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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Help!!! The boneless ribs I bought are much thinner than normal. Will the recipe still come out alright? Cannot wait to make these and I have company coming tonight. Will sit by my computer!
Hi Diane, I think they will be just fine. They may fall apart a bit but that won’t change the taste 🙂 Also, you may not need to cook them quite as long; just keep an eye on them.
I loved how tender the ribs turned out–perfect cooking strategy. In all honesty, I think that the sauce is good, but perhaps not worth all the trouble to make it. Next time, I am going to use my favorite bottled BBQ sauce.
Love these short ribs. Any substitute for dijon mustard if someone is allergic to mustard?
Just leave it out — will still be delish 🙂
This will make the meat and potato lovers beyond happy. The flavor is wonderful and the meat is fork tender. The big bonus, so easy to prepare. Perfect comfort food. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!!
When I served this dish to my family, I didn’t need to put out knives…the ribs were tender and wonderful. I served it with a creamy butternut squash polenta and roasted broccolini. Instead of the foil covered baking dish I used my Le Creuset Dutch Oven and it worked just as well. We are trying to make sure to always have short ribs in the freezer so on lazy afternoons we can throw this in the oven.
This is a blue ribbon winner with my family! The short ribs are so tender and flavorful – sheer perfection.
This recipe is one of the best I have ever made. Something this simple should not taste this good, but it is incredible and I have been craving it for the two weeks since I made it. Definitely going into the regular rotation. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks!
I cooked this recipe exactly as stated and the short ribs came out tough! The sauce was excellent though!! I would love to try this again….maybe the 300 degrees was too hot in my oven? Should I try it again at 275 degrees…same amount of time?
Hi Betty, You may actually just need to cook them longer. I’d put them back in the oven for 30 minutes and see if they get tender.
2.5 hours is definitely not enough time for this volume of meat. Regardless of quality. 4 hours minimum before you start checking for tenderness. The recipe is good. It’s a pretty basic concoction on bbq sauce.
Another outstanding receipe. Thank you so much. Do you have a book with all your recipes that we can buy or get.
Michelle
Glad you enjoyed, Michelle! No book as of yet — all of my recipes are online 🙂
Hi just went to order my short ribs and they asked me do I want chuck or round. Which one should I use. Also I don’t like mustard can I leave it out or should I add something else instead. Hope you get back fast. Want to make it tommorow. Thanks
Hi Michelle, You want chuck, and it’s absolutely fine to just omit the mustard. Hope it turns out 🙂