Beer Braised Short Ribs are fall-apart tender and full of flavor! They’re surprisingly easy to make and pair so well with creamy, fluffy cheddar mashed potatoes. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any time you want a classic comfort food meal.
Who wouldn’t love to scoop a big forkful of tender, fall-apart-juicy ribs, nestled on a fluffy cloud of cheesy mashed potatoes?! The good news is that this recipe is pretty simple to make, although it has that “restaurant meal” feel!
Let’s walk it through.
How to Make Beer Braised Short Ribs:
First, season the ribs with salt + pepper, and brown them on all sides in a dutch oven.
Set them aside, and add some sliced onions, carrots, and garlic and sauté away!
How to cook the most fall-apart tender short ribs:
Add the meat back in, and add your beer (use a dark stout of some sort) and beef broth. Cook this low and slow in the oven for the best and most tender finished ribs! Start at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 45 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 275 and cook 45 minutes more.
How to make the sauce:
Once the ribs are done, set them aside on a plate and tent with foil. Skim off any fat and add the veggies and broth to a blender. Puree this up – it’ll be our sauce!
Don’t worry if it looks super frothy, that’s normal. Pour this back into the dutch oven, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for 30 minutes to reduce into a thicker, more flavorful sauce.
Add the ribs back in and gently simmer to reheat the ribs, or you can cover the pot at this point and store in the fridge for a day before serving – this allows the sauce to thicken up even more, and I must say, we LOVED eating these on the second day!
How to Make Cheddar Mashed Potatoes:
Start with your basics – peel and boil potatoes in a pot of salted water! While they boil, grate some cheese (or use pre-grated, either works!) and prepare your herbed butter. To make a super flavorful butter, add butter to a small saucepan with a smashed clove of garlic and a handful of fresh herbs (I had sage and thyme on hand, so I used those!).
Let this simmer over low heat for a few minutes, then discard the garlic and herbs.
Drain and mash up your potatoes once they’re tender, and then add milk, sour cream, and our herbed butter. We’re well on our way to major flavor town, people!
Finally, add a generous amount of white cheddar cheese! SO GOOD. Taste and add extra salt, pepper or cheese as desired. You can’t mess these up – cooking is really all about tasting and adjusting as you go!
Serve the ribs over the potatoes – the meat will shred easily – and spoon plenty of the juicy sauce over top. Serve with Guinness, naturally!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!
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Beer Braised Short Ribs with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
Beer Braised Short Ribs are fall-apart tender and full of flavor! They're surprisingly easy to make and pair so well with creamy, fluffy cheddar mashed potatoes. Perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any time you want a classic comfort food meal that tastes like restaurant-level food!
Ingredients
For the Short Ribs
- 3 and 1/2 lbs beef short ribs
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 cups chocolate stout or other dark beer
For the Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
- 2 and 1/2 lbs potatoes, washed + peeled
- salt + pepper
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 7 TBSP salted butter
- 2 clove garlic
- handful fresh thyme + sage
- 1 and 1/4 cups grated white cheddar cheese
Instructions
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Make the Short Ribs: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Season the ribs with salt + pepper. Add 1 TBSP olive oil to a large dutch oven over medium heat, and brown the ribs on all sides, working in batches as needed. Set aside on a plate.
Add the onion + carrots and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened - about 8 minutes.
Add the beef broth and beer and bring to a boil. Add the ribs back in, cover with the lid, and cook in the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes. After that, turn the oven temperature down to 275 degrees F, and cook for 45 minutes more. The ribs should be tender when you try to shred them with a fork (but don't shred them all now - just test a little bit on one).
Set the ribs on a plate and tent with foil. Skim off any visible fat in the liquid, and then pour everything (including the vegetables) into a blender (or use a hand blender in the pot) and puree. The liquid will be frothy. Return the liquid to the pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes to reduce the amount of liquid and intensify the flavor.
Return the ribs to the pot and gently reheat, or cover and let cool a tad before refrigerating to serve the next day. The sauce thickens up even more in the fridge overnight.
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Make the Cheddar Mashed Potatoes: While the ribs cook, make the potatoes. Add the washed, peeled potatoes to a pot of boiling water and add a few shakes of salt. Cook 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan and add 1 peeled, smashed clove of garlic and the herbs. Heat over low heat for 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat, and discard the garlic and herbs.
When potatoes are done cooking, drain and then shake them around in the pot a bit to help fluff them.
Mash the potatoes well. Keep the heat on low so the potatoes are just a bit warm to help melt the cheese at the end. Add the milk and sour cream and mash/stir to incorporate. Add salt + pepper to taste. Add herbed butter. Taste and add additional seasoning as desired. Stir the cheese in last.
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Serve + Store: Serve the ribs, shredded, over the potatoes. Store leftovers of each in their own containers in the fridge for 5-6 days.
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Katie says
So easy to make and it made the house smell amazing! I will definitely be adding this into my comfort food on cold days rotation! Highly recommend trying this recipe!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much, Katie! Glad you enjoyed this one. 🙂