Pomegranate & Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

These red wine braised short ribs cook in the oven until they are falling off the bone. Pomegranate juice adds a pop of sweet and tart flavor to create a stunning main course that is incredibly easy to make!

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What if you want an elegant winter meal but don't want to spend all day in the kitchen? Enter pomegranate and red wine braised short ribs! This is comfort food, but it's also a restaurant quality recipe that will impress holiday or dinner party guests. I've made it for both Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Imagine this: You'll spend just a few minutes of active cooking time in the kitchen, then sit back and enjoy the smell of red wine braised short ribs wafting through your house for the next few hours. And voilá, a comforting winter meal is ready.

Braising the short ribs results in tender, fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The pomegranate is a wonderful seasonal touch that adds sweetness and a bit of tartness. The red wine helps tenderize the meat and it's also fancy!

If you're entertaining, pomegrantate and red wine braised short ribs are a perfect choice for so many reasons. They can be made a few hours or even a day or two in advance and then reheated or kept warm in the oven. It's an easy, low stress recipe, and it's so pretty to look at! You'll get major bonus points for presentation.

Jump to:

• Red wine braised short ribs are an easy, elegant, and warming winter comfort food recipe!
• Ingredients you'll need
• What to look for when buying short ribs
• Why braising is the best method for cooking short ribs
• Why you should sear short ribs before braising
• How to make red wine braised short ribs in a Dutch oven
• Tips for the best red wine braised short ribs + reheating instructions
• Pomegranate & red wine braised short ribs FAQ
• What to serve with pomegranate & red wine braised short ribs
• More beef recipes
• Recipe

Red wine braised short ribs are an easy, elegant, and warming winter comfort food recipe!

• Quick, effortless prep. There's very little active cooking time in this recipe. Just sear the short ribs then give an onion a rough chop. That's it!
• Braised short ribs are practically impossible to mess up or overcook. They want to be cooked for a long time, so give them time to do their thing and you're all set!
• This is a very elegant meal that's perfect for Christmas or New Year's, date night or Valentine's Day. (No one has to know how easy they are to make!)
• They're gluten free and dairy free!
• Red wine braised short ribs make an excellent freezer meal. They reheat easily in the oven or microwave.

Ingredients you'll need

You only need a handful of ingredients to make fabulous, tender, melt-in-your-mouth red wine braised short ribs.

• English cut short ribs: There are two cuts of short ribs, English and flanken. English cut are short and fat with a large piece of meat attached to one bone. Flanken cut are sliced across the bone into thin steaks. You'll want English short ribs cut into 2-3 inch pieces for this recipe.
• Unsweetened 100% pomegranate juice: Be sure to get unsweetened. We don't need any extra sugar here.
• Dry red wine: Use a medium bodied red wine like merlot or malbec. Nothing expensive, but one that you would drink on its own. If you don't want to use the wine, substitute chicken or beef stock plus one tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
• Pomegranate seeds: We'll sprinkle these over the braised short ribs just before serving. The seeds will add wonderful texture, pops of sweetness, and beautiful color.
• Onion, garlic, and fresh thyme: These make up the aromatics in the sauce.
• Olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper

What to look for when buying short ribs

When shopping for English short ribs look for shorter, thicker cuts with narrow bones and nice marbling. Sometimes short ribs can have wide, flat bones with a lot of fat and not a lot of meat, and you don't want that. Don't be afraid to point at the case and tell the butcher exactly which ones you want! And ask them to look in the back if necessary!

Why braising is the best method for cooking short ribs

Braising sounds like a fancy cooking term, but in fact, it's a really easy preparation. So, what is braising? Braising just means searing meat first, then cooking it low and slow in a pot with a tight-fitting lid without completely submerging it in the liquid. The meat simmers and steams at the same time, which seals in moisture. Braising works well for short ribs because they are a tougher cut of meat with a good amount of collagen and connective tissues. As they braise, these tissues break down, thickening the sauce and resulting in immensely tender meat that falls off the bone.

Why you should sear short ribs before braising

Be sure to get a hard sear on the short ribs before braising begins.

• What does that mean? It means that you'll get them deeply brown and approaching crispy on the outside. Like you would a steak in a skillet.
• Why should you do it? First and foremost: FLAVOR! Searing the short ribs creates the Maillard Reaction, which is a fancy scientific term for the chemical reaction that creates the wonderful flavor of browned meat. And because we're cooking these low and slow, we're not going to get that reaction in the oven. Secondly, it gets the meat started cooking so you've got warm meat going into hot sauce, without bringing the temperature down and extending the time it would need in the oven.

How to make red wine braised short ribs in a Dutch oven

The Dutch oven is your best friend when it comes to braising short ribs, especially one that is made of enameled cast iron. The even heat and tightly fitting lid ensures that the meat cooks perfectly.

