Chile Braised Short Ribs
Chile Braised Short Ribs are one of my favorite meals to make. They require a little bit of prep work, but then the oven does the rest for you. Charred vegetables, dried chiles, chipotle peppers, and beef broth make up the braising liquid for these short ribs. What you have in the end is a smoky, spicy, and beefy short rib that goes perfectly over my Cilantro Lime Rice along with some pickled red onions, cilantro, and sour cream. You can serve these as a taco, or any way you please, however I think these are best served in bowl form so you can enjoy every bite just as you want it. Enjoy!
This recipe for Chile Braised Short Ribs is one of my all time favorite recipes to make not only because it’s incredibly delicious, but I also love any recipe that cooks low and slow in the oven for a flavor packed result. This recipe starts with a complex sauce made from dried chiles, charred vegetables, chipotle peppers, and beef broth. The sauce is a combination of smoky, savory, and acidic flavors that makes the perfect sauce for braising. The short ribs start their journey by getting a generous seasoning of salt and pepper and are seared off on all sides to a golden brown perfection. Once your ribs are seared, they are combined with the delicious chile sauce and off into the oven they go. I like boneless short ribs for this recipe because they do tend to be lower in fat, however if you prefer bone in, that is also a great option. The beauty of this recipe is that once you are done with the first few steps, the oven does the rest of the work for you. I think the hardest part about this recipe is making sure you have the time to commit to having something in the oven for two hours, but I promise you, this recipe is absolutely worth it. I’ve served these as tacos and as rice bowls, however I find that serving them as a rice bowl is the best way to go. Everyone loves a good taco, but the shreddy nature of this filling tends to squish out of a tortilla shell a bit too much for my liking. A rice bowl on the other hand allows you to enjoy all the flavors in every bite. I love to make these with my Cilantro lime rice , and then top with pickled onions, avocado slices, cilantro and a little sour cream, but you can absolutely serve these any way you wish. I have made these as a special weeknight dinner, but these short ribs are such a good treat for the weekend. This is definitely one of those meals that is worth the effort, and I’d like to think it’s even better than takeout. Speaking of takeout, did you know about that time I saw Elvis in my guacamole? My family and I had a very busy week and decided to treat ourselves to takeout from our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. I decided to order their beef barbacoa bowl to try something new that night. We placed our order, picked it up and all settled down to dig into our delicious dinner when my son yelled out for everyone to stop. Confused, we all looked at him wondering why we had to stop ourselves from enjoying our feast. He directed us to look at the guacamole, and that’s when we all saw it, the face of The King himself! It’s hard to describe how he looked in guacamole form, but between the depressions in the avocado mash along with the placement of the onions and cilantro, it was the perfect image of Elvis. In awe, but still hungry, we set the mystic guacamole aside and ate our dinner. Over our meal, we decided to not eat the guacamole, but instead to put it into the freezer to preserve. Years later, one of my kids will decide to pull the freezer burnt Elvis guacamole out of the freezer to reminisce. I personally like to remember that evening as the night I got my inspiration for my Chile Braised Short Ribs.
- 2 lb Short Ribs (Boneless preferred)
- 1 tsp Salt (For seasoning on the short ribs, more may be needed but do not over salt)
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 4 Dried Guajillo Chiles (Stems and seeds removed)
- 1/2 Yellow Onion
- 2 Tomatoes (Small, or 1 large)
- 5 cloves Garlic (Peels still on)
- 4 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- 1 Cup Low Sodium Beef Broth
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Oregano
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Add your onion, dried chiles, tomato, and garlic to a dry skillet. Toast your dried chiles about 3 min per side, remove from the pan and soak in nearly boiling water for 5 minutes. Continue to toast your onion, tomato, and garlic another 5-7 minutes turning every couple of minutes until you have gotten a nice char. Add your vegetables, broth, chipotle peppers, and seasoning to your blender of choice, puree and set aside.
For the dried chiles, they should have a good flexibility to them and not be brittle. Be sure not to burn them as this will turn bitter.- Once your sauce is finished, season your short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper. Preheat a heavy bottomed dutch oven with your vegetable oil and add your short ribs in a single layer. If you're a multi tasker, you can always do this step in tandem with your sauce if you're looking to save yourself some time!
Continue to sear your short ribs on all side for about 3-5 minutes per side until you have gotten a golden brown crust all around.
Remove your short ribs from the pan and add your sauce, stir to scrape up any brown bits and slightly fry your sauce in the rendered fat from the short ribs.
Add your short ribs back to the pan with the sauce. They should be nearly if not totally submerged. Add extra low sodium beef broth or water to cover. Place the lid on your pan and place your ribs into your preheated oven for 60 mintes. Flip your ribs over and add more liquid if necessary and cook another 60 minutes.
Once your ribs have fininshed cooking, shred with two forks and add any water or broth if necessary. Serve over Cilantro Lime Rice with your desired toppings and enjoy!
You can serve these as tacos or any way you wish. I find that these are more enjoyable as a rice bowl because they can get a little messy in taco form.
Once your sauce is finished, season your short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper. Preheat a heavy bottomed dutch oven with your vegetable oil and add your short ribs in a single layer. 
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