Fall-apart tender short ribs braised in a rich, tomato-red wine sauce for a short rib ragu recipe that’s the ultimate comfort food. Serve with your favorite pasta or over potatoes or polenta! Recipe includes a step-by-step video tutorial!
My Short Rib Ragu is the Ultimate Comfort Food!
While I already have a beef ragu I love, when I’m looking for something extra rich, elevated, and cozy for dinner, I make this short rib ragu. Short ribs have a lot of fat and connective tissue throughout, which break down during braising and provide a rich, incredibly savory flavor (the actual bones help with this too!).
My Italian great-grandmother used to make an incredibly (and I mean incredibly) flavorful meat sauce when I was a kid, and while this isn’t identical to hers, it gives me all the same warm, cozy comfort food feelings I’ve been missing since she passed away. I hope you love it too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Unparalleled flavor. Using a rich, fatty meat, guarantees TONS of flavor, and when you pair it with careful techniques and proper seasoning, this dish is just so satisfying!
- Very make-ahead friendly.The flavor gets even better after a night in the fridge. Note: I would only make the ragu in advance, then cook the pasta fresh and add it when ready to serve.
- Comfort food, elevated. This recipe uses pantry staples and nothing super fancy or hard to find, but they come together beautifully. I’ll go over a few of the ingredients you might have substitution questions about below.
- Versatile. It’s equally as tasty over mashed potatoes or polenta as it is over pasta. If you do go the pasta route, choose a broad noodle like pappardelle or tagliatelle–it stands up to the sauce beautifully!
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Ingredients
There are quite a few ingredients in this recipe; I won’t go over every one here, but let’s talk about the ones I most often get questions about, and a few notes on substitutions.
- Short ribs. You want bone-in short ribs. while boneless will technically work, they just they won’t have the same richness or depth of flavor. You would also need a bit less (about 2.5-3lbs). If you can’t find short ribs, just make my beef ragu instead.
- Whole peeled tomatoes. San marzano are best if you can find them.
- Sugar. This won’t make the sauce sweet; it helps build flavor. If you have absolutely perfect tomatoes, you could get away with skipping the sugar, but just realistically, it’s not likely. If you don’t do refined sugar, do coconut sugar.
- Wine. Pick a dry red wine, like cabernet sauvignon or merlot. If you don’t want to use wine, use 3-4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar instead. You’ll use it to deglaze the pot just like the wine, but then you’ll want to cook until completely reduced and the steam no longer smells pungent (like I do with my favorite pot roast recipe). The acidity is really helpful in the final dish, so I wouldn’t recommend skipping this ingredient entirely or swapping for broth/water instead.
- Parmesan rind. Tossing in a parmesan rind is great if you have one lingering in your cheese drawer. I always freeze mine so I can add them to sauces like this one.
Note that I don’t use celery. While you could through in a diced rib or even two if you want, I found it to be unnecessary and prefer my short rib ragu without. This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
SAM’S TIP: Add ⅓ cup of cream or half and half to your ragu for a creamier, richer ragu. This isn’t mandatory, but I sometimes like to add it when I return the shredded meat to the pot.
How to Make Short Rib Ragu
- Step 1: Season & sear the meat. I can’t overemphasize this: getting a good sear is critical; the caramelization is key for flavor (maillard reaction), plus it gives you those browned bits on the bottom of the pot that you work into the sauce later on. You want that dark golden browning all over; do it in batches so the meat doesn’t just steam/turn gray. It takes time, but it’s worth it! If you’re short on time, make sure to sear at least one side, but for best flavor, do all.
- Step 2: Sautè the veggies. Spoon any excess fat out of the pan (not all of it! It’s critical for flavor-building!), then add your veggies and saute until softened. Add the garlic last, and cook for just 30 seconds or so, until it smells fragrant.
- Step 3: Caramelize the tomato paste. Add the tomato paste and sugar to the pot and cook until the tomato paste has darkened in color. This step of caramelizing the tomato paste adds a lot of flavor to the dish!
- Step 4: Add the wine. Drizzle in the wine, scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan as you go (this is where you unlock a TON of flavor… and make the pot easier to clean at the end of the day 😉). Let the wine cook until reduced by about half.
- Step 5: Braise. Add the remaining ingredients (spices, tomatoes, broth), then return the meat to the pan. Submerge the meat as best as you can, and add your fresh herbs (submerge them well so they don’t burn… I tucked mine in right after the photo was taken) and your parmesan rind (if using). Cover and bake until the meat is extremely tender, about 3 hours.
- Step 6: Shred the meat. There will be lots of fat you’ll want to discard here. Sometimes it feels like there’s more fat than meat; that’s normal! If you like a smoother sauce, you can mash or blend the sauce after you’ve removed the ribs and the thyme/bay leaves/parmesan rind and before you return the meat to the pot.
SAM’S TIP: I typically keep my ragu over low heat while the pasta is cooking. The fat will float to the top of the pot during this time, and sometimes I’ll skim if off. If I don’t do it then, I’ll do it after refrigerating and before reheating; it’s very easy to remove once everything is cold… just scrape it off and discard!
