Oven baked short ribs braised in a deeply flavorful cranberry red wine sauce make for a delicious special occasion meal. The tender and succulent beef is bathed in a glossy sweet-savory glaze from the reduced sauce and just melts in your mouth.
This recipe works best for quiet, chilly days where the smell of the ribs in the oven all afternoon will be stoking everyone's appetite and you'll have no trouble bringing them to the dinner table. Short ribs can be expensive so this meal is perfect for special occasions. This meal is easily impressive enough to be on your holiday table!
Serve these short ribs with a side of Zucchini Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits! If you are looking for another cozy dinner try Crispy Breaded Pork Cutlets with Apple Cider Gravy. And, don't forget dessert! A serving of this Eggnog Bread Pudding would make an sweet way to end this festive dinner.
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Ingredients
I include ingredient notes here when I think they’ll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!
The ingredients needed for this Cranberry Braised Short Ribs recipe are fairly simple once you have the short ribs on hand. Basic ingredients plus slow cooking can yield some pretty fantastic results!
- Beef Short Ribs: I love to use boneless beef short ribs when I can find them, but they are rarely available. Bone-in short ribs will yield even more flavor, so use what you prefer. Choose ribs that are meaty and trim the excess fat from them before cooking.
- Onions, Celery, and Carrot: This classic flavor base, also known as a mirepoix, brings aromatic flavor to the braising liquid.
- Garlic: Garlic is so delicious in a braising liquid. The slow cooking brings out the sweetness and reduces the pungency.
- Red Wine: Used to deglaze the pot before braising, red wine add luxurious flavor and prevents the short ribs from becoming too sweet. I use a cabernet sauvignon, but a merlot is a great option too. The alcohol will evaporate with cooking.
- Cranberry Juice: To avoid an overly-sweet recipe, use 100% cranberry juice if you can find it. Make a celebratory Cosmopolitan cocktail with the extra juice while your short ribs braise.
- Beef Broth: Beef broth brings the braising volume up to almost cover the short ribs so that they cook to tender perfection while in the oven.
- Dried Cranberries: Sweet-tart dried cranberries provide thickening of the braising liquid and sweeten the glaze for a well-balanced flavor.
- Rosemary: Rosemary is the perfect herbal addition to the short ribs. The bold flavor compliments the red wine and cranberry well where other herbs might just disappear into the background on their own.
Prepare the Braising Liquid
Choose a heavyweight Dutch oven for this recipe that can go from stovetop to oven. Preheat your oven to 325°F and adjust the racks to accommodate your lidded Dutch Oven.
Season your trimmed short ribs generously with salt and pepper. Heat the Dutch oven over medium-high heat on your stovetop and add the olive oil.
Brown the ribs in batches so that they caramelize and don’t steam. Use a pair of tongs to rotate the meat so that each side is deeply browned. Remove each batch to a separate plate (I always use the inverted lid!) while you cook all of the short ribs.
Remove all but about two tablespoons of fat from your Dutch oven and add in the garlic, onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for five minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. While the vegetables cook, scrape the bottom of the pot to bring up any flavorful beef bits.
Add in the red wine to deglaze the pot. Continue scraping the bottom to get any browned bits to make their way into the sauce. Add the cranberry juice and beef stock to the pot and bring everything to a simmer.
Braising the Short Ribs
Baked short ribs allow your beef to braise hands-free without the trouble of adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle simmer for a stovetop braise. The consistent and gentle heat in the oven makes for tender beef with almost no effort on your part.
Add the beef ribs and any accumulated juices, the rosemary, and the cranberries to the pot. Make sure the ribs are mostly under the liquid before covering the pot and placing it in the oven to braise for 2 hours.
Once the ribs have cooked for 2 hours, bring the Dutch oven back to the stove top. Remove the ribs to a plate and tent them with foil to keep them warm.
Prepare the Cranberry Red Wine Glaze
Strain the sauce and discard the solids. You can place your sauce in a gravy separator to remove even more fat, but I usually proceed with the sauce as-is.
Put the remaining liquid back into the Dutch oven and reduce the sauce over medium-high heat until you have a thick, glossy, sweet, and savory glaze that coats the back of your spoon. I try to scrape all of the browned flavor from the sides of the pot and incorporate it into the glaze as things reduce. The glaze will be about half the volume of what you started with and take about 10 minutes for full reduction.
Serving Baked Short Ribs
Pour most of the glaze into a serving pitcher or gravy boat. Leave the remaining glaze in the Dutch oven and toss the warm short ribs to coat them with the glaze before transferring them to a serving platter.
Bring the ribs to the table and be prepared for oohs and aahs! Pass that gravy boat around and let your guests drizzle over their desired amount of cranberry and red wine short rib glaze.
