Beef Short Ribs with Gravy

3 Beef Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes and Garlic Mushroom & Onion Gravy on a red plate.

Slow Roasted Beef Short Ribs

If you’ve ever wondered why the large beef ribs don’t have much meat on their bones, it’s because they’re the rib bones that are cut away from Prime Rib/Ribeye steaks. So, if any more meat was left on the bones, it would take away from those steaks. To get a meaty Beef Rib, you need to pick up some short ribs. They usually weigh about 4 lbs but they slow roast and/or smoke beautifully.

That being said, this is one of the best and easiest ways to prepare Beef Short Ribs, without a lot of hassle. There’s hardly any prep work, a little bit of after cooking to make the gravy but the hardest thing about this recipe is the waiting. It takes 10 hours to cook these ribs, in a slow cooker, to get them juicy and tender. But, it’s worth it!

1 package of raw Beef Short Ribs, wrapped in plastic, with a detailed sticker of the contents, weight & price.

Purchasing Beef Short Ribs

Sometimes these cuts aren’t easy to find and if you find them they can be a bit pricey. They’re often cut into singles with an average of 8 Riblet portions but, sometimes, the ribs can be bought as a whole. If you’re lucky, you have a butcher that will cut them by your request or, at least, offer both.

If you can’t find short ribs or you need a cheaper alternative, I suggest you purchase a thick Beef Chuck that can be cut into rib size portions, with all of the connection tissue, that could imitate good short ribs. We’ll call it, Poor Man’s Beef Short Ribs!

Beef Short Ribs are very meaty and popular among barbecue enthusiasts because of it. They are terrific when they’re smoked on a grill and just good but different, if they’re slow roasted in the oven or in a Slow Cooker. Today, I’m going to show you a simple method I like to use in my old school Crock Pot.

8 raw Beef Short Ribs on a foam packaging plate, on the counter top.

Roasting Short Ribs

Rib meat can be very tough when it’s cooked at higher temperatures for shorter amounts of time. That’s why the prefered method is to smoke or roast for a slow amount of time and at lower temps. Both smoking and roasting embrace this methodology and I’m a big fan of the process, myself.

My Crock Pot (slow cooker), however, is old. Like 80’s old but that’s the era that made the best slow cookers. They have a heavy glass lid that traps the steam in so you don’t have to add any liquid to keep the meat from drying out. If you’ve got one of the newer slow cookers, that requires the addition of liquid as you roast, then you need to follow those cooking instructions along with this recipe, to get the same results.

Large white bowl filled with all of the cooked Beef Short Ribs and bits of Mushroom, Onion and Bell Pepper.

I season and sear all of the Beef Short Ribs, in a pan with Olive Oil, before I add them to the Crock Pot. Then I add chopped onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and parsley. Again, no liquid unless your slow cooker requires it. After 10 hours of cooking on low, I separate the Ribs from the liquid (above pic).

Large pan with Garlic Mushroom, Onion and Bell Pepper Brown Gravy, made from the Beef Short Ribs Roast.
Making the Gravy

I use the liquid, from the crock pot to make the gravy. I make a small garlic and butter based roux before I add the liquid, including all of the chopped and roasted veggies. If a deeper and more complex flavor is desired, a splash of red wine or a small amount of tomato paste can be added. I’ve had it both ways, they’re both great but I prefer it without either.

How to cook Beef Short Ribs with Gravy video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.

Beef Short Ribs with Gravy Ingredients:

4 lbs Beef Short Ribs
1 Onion, sliced or diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced or diced
2 oz Button or Portobello Mushrooms, sliced
1 sprig Fresh Parsley, chopped

Lightly season Beef with Kosher Salt and Pepper

Gravy Ingredients:

1 Garlic Clove, chopped
2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Flour, all purpose
Slow Cooker Liquid & Vegetables

1/2 cup Red Wine, optional
1/3 cup Tomato Sauce, optional

Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Season the Beef Short Ribs with Kosher Salt and Pepper, then sear all sides in a hot pan. Add sliced Onion, Bell Pepper, chopped mushrooms and parsley to the slow cooker, topped with the seared short ribs. Cook on low for 10 hours.

