad.
And something green like microwave green beans or healthy creamed spinach. Actually, almost anything goes.
Make Ahead
I’m pretty sure 48 hours qualifies for make ahead!
- A few days ahead: Cook short ribs well ahead, cool them down then refrigerate them for up to 4-5 days. To reheat, if thick, drop them into a sous vide bath 10 degrees less than you cooked them for about 30 minutes. Slather the boneless beef ribs with the sauce and broil or grill them for a minute or so on each side. If thin, skip the retherming with sous vide and just grill or broil them.
- The BBQ sauce can also be made several days or more ahead.
- Store leftover short ribs in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge or cool and freeze them.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. Since the cook time is so long, there is no need to adjust the time.
You will need a sous vide machine – either an oven type or the more common sous vide immersion circulator, a sous vide bag or ziploc bag, a large plastic container and, for long cooks like short ribs, a lid (or aluminum foil) to avoid water evaporation. For finishing, use a grill, cast iron pan or broiler. Some people also use a torch to brown the meat.
Other sous vide beef recipes
- sous vide New York strip steak
- sous vide beef ribs
- Korean beef short ribs (sous vide)
- easy Mongolian beef (sous vide or regular)
- sous vide burgers (taste test)
- sous vide chuck roast (for French dip au jus)
- hamburger steak with onion gravy (sous vide)
And be sure to check out our best sous vide recipes and tips.
Sous Vide Short Ribs (Boneless Beef)
Equipment
- sous vide immersion circulator (or oven-type machine)
- large plastic container or pot
Ingredients
- 3.5 pound boneless beef short ribs, about 1 inch/2.5 cm thick Costco has good ones. You can also use frozen short ribs which will take the same time and temperature.
- seasonings (salt, black pepper, garlic powder)
BBQ Sauce, Note 1
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chili powder (optional) or a bit of hot sauce
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Video
Instructions
- PREPARE THE SOUS VIDE BATH: Fill water in the sous vide container as per manufacturers instructions (not too high). I use hot tap water to make the heating up go faster. Set temperature to 135F/57.2 (for medium to medium-rare) and allow sous vide water bath to heat to that temperature. Note 2 for other temps.
- PREPARE THE BEEF SHORT RIBS: Generously season both sides of the boneless ribs with salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Fold back top of sous vide bags about 1 inch/2.5 cm to create a flap (this ensures no food touches the top of the bag where it gets sealed). Insert up to 3 boneless ribs per bag, ensuring no overlap. Unfold the flap and vacuum seal the bag using a vacuum sealer. Note 2 for water displacement method with ziploc bag.
- SOUS VIDE SHORT RIBS: When temperature of water bath reaches 135F/57.2C, submerge vacuum sealed bags with boneless ribs into water. Cover with lid or aluminum foil (to reduce water evaporation) and cook for 48 hours of a bit less. (TIP: If your boneless ribs are thinner, 30-36 hours will be fine – easy to check if using the water displacement method). Rest meat for 10 minutes before finishing.
- MAKE THE BBQ SAUCE: Add all BBQ sauce ingredients into small saucepan and heat to medium low. Stir and simmer for 2-3 minutes. The sauce can be made several days ahead. Alternatively, use your favorite bottled BBQ sauce.
- FINISH RIBS: Remove boneless beef ribs from bags and pat dry with paper towels. Discard accumulated juices from bags. Brush short ribs generously with sauce on both sides. TO GRILL: Heat gas grill to high. Lightly spray ribs with oil to avoid sticking to grill. Grill ribs for 1-2 minutes per side until you see grill marks or until sauce is bubbly and ribs are nicely glazed. TO BROIL: Broil close to heat source for 1-2 minutes per side until bubbly and nicely glazed. Serve with remaining sauce. They are great served over mashed potatoes.
Recipe Notes
- BBQ sauce alternative: Feel free to use your own bbq sauce, a bottled one or other glazes such as teriyaki.Â
- For medium or well done meat: For a medium to medium-well doneness, try 140F-144F (60-62C) for 48 hours. And for well done, use 155F/68C – same time.Â
- For water displacement method using zipper lock bag: Place boneless ribs in ziploc bag and zip up part way only. When water reaches correct temperature, slowly lower bag into water. This will push air out (water displacement method). When top of bag is just above water line, zip it shut. Submerge bag. Cover container with lid or foil to avoid evaporation.Â
- Make Ahead:Â
- A few days ahead: Cook short ribs well ahead, cool them down then refrigerate them for up to 4-5 days. To reheat, if thick, drop them into a sous vide bath 10 degrees less than you cooked them for about 30 minutes. Slather the boneless beef ribs with the sauce and broil or grill them for a minute or so on each side. If thin, skip the retherming with sous vide and just grill or broil them.Â
- The BBQ sauce can also be made several days or more ahead.
- Store leftover short ribs in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge or cool and freeze them.Â
Nutrition
This recipe, now updated, was originally posted in 2017.
I read a lot of posts saying that the sous vide low temperature doesn’t like garlic or onion powders since it will make it taste sourer. I personally made the mistake once and is 80% for this claim. What do you think?
Onion powder and garlic powder are both fine to use when cooking meats sous vide. And they shouldn’t cause any bitter taste. I use garlic powder all the time.
Picked up USDA Prime boneless beef short ribs at Costco, seasoned them with my favorite fajita rub, vacuum sealed, and cooked sous vide at 132 F for 48 hours to get a solid medium rare. Removed from the bag, brushed with Stephanie Izard’s, “This little goat went to Yucatan” sauce and seared on a very hot grill for a little over a minute per side. Served in soft taco shells with a pineapple/jalapeno coleslaw and Flatiron Pepper’s Dark & Smokey blend. Unbelievably tender and flavorful short ribs. The texture of the meat couldn’t be better. This is a winner.
Thanks so much for sharing how you finessed this recipe! I love that you tried it in tacos with a slaw. Sounds delish!