Serve these tender short ribs over classic mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes with green beans or broccoli on the side. They are also excellent with polenta and sautéed kale or spinach. Here are some other great side dishes to make along with the ribs:
Substitutions and Variations
The substitutions listed below have been tested in this recipe and work well. If you successfully make any other ingredient substitutions, let us know in the comments!
- Omit the Red Wine - Use balsamic vinegar in place of the red wine when deglazing the pot. The resulting short ribs will be more sweet and sour, but there will still be great depth of flavor.
- Add More Herbs - In addition to the rosemary, add fresh thyme, parsley, or oregano to the braising liquid.
Equipment
Use a large enameled Dutch oven for baked short ribs so that you can easily and safely go from stovetop for browning the ribs and deglazing the pot to the oven for the slow braise step. This heavyweight pot will distribute the heat evenly and keep the ribs warm until you transfer them to a serving platter for the table.
Make This Recipe Kid Friendly
Give the kids options when trying out this recipe for the family. One may prefer to have the meat removed from the bone and any fat completely removed, while another may want to take bites directly from the bone! Some kids like the sweet and savory sauce, while others want the meat completely free of sauce. Be flexible with how they enjoy the short ribs and they may surprise you with how much they like them.
Storage
The baked short ribs should be cooled before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. They can be reheated in the microwave, and a saucepan on the stovetop, or in the oven in a covered baking dish.
Short ribs and the glaze can also be stored in the freezer for up to one month in an airtight container.
Make-Ahead Options
If you want to make this main dish ahead of time for a special occasion dinner, these short ribs will freeze well with their sauce in an airtight container. Simply thaw the ribs overnight and reheat them, covered, in a 350°F oven along with the sauce before serving. I like this hack for big dinners. It saves a lot of time and energy when entertaining!
FAQ
Not only does the meat on the short ribs get fork tender with the long braise in the oven, but the connective tissue, fat, and collagen in the ribs are broken down with a long cook time. This makes your short rib glaze silky and thick.
Browning the short ribs in the first step will add a great depth of flavor to the recipe and you take advantage of all that work when you deglaze the pot with the wine, scraping up all of the brown bits. Don’t skip the browning!
Use a cabernet sauvignon, merlot, or zinfandel for braising beef short ribs for a good contrast to the sweeter cranberries and cranberry juice.
More Cranberry Recipes
Cranberries are perfect for the holiday season and all year round! Here are more delicious cranberry recipes:
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Recipe
Oven Baked Short Ribs Braised in Cranberry Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef short ribs (bone-in, or 2 pounds of boneless ribs)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup carrot (dived)
- 1 cup celery (diced)
- 1 cup onion (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups cranberry juice
- 1 cup beef broth (or stock)
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 cup cranberries (dried)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (ground)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and move racks to accommodate your covered Dutch oven, if needed.
- Trim the short ribs of excess fat and season them well with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large (5 qt.) Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add in the olive oil. Brown the ribs in batches on all sides until deeply caramelized. Remove to a plate while you finish the remaining ribs.
- Remove all of the ribs from your Dutch oven and then remove all but about two tablespoons of fat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pan and cook about 5 minutes with constant stirring, until softened.
- Deglaze the pot with wine and scrape off any brown bits. Add in the cranberry juice and beef stock and bring the liquid to a simmer.
- Add in the ribs and any accumulated juices, cranberries, and rosemary. Try to get all of the ribs under the surface of the liquid.
- Cover the Dutch oven and transfer the pot to the oven. Bake for two hours.
- Bring the pot to the stovetop again and remove the ribs to a plate. Tent them with foil to keep them warm.
- Strain the remaining sauce and discard the solids. Put the sauce back into the Dutch oven and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Boil to reduce the sauce until it is thick and glossy and coats the back of a spoon, about 10-15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
- Put most of the sauce in a serving dish and coat the ribs with the remainder before placing on a serving platter.
Nutrition facts are sometimes provided below and are calculated using an online calculator. With specific brands of ingredients and additions, omissions, or substitutions the nutrition facts may change. We encourage you to use your own nutrition facts caculator to obtain the most accurate nutrition facts for your meal.
Cassie @ Plan. Eat. Post. Repeat. says
I want your dinner party to be a success! Let me know if you have any questions about the recipe.
DS says
Absolutely divine! We made this for Christmas dinner and it was a huge hit. The ribs were perfectly tender and the sauce was delicious! we served with baby red potatoes simmered in butter. we will absolutely make again and my family asked for the recipe. Thank you!!
Cassie Waltman says
I'm so pleased this recipe worked out so well for you! Thank you for cooking one of my recipes.