Slow-Baked BBQ Short Ribs
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BBQ short ribs make an easy dinner that pleases kids and adults alike.
For easy, family-pleasing comfort food, you can’t beat meltingly tender short ribs in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. Inspired by Sunny Anderson’s BBQ short ribs, this simple recipe requires just 15 minutes of hands-on prep, and then the oven does the rest. Unlike many roast or stew recipes, it’s not necessary to sear the meat first. Instead, you season the meat with salt and pepper and slather them with a quick homemade BBQ sauce – a mixture of ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning. Then you put the dish in the oven to bake for 3 hours, go about your day, and let deliciousness ensue. Serve with mashed potatoes or cornbread and a roasted vegetable.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Slow-Baked BBQ Short Ribs
Count on about one pound of boneless short ribs per person. I know it seems like a lot but they shrink significantly while cooking, and people tend to eat generous portions. If you can only find bone-in short ribs, they will work but may take a bit longer to cook.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by cutting the short ribs in half and seasoning them with salt and pepper. Place them in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Next, make the homemade BBQ sauce by combining the ketchup, dark brown sugar, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and spices in a small bowl.
Whisk to combine.
Slather about 2/3 of the sauce all over the meat, and reserve the rest for the finished dish.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 300°F for about 2-1/2 hours.
Remove the foil, pour off some of the cooking liquid and cook for 30 minutes more, or until the meat is tender and browned.
Transfer the meat to a platter, leaving the cooking liquid behind, and slather with the reserved BBQ sauce.
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Video Tutorial
Slow-Baked BBQ Short Ribs
BBQ short ribs make an easy dinner that pleases kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
For the Ribs
- 4 pounds boneless beef short ribs, cut into 4-inch long pieces
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1½ tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1½ teaspoons chili powder
- ¾ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Season the ribs all over with salt and pepper, then arrange in a 9x13-inch baking dish (it will be a tight squeeze).
- Combine all of the ingredients for the BBQ sauce in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
- Pour ⅓ of the sauce (about ½ cup) over the ribs. Using tongs, flip the ribs over and spoon another ⅓ of the sauce over top. Reserve the remaining BBQ sauce to spoon over the cooked ribs. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast for 2½ hours. Remove the foil and, if the cooking liquid is covering the meat, use a large spoon or ladle to remove some of the liquid so that the tops are exposed. (Note: the meat will look unappetizing at this stage; don't worry, it will look much better once it's done!) Cook for 30 minutes more, uncovered, until the meat is tender and browned. Cut off any excess fat that remains around the short ribs. Transfer the short ribs to a serving platter. Discard the cooking liquid, as it will be very greasy. Slather the reserved BBQ sauce over the short ribs and serve.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The ribs can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat them tightly covered with foil in a 300°F oven until heated through.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 1,320
- Fat: 87g
- Saturated fat: 37g
- Carbohydrates: 59g
- Sugar: 54g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 80g
- Sodium: 2327mg
- Cholesterol: 331mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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My husband accidentally bought bone-in ribs. I see many have made this recipe with them so I will try them, but how many pounds of bone-in ribs would you suggest for 4 adults? Also, the recipe describes cutting up the meat. How would I handle this with the bone-in ribs?
Thank you.
Hi Heidi, I’m guessing you’d need about 6 pounds bone-in ribs. You don’t need to cut them; I would just cook them whole.
I can’t believe I waited this long to make these! Delicious! I want to make them today for a friend coming over tomorrow for lunch. Will that work? Reheat tightly covered in a 300 oven?
Yep, that will work perfectly! 🙂
Excellent and super easy!!!!!
I have boneless beef spare ribs. my meat is cut up into smaller pieces. would I still cook it for the suggested amount of time?
Yes, I think the amount of time should be about the same. Enjoy!
I have finally found the holy grail of short ribs recipes!! My husband’s very favorite thing ever is short ribs. I’ve tried many recipes in the past, but I think they’ve all used the slow cooker. I assumed the slow cooker would be the best way to cook them. But I’ve never been pleased with the results. After trying this recipe, I can now say that the key is the oven – it really is. Also, reserving 1/3 of the sauce is crucial – I followed the recipe and discarded the cooking liquid – it was greasy. I topped with the reserved sauce and YES! The thing with the slow cooker is that all you have is greasy sauce! Not good! And those last 30 minutes of uncovered cooking really did the trick too. I made the BBQ sauce according to the directions – it was delicious! But, if you’re in a real pinch, you could just use store-bought. Also, I purchased my boneless short ribs from Costco. Be sure that you don’t buy the “sliced” ones in the vacuum sealed bag – those aren’t right! I’ve made this mistake. I think those are used in some Asian recipes. Those have tons of little bones in them – I ended up throwing away my last batch of short ribs because of that mistake. The right ones come in a standard white styrofoam tray covered with plastic and the short ribs are in long sections. I cut each in half, according to this recipe. PERFECTION! Served with mashed potatoes and Jenn’s roasted carrots with thyme – it was a perfect dinner – fancy enough to even serve to guests.
That’s correct. The small bones ones are for making Korean bbq short ribs, aka kalbi.
I have never made short ribs before the recipe was very easy your home made BBQ sauce was fantastic. They made a great leftover served over polenta.
This is the best recipe ever! I made the red wine sauce recipe, but this is the BEST! My question is, what oven temperature would you suggest if I were to cook them for 5-6 hours… ?
Thanks so much!
Hi Shell, Hard to say for sure, but I’d guesstimate you could cook them at 250 for 5 hours. Keep in mind that I haven’t cooked them this way. Please LMK how they turn out!
Sauce was a perfect balance of spices! Hubby made it last week and we devoured it so fast we forgot to snap a pic. I’m making another batch for tonight’s dinner. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
This is the first time I’ve ever made short ribs and they were delicious! Well done, tender and flavorful! I looked at several other recipes that were much more complicated and took many more hours. This was perfect to put in the oven on a Sunday afternoon and enjoy after chores were done for the day. Thank you, Jenn!
I have made these many times and it is the best recipe I have found and I have had rave reviews from all my guests. I normally serve it with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus or green beans gremolota. I will be serving it this weekend with warm Caesar potato salad and a variety of roasted peppers on a balsamic glaze. I prefer a nice Chianti or Napa Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy with this beef. Thank you for the wonderful recipe… CB