Step 1: Season and sear the short ribs

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Lay out the short ribs on a sheet pan and season generously on all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. You can do this up to 60 minutes before you start cooking.

Place your Dutch oven over medium high heat and add one tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is shimmering, start searing the short ribs in batches. Be sure to get a hard sear on all sides of the ribs and render as much fat as you can, including the thin layer under the bone. Set aside.

CAREFULLY drain the oil from the Dutch oven and CAREFULLY wipe out with a paper towel. *Always use caution when working with hot oil like this!!*

Step 2: Sweat the onion, garlic and thyme

Smash the garlic and remove skins. Use a good chef's knife to cut the onion into wedges. (You're just using these to flavor the red wine sauce and then be strained out, so no need to get fancy or waste time with dicing them up small.)

Place the Dutch oven back over medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and thyme to the pan along with a pinch of salt. Sweat them until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown around the edges.

Step 3: Deglaze the pot with red wine, add pomegranate juice

Add the red wine to the pot and stir all around, scraping up any browned bits the short ribs left behind. Then add the pomegranate juice and bring to a boil.

Step 4: Braise the short ribs

Once the braising liquid is boiling, add the short ribs back to the Dutch oven. Arrange them so that each rib has about ¼-1/3 of meat exposed above the surface of the liquid. See the photo above for reference.

Place the lid on the Dutch oven and transfer it to the center rack of the oven. Braise for about 3 hours, until the short ribs are easily pierced with a fork.

Step 5: Make the red wine pomegranate sauce

Transfer the short ribs to a platter.

Skim the fat off the top of the sauce in the pot with a large serving spoon or use a fat separator if you have one.

Place a wire mesh strainer over a sauce pan and pour the sauce into it. Discard the solids in the strainer. Place the sauce over medium high heat and bring to a boil for 5-15 minutes until it thickens to your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Pour red wine sauce over braised short ribs on the platter, top with pomegranate seeds and serve. You may have some sauce left to keep on the side depending on how much you choose to reduce it.

Tips for the best red wine braised short ribs + reheating instructions

• For best results, make sure that the short ribs are not completely submerged in the braising liquid. If it's completely covered, it's stewing not braising.
• You need a pretty large pot for this recipe, I used a 6-quart Dutch oven.
• If time allows, season the meat and let it sit at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. This lets the salt have time to really get into the meat for the best flavor.
• When cooking the garlic and onion don't forget that pinch of salt! This allows the onions to sweat, not caramelize and keeps the garlic from scorching. We want the onions tender and translucent, but still holding flavor that they will give up to the red wine sauce during the braise.
• If you like, you can thicken the sauce with a bit of flour. Add it to the aromatics and stir for about one minute before you deglaze the pot with red wine. Or to keep it gluten free, make a slurry with cornstarch and add it after you strain the sauce.
• If you're making this for a holiday meal or dinner party and don't want to be in the kitchen finishing things when guests arrive, here's what to do: return the short ribs to the Dutch oven, finish the sauce as instructed and pour over the short ribs, then cover and place in a 200 degrees F oven to keep warm until ready to serve.

How to reheat if made ahead

If making these red wine braised short ribs a day or two ahead, you can just leave them in the Dutch oven, cover them with the sauce, and put them in the refrigerator. When ready to cook, keep the lid on and place them in a 275 degrees F oven until heated through.

How to reheat leftovers

You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, the microwave works fine, since short ribs have so much fat and marbling they will not overcook. Alternatively, you could reheat them in the oven at 275 degrees F in a casserole dish covered tightly with foil.

How to reheat from frozen

Pomegranate & red wine braised short ribs make an excellent freezer meal! First, let them thaw in the refrigerator. Then, depending on the amount you have, you can reheat in the microwave or the oven. Just follow the leftovers reheating instructions above.

Pomegranate & red wine braised short ribs FAQ

What to serve with pomegranate & red wine braised short ribs

These red wine braised short ribs are rich and luscious and you'll want to serve them with something that will soak up the fabulous sauce along with something lighter to balance things out. Try these side dish suggestions.

• Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes are my favorite side dish to serve with red wine braised short ribs. The tangy goat cheese is the perfect contrast to the sweetness of the pomegranate sauce.
• A Massaged Kale Salad is light, but hearty enough to stand up to the short ribs and all you need to complete this wintery meal.
• Crispy Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan and Garlic is so simple to make, and offers a nice alternative to potatoes.
• An Apple Fennel Salad celebrates winter produce and can be made in just a few minutes!

More beef recipes

• Flanken style short ribs lend themselves well to grilling and cook fast. So try these Grilled Beef Short Ribs with Quick Pickles when the weather gets warmer.
• A Cast Iron Skillet Steak is perfect for date night and easy to make at home!

Recipe