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Coffee-and-Bourbon-Braised Short Ribs

4.7

(11)

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CoffeeandBourbonBraised Short Ribs in a blue bowl
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones and Thu Buser, prop styling by Sean Dooley

  • Total Time

    4 hours 20 minutes

Smoky-sweet bourbon and roasted coffee are the perfect complement to bone-in short ribs in this deep, dark braise. Instant espresso powder lends big flavor while dissolving seamlessly into a blend of Worcestershire sauce, liquor, and vinegar to create a braising liquid that easily tenderizes the tough cut. And after all that liquid reduces and the short ribs have slowly cooked to perfection, you’re left with a sauce that just begs to blanket a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Be sure to buy English-style bone-in short ribs for this dish. The cut is optimal for long braising and will stay intact better than crosscut (flanken-style) ribs. We like a bourbon with deep caramel notes and a subtle smoky flavor here, but any will work.

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What you’ll need

Ingredients

4–6 servings

4

lb. English-style bone-in beef short ribs

1

Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 3 tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more

3

tsp. freshly ground pepper, divided, plus more

2

Tbsp. vegetable oil

2

large white onions, coarsely chopped

2

large carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped

4

celery stalks, coarsely chopped

10

garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

¼

cup (31 g) all-purpose flour

1¼

cups bourbon

3

Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2

Tbsp. red wine vinegar

4

dried bay leaves

⅓

cup (67 g; packed) dark brown sugar

3

Tbsp. instant espresso powder

Mashed potatoes (for serving; optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 300°. Place 4 lb. English-style bone-in beef short ribs on a rimmed baking sheet, pat dry, and sprinkle all over with 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt and 2 tsp. freshly ground pepper. Heat 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Working in batches if needed, cook short ribs on all 4 sides until a deeply browned crust forms, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate with tongs. Carefully pour fat into a small bowl. Return 2 Tbsp. fat to pot; discard the rest.

    Step 2

    Cook 2 large white onions, coarsely chopped, 2 large carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped, 4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped, and 10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped, in same pot, stirring often, until softened and starting to brown, 10–14 minutes. Sprinkle ¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose flour over; stir until vegetables are evenly coated, then gradually pour in 1¼ cups bourbon, 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, and 6 cups water, stirring constantly to combine. Add 4 dried bay leaves, ⅓ cup (67 g; packed) dark brown sugar, 3 Tbsp. instant espresso powder, 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper and bring to a boil. Immediately remove pot from heat; nestle ribs into sauce so they are mostly submerged. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and braise until meat is tender, about 3 hours. Uncover and roast until sauce thickens slightly and tops of ribs are browned, 25–35 minutes.

    Step 3

    Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer short ribs to a clean plate. Strain sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl; discard solids. Skim fat from surface, then taste and season with more salt if needed.

    Step 4

    Serve short ribs over mashed potatoes if desired with sauce poured over and seasoned with more pepper.

    Do Ahead: Ribs can be cooked 2 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Skim fat from surface before reheating, covered, in a 300° oven, 20–30 minutes.

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Reviews (11)

Back to TopTriangle

  • Super easy and so good. My boyfriend said it is one of the best things he's ever eaten and he wants me to make it the next time his family comes over. I served it with brown butter/mascarpone/parmesan mashed potatoes.

    • Sarah

    • San Luis Obispo, CA

    • 2/25/2024

  • Made this with horseradish mashed potatoes. It was a restaurant quality meal. This is an excellent recipe. I would reduce the amount of water next time but other than that this was absolutely fall off the bone delicious.

    • EMK

    • Durham. NC

    • 2/18/2024

  • Doubled the recipe to feed 8 people and didn’t have much leftover! We cut the sugar by half, reduced the water so it would fit into 2 Dutch ovens, and used 6 shots out of the espresso machine in lieu of the instant powder. I was also very nervous about the amount of caffeine going in but nobody got the jitters lol. Served with mashed potatoes and grilled veg.

    • Tacos Canada

    • Calgary Canada

    • 2/8/2024

  • One of the best braised short ribs I have ever made. Meat was falling off the bone, sauce was flavorful and it smelled wonderful. I made mashed sweet potatoes and it was fantastic

    • Kelly

    • Granbury, Tx

    • 1/29/2024

  • Unbelievably excellent! Besides the fabulous dinner, the aroma wafting through the kitchen in the afternoon — brilliant

    • Claudia Keith

    • Bakersfield CA

    • 1/28/2024

  • OMG…AMAZING! Bought the ribs at Costco and asked if English style ( no one knew what that meant) They were flanken style, so MANY tiny round bones and thin slices. DEFINITELY follow the side note and use the thicker, meaty, English style. Sauce was delicious !Didn't strain out the mirepoix from the sauce, added baby green peas ( and will add mushrooms next time.) Served over horseradish mashed cauliflower. My husband can’t stop talking about great it was!…DEFINITELY a keeper for cold winter nights !

    • BethE

    • Wilmington DE

    • 1/25/2024

  • I followed the recipe exactly: not good. Too sweet, odd combination of flavors.

    • Jim

    • Chicago

    • 1/22/2024

  • This was the perfect thing to make when we were snowed in this weekend. It made the house smell amazing and it was such a warming, hearty, and satisfying meal on a cold day. I had never cooked with bourbon or coffee before and this was also my first time making short ribs. The recipe is very easy to follow. I ended up reducing the instant espresso by a third because I was worried about it tasting too strong of coffee. It was great that way but I would try putting the full amount in next time. It didn’t taste like coffee. I also had to reduce the amount of water by 2 cups so it would fit in my Dutch oven. I used beef Better Than Bullion instead of salt in the braising liquid. The flavors were deep and complex and very satisfying. We had it with roasted Yukon gold potatoes the first night and served the leftovers with roasted sweet potatoes. It was a hit. Thanks for this recipe.

    • Natalie

    • Portland, OR

    • 1/16/2024

  • This was some real gourmet sh*t! Cut the recipe in half because there are only two of us and got two incredible dinners out of it. We had mashed potatoes with it and would do it all again!

    • Brook

    • Denver, CO

    • 1/15/2024

  • These are soo good. Made 1 1/2 recipes and hard to reduce water by about a cup so as not to overflow my dutch oven. This makes a lot of wonderful sauce/ gravy. We served 6 lbs of ribs to 6 adults and 2 children. We had lots left over for another meal for three and still have left over. The sauce is delicious and we can not stop eating iot

    • deborah

    • portland oregon

    • 1/15/2024

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