MEGA flavorful Instant Pot Short Ribs served over a quick stove top parmesan polenta, topped with carrots, meat juice, fresh thyme and extra parmesan.
INSTANT POT SUNDAY SERIES – WEEK FIVE
If you are a meat lover, waiting patiently for the slow cooking process of braising short ribs in an oven or slow cooker may seem like a worthy cause (and it is, if you have the time!) but this Instant Pot recipe offers the same amazing flavors and meat falling off the bones experience, in a fraction of the time!
Oh hello week 5 of the IPSS!
So far we’ve had a little bit of everything. From healthy seasonal recipes like this delicious Butternut Squash Farro Risotto, to this classic and family favorite Instant Pot Mac & Cheese. Let’s not forget about this stunning Instant Pot Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake from week 3 and last week’s Instant Pot SUPERSONIC Chili which is magically done in 3-minutes under pressure!
Today recipe is for all meat lovers. Those of us who appreciate a well flavored, tasty and juicy meat, but don’t always have the time to invest on a craving satisfying meal. Friends, your wish has been granted! This Instant Pot recipe is the time solution that we’ve all been praying for without compromising on taste.
My guess is, if you never tried short ribs cooked in a pressure cooker, this will be the ONLY way you will want to cook short ribs, roast, stew and such, from here on.
Slow Cooker vs Pressure Cooker
Personally there are no particular better method. The pressure cooker simply offers a quicker method of cooking without compromising on flavor. This is what makes the Instant Pot stand out.
Based on my experience, you get amazing results from either of these options. However, what has me reaching for the Instant Pot MORE often then the slow cooker or dutch oven, is the time constraint. I believe this is the case for most working Moms/ Parents out there, which is why the Instant Pot is such a popular option.
About this recipe
For this recipe we are using both the sauté and pressure cooking method. We want to brown the meat to lock in the flavor and then create our delicious base/ sauce with carrots, onions, aromatic garlic and thyme and juice things up with red wine and beef broth. The meat will then get cooked on high pressure for 40 minutes, absorbing all those delicious flavor from our base.
Meanwhile we work on a quick and delicious stove top polenta, flavored with parmesan.
Once everything is ready, we serve the short ribs over the polenta, topped with our carrots and plenty of that tasty meat broth. Garnish with fresh thyme and moooooore parmesan because WE CAN and voila!
- 2-3 lb lb bone-in beef short ribs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ¾ cup dry red wine
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- sea salt + pepper, to taste
- fresh thyme
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup medium grind corn meal
- pinch sea salt
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese + 1 tbsp to sprinkle on top of the finished dish
- Plug in your Instant Pot and select sauté mode. When the pot is hot, add in oil. Add the beef short ribs and brown all sides (about 10 mins). Remove from Instant Pot.
- Add in onion and carrots, sauté until onion is translucent (3-4 mins). Add the garlic, thyme and tomato paste, stirring until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Next add the wine, broth and flour, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the cooker. Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn off the sauté mode. Transfer the beef back to the pot, add in bay leaves. Lock the lid and set pressure on high for 40 minutes. When done, release pressure and remove the lid.
- Meanwhile, bring water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Pour the cornmeal slowly into the boiling water, whisking constantly until there are no lumps. Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking often, until polenta starts to thicken, about 5-6 minutes. Fold in parmesan cheese. Remove from stove and cover.
- Serve the short ribs and carrots over the polenta. Pour some of the meat juice on top and garnish with fresh thyme and more parmesan cheese.
This looks great, so comforting and flavourful and this time of year!
Exactly! The flavors are amazing, I think you would love it! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
The amount of thyme is missing in the recipe. This lacks richness.
So sorry to hear Kelly, I felt that it was plenty flavorful. You can definitely adjust to taste tho!
I thought flour or any thickening agent, should not be put in the pot until after everything was cooked?
I don’t think so Patricia, I’ve always added the flour in the beginning of cooking and always turned out amazing. Actually not sure how it would work if added afterwards… Try this way and see what you think! 🙂
Have you ever doubled this recipe? If so what did you do different?
Hi Alena! If you are going to double the recipe, cook for 50 minutes instead. Hope you like it 🙂
Unfortunately this recipe kept throwing a “burn” error on my instant pot. I’m determined to eat before 10pm tonight, so I threw it in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. It smells amazing, so hopefully that will do the trick. I wonder if I should have waited to thicken the sauce after the meat had cooked? I would advise making this early in the evening so if it doesn’t work out you have time to make it in the oven, instead…
Mmm I am so sorry you run into this issue Shannon! I mean, next time you can try to thicken the sauce afterwards but honestly I make this recipe all the time, thicken my sauce prior to going under pressure and never had this problem. Yikes! Glad you still had a good meal tho! Also make sure you stir things up really good before going under pressure.