Short ribs are one of my favorite cuts of meat that I don’t cook nearly enough. Like any rib, they require a good amount of cooking to get them tender. Typically, low and slow for hours in the oven. But when made in a pressure cooker? You’ve got short ribs in just over an hour!
pressure cooker honey-balsamic short ribs
Let’s start by managing expectations. Often when people see pressure cooker or instant pot in a recipe title, they assume it is of the dump everything in and hit a button variety. This is not that. But it’s still not complicated, either so don’t bounce just yet.
When there are steps in traditional recipes that I feel are extraneous, I am more than happy to omit them. For example: in my barbacoa recipe, I don’t tell you to brown the meat, because browning the meat doesn’t improve the end result enough to make you bother with it.
For these short ribs, however, it’s worth it to take some time to brown the meat. You don’t have to flip them, I just browned the meaty side. The depth of flavor you’ll get from this step makes it worth it, I promise. Plus: you can do it all in the Instant Pot, so you won’t have another pot to clean. Here are the steps:
- Salt and pepper the short ribs.
- Brown the short ribs.
- Remove them and add the onions and garlic.
- Add the liquid and the short ribs back in.
- Set your pressure cooker.
- Release the pressure and remove the short ribs.
- Reduce the cooking liquid.
- Garnish and serve
So yes: Slightly more complicated than a dump it all in the pot recipe, but still requires far less time than a low and slow oven braise.
A word about the Garnish step: something about the word sounds decorative, but in this case, it’s more than that. The addition of lemon zest, lemon juice, and fresh parsley give the dish some much needed brightness and acidity. This recipe is rich, which I love, but it needs the balance the finishes lends.
If you’re looking for a Rosh Hashanah recipe to ring in 5781, this dish is perfect. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a New Year. If you’re looking for even more Paleo Jewish Recipes for the Holidays and Every Day, you need The New Yiddish Kitchen!
pressure cooker honey balsamic short ribs
rich and decadent short ribs are cooked in a fraction of the time in the instant pot.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes plus time to come up to pressure
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: beef
- Method: pressure cook
Ingredients
- 3.5 pounds bone-in short ribs (try to get ones that are at least 1.5 inches thick)
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 4–5 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup tamari or coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth or stock
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Liberally season the short ribs with salt and pepper – ideally a day in advance and refrigerated, but if not, up to two hours at room temperature.
- Turn your Instant Pot on Sauté (high, if it’s an option). Once it reads HOT, add the oil. Brown the short ribs in batches, until well browned on the meaty side (you don’t need to brown them on all sides)
- Remove the short ribs to a plate and add the onions. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, until browned and softened.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, until fragrant.
- Add the balsamic vinegar, tamari, honey, mustard, broth, and thyme. Once it starts to bubble, add the short ribs back in, meaty side down.
- Hit Cancel on the Instant Pot. Lock on the lid, making sure the seal is in place. Set to cook for 40 minutes at high pressure, making sure the valve is set to sealing.
- When the time is up, release the pressure and remove the lid once it unlocks. Remove the ribs to a platter and turn the Instant Pot back to Sauté. Reduce the sauce until it’s about 3 cups in volume.
- Pour the sauce over the ribs. Pour over the lemon juice and sprinkle with lemon zest and parsley.
- Serve over polenta, mashed potatoes, or whatever you’d like.
Notes
To oven braise: Follow the above instructions, replacing the instant pot with a dutch oven, and searing on the stove top. Increase the broth to 2 cups. Braise covered at 300°F for 3-3.5 hours, or until the short ribs are very tender.
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Donna in Inwood says
Hey Simone, is it correct that we reduce the sauce to three cups? It calls for adding in two cups of liquid. thanks.
zenbelly says
Yup, you’ll have about double the liquid that you put in since nothing evaporates and the fat renders out of the meat. You can reduce it even more than that if you’d like.
Donna in Inwood says
You’re right! I measured it out and there were 3 and 3/4s cups of liquid. This was a great recipe, thanks!
zenbelly says
Thanks, Donna, I’m glad you liked it!
Allison McGinn says
Made this today because there was a sale on short ribs and it was excellent! I tossed in a small bag of baby carrots and they cooked beautifully without adding any extra liquids!
Elaine says
This is one of my favorite recipes and my husband always says how good it is when I make it!
Laura says
Can I make this with boneless short ribs? I imagine it would work but cut down cooking time? Having trouble finding nice short ribs on the bone!
zenbelly says
Sure! I am not sure about the precise cooking time, I would google a boneless short ribs recipe and use that as a guide for timing.
Cami says
All I had was dried thyme so I put a couple of spoonfuls in an aromatics bag and used that instead of fresh. Worked great! The savory sweet tart flavor of this sauce is delish and well balanced by the mashed potatoes we made. I considered throwing the potatoes in with the meat but decided against it and I’m glad I did, they were a great counterpoint. No fresh parsley for the potatoes either but we subbed green onions, which are always a good flavor addition in almost any dish.
I’ll probably make this again with other meats, just for fun. Going to try lamb next time, with the fat well trimmed, then some pork after that.
Great recipe, thanks!!