Extract the Beef Ribs from the pot and start cooking the Gravy in a large pan on the stove. Start with the butter, then add the garlic and flour. Stir for 1 minute until it’s pasty and starts to brown. Then add the slow cooker juice including all of it’s contents; onions, peppers, mushrooms and parsley. Cook and stir over High heat, until the gravy thickens, then turn the burner down to low. Serve Beef Short Ribs
and Gravy over mashed potatoes.

Smoked Beef Rib Roast

Smoked Beef Rib Roast weighing about 9 lbs.

The Best Beef Ribs

Surprisingly, Beef Ribs like these aren’t readily available at most grocery stores but, when they are, you should snatch them up. I picked up this 9+ pound Beef Rib Roast for about $42 USD, with tax, $4.58 per lbs. Beef Short Ribs are more common but usually expensive. A rack this size, rarely has much meat on the bones because Prime Rib and Ribeye steaks are cut from the bones so, the only meat that’s ever left is in-between. I show you how to prepare and cook delicious Beef Ribs like that, here. Another great option is Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs and I’ve got a great recipe for those as well. But, if you ask me, this is the way to go. Just a solid piece of meat still connected to the rib bones.

9.12 lbs Raw Beef Rib Roast on a white cutting board upon a butcher block counter top.

Preparing the Beef

Much like a Beef Brisket, there is a lot of trimming that needs to be done before a Beef Rib Roast is cooked. All the fat can be left on the roast if it’s preferred but, everyone should be concerned with the removal of the silver skin. It can be very unpleasant chewing on piece of meat that hasn’t had this removed because it doesn’t break down when it’s being eaten. The silver skin, on a portion of beef this size, runs the entire length of the beef and is approximately 4″ inches wide. I show you how to trim and remove it in the video tutorial. The membrane on the ribs can also be peeled off.

Beef Rib Roast after Smoking on the grill for only 3 hours.

Seasoning and Smoking

It’s fairly common practice to lube up the meat before seasoning with some sort of oil, mustard or hot sauce. I don’t use any of those. I just hit it, on all sides, with Kosher Salt & pepper, then place in the corner of my grill over indirect heat. I have a 3 burner gas grill and I only turn on the front burner with the heat set on low. With the lid down my heat levels out around 275° Fahrenheit throughout the duration of the cook(approximately 9 hours). I use a smoke tube filled with pellets to provide the smoke and it works great. The flavor it adds to the meat is amazing.

Fully Smoked Beef Ribs with 7 bones and a black bark.

Something you might want to consider, however, is wrapping the meat once the internal temperature reaches 165° F. My ribs were good but I think they would have been even better if I had done that. I think next time, just for fun, I might even pull the rack off the heat, once I hit 125° F internal temp, and slice up some medium rare ribs.

Smoked Beef Rib Roast video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.

Smoked Beef Rib Roast Ingredients:

10 lbs Beef Rib Roast, bone in
Olive oil or Louisiana Hot Sauce, optional
Kosher Salt and Pepper

5 cups Wood Pellets for smoking

Just follow the instructions in the video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this Smoked Beef Rib Roast.

Smoked Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs

3 lb package of Raw Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs, $4.98/lb.

The Best Beef Ribs

There’s nothing like good barbecue and these beef ribs are great for any grill. In fact, I’m going to show you how to smoke these Country Style ribs on a gas grill. There’s really nothing to it. In fact, in my opinion, it’s even easier than using a traditional smoker with virtually the exact same results. Don’t believe me? Then check this out.

4 Raw Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs in a ceramic dish, seasoned with Kosher Salt and Pepper.
4 Boneless Beef Ribs on the grill after 3 hours of smoking.
4 Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs completely smoked and resting in Aju.
2 whole Smoked Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs with 1 other sliced and another shredded, resting in Aju.
How to smoke country style boneless beef ribs on a gas grill by PoorMansGourmet.

Smoked Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs Ingredients:

Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs Ingredients:

3 lbs Boneless Beef Ribs
1 cup Beef Broth
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Grill and smoke the Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs over indirect heat at 225° Fahrenheit for 3 hours. Switch the meat around on the grill, spritz with Beef Broth and and probe one meat portion with a thermometer. When internal temp reaches 160° F, wrap with foil and add 1/4 cup of Beef Broth. Cook again over indirect heat until the internal temp reaches 205° Fahrenheit, then remove from the grill. Wait 10 minutes to cut, shred and serve.