- Step 7: Toss with pasta & serve. Cook your pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water before draining. Add the noodles to the ragu along with a splash of the reserved water and stir well. Let everything simmer together for a few minutes, then serve.
SAM’S TIP: Save your pasta water! It helps the sauce cling to the noodles properly. It’s also nice to have on hand for reheating leftovers the next day– the noodles absorb a lot of the sauce so a splash of pasta water keeps things from being too dry!
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically bolognese is a type of ragu. Ragu simply refers to meat-based tomato sauce, and there are several ways to prepare it. Here, we are using short ribs, but in a bolognese, you typically use a ground meat like beef and/or pork (like in my meat sauce) and add a touch of milk as well.
We like it over pasta; a broad noodle like pappardelle or tagliatelle is best because it catches the shredded meat and sauce. If you don’t want to serve it over pasta, ragu is also tasty over polenta or mashed potatoes and garlic mashed potatoes!
For sides, a light salad with Italian dressing and/or some crusty bread like artisan bread, sourdough bread, or garlic knots pair nicely.
Proper seasoning and searing are SO important if you want a really great flavor. With all the flavors built into this dish, if everything else is done right but it seems even a tiny bit bland, it just needs more salt to help the flavors shine. Always taste-test, add salt, and you’ll be good to go!
What to Serve With Short Rib Ragu
Looking for more cozy comfort food? My beef stew and baked ziti are just as satisfying!
Enjoy!
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Short Rib Ragu
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs bone in short rib
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (for seasoning meat)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper (for seasoning meat)
- 1 Tablespoon olive or avocado cooking oil
- 1 cup (140 g) yellow onion diced
- ¾ cup (100 g) carrot chopped (usually about 2 carrots)
- 2 Tablespoons garlic minced
- 3 Tablespoons (50 g) tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) dry red wine
- 28 oz (794 g) whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups (480 ml) beef broth
- 2 dried bay leaves
- Parmesan rind (optional, but adds great depth of flavor)
- 12 oz (340 g) pasta (I recommend a broad noodle like pappardelle)
Recommended Equipment
- Dutch oven or large oven-safe pot with lid
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (165C).
Season and sear the meat
- Season short ribs on all sides with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.3-4 lbs bone in short rib, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- Heat oil in a large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, sear meat on every side until deep golden brown. Do this in batches if all of your meat does not fit in your pot (I usually do mine in 2 batches, about 2-3 minutes per side).1 Tablespoon olive or avocado cooking oil
- Remove seared meat to a plate and set aside. If there’s more than ¼ cup of rendered fat, spoon off the excess but the drippings are necessary for cooking our veggies and building a flavorful base.
Prepare the sauce
- Reduce stovetop heat to medium and add onion and carrot to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent.1 cup (140 g) yellow onion, ¾ cup (100 g) carrot
- Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and sugar and cook until tomato paste deepens in color (about 1-2 minutes).2 Tablespoons garlic, 3 Tablespoons (50 g) tomato paste, 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Deglaze the pan
- Slowly drizzle in wine, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate any brown bits on the bottom. Cook until the wine has reduced by about half, about 3-4 minutes.½ cup (120 ml) dry red wine
Add tomatoes and seasonings
- Add the tomatoes and spices (basil, oregano, dried thyme – if using fresh save to add later, salt, and paper) and stir to combine, crushing/breaking up the tomatoes with your spoon as you stir.28 oz (794 g) whole peeled tomatoes, 2 teaspoons dried basil, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 bunch fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon table salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- While stirring, drizzle in broth.2 cups (480 ml) beef broth
- Return the seared short ribs (and any juices) to the pot, submerging the meat as best you can. Submerge bay leaves and parmesan rind, if using. If you are using fresh thyme, add this here and tuck it into the sauce as well.2 dried bay leaves, Parmesan rind
Return the meat and braise
- Cover the pot with its lid and transfer to the center rack of your preheated 325F (165C) oven for 2 ½ – 3 hours. It’s finished when the meat is super tender, easily shreds with a fork, and falls right off the bones.
Shred and finish
- Remove the ribs to a cutting board and shred the meat, separating out and discarding any fat or tough tissue and bones (or save the bones to make a broth later). Remove and discard bay leaves and thyme stems (if you used fresh) and parmesan rind. Return the shredded meat to the pot and place over low heat.
Cook pasta and combine
- Cook pasta, according to package instructions, in well-salted water, reserving about a cup of the pasta water (you won’t need all of it) after cooking.12 oz (340 g) pasta
- Drain the pasta and add into the pot with the meat along with a splash (about 2 Tablespoons) of pasta water. Simmer for several minutes until the sauce clings to the noodles (about 5 minutes) and serve.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you store the noodles and sauce after combining, the noodles will soak up the liquid. To reheat, I do so on the stovetop in a pan with a splash of reserved pasta water or a splash of beef broth over low heat.Freezing
May be frozen for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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