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Slow braised and cozy, crockpot Short Rib Bourguignon. Tender beef short ribs slow-cooked in red wine with onions, garlic, and herbs until the beef caramelizes around the edges and is falling off the bone. Mushrooms cooked in butter with sage are served overtop. Enjoy with mashed potatoes or even just crusty bread for mopping up all the yummy sauce. We love that this is such an effortless dinner to create.
This time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always the most special. Holiday parties, holiday shopping, end-of-the-year craziness, and all while continuing to care for our families and ourselves!
It’s a lot, but I still find this time to be magical. The nights are long and meant to be slowly enjoyed. And this short rib bourguignon is wonderful for that!
It’s an easier way to create a French-style stew recipe!
Beef Bourguignon is a French beef stew slow braised in red wine. The process isn’t too tricky, but I wanted to share something even easier and maybe even yummier.
Instead of using a large cut of chuck roast that can turn out tough (even when slow-cooked), I wanted to try using short ribs instead. Short ribs are amazing because as long as you cook them slowly, they almost always turn out tender and delicious. By the time they finish cooking, they should be falling off the bone and shred easily.
We love short ribs. And with all my brothers in town for the holiday this past weekend, I knew this would be great to try on them. Let’s just say they loved this meal!
Here are details
Step 1: start the ribs
This process could not be easier. Use your crockpot or your Dutch oven, it really doesn’t matter much. I like to use a cast iron braiser, I think it cooks the meat perfectly and gets such a nice caramelization on the meat.
Add everything to the crockpot/pot, no searing, no pre-cooking, nothing like that. Just add lots of sliced onions, the beef short ribs, shallots, garlic, and so many chopped-up carrots (we love the carrots). Then pour over the red wine (I like to use Cabernet Sauvignon), beef broth, and cognac. The cognac is optional, but I do like the additional flavor it adds when paired with the rich red wine.
Cover the pot, and let the crockpot or oven work their magic. I skipped the sear step of the ribs because I knew they would caramelize naturally in the braiser after a while of cooking. By the time I uncovered my pot, the ribs were perfect, caramelized, and fork tender.
If you use the crockpot, the ribs won’t have as much caramelization. If this is desired, you can broil the ribs in the oven on the top rack for 3-5 minutes after cooking.
Step 2: the mushrooms
I didn’t want soggy mushrooms. I knew that caramelizing them would be best. So instead of slow-cooking them, I found it best to cook them in butter just before serving.
Add the butter and all those mushrooms to a big skillet. Get them golden and caramelized. Then add a pat more of butter and fresh sage. Let the butter brown around the mushrooms.
Then get them a little crispy and season well with salt, and that’s it! If you want to add garlic, use the whole garlic cloves that are hidden in the red wine sauce.
Step 3: discard the bones
Pull the bones away from the rib meat. Then toss the meat in the sauce.
At this point, you want to serve the meat and sauce while steamy. Spoon the mushrooms and butter over the ribs.
I love serving this with mashed potatoes or creamy polenta and bread for enjoying with the yummy sauce! Egg noodles are also a delicious option.
Everyone will really enjoy this these braised short ribs. It is the perfect dish for these cold winter nights.
Looking for more seasonal dinners, these are favorites:
Smothered Chicken in Mushroom Wine Pan Sauce
Crockpot Thai Short Ribs with Coconut Rice
Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice Tortilla Soup
30 Minute Thai Peanut Chicken Ramen
Lemony Garlic Chicken and Orzo Soup
Creamy Gnocchi Soup with Rosemary Bacon
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Short Rib Bourguignon be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Short Rib Bourguignon
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 673 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 6 shallots, halved
- 8 garlic cloves, smashed
- 6 carrots .chopped
- 1 bottle (750ml) (or 3 cups) dry red wine, such as Pinot Noir
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup cognac or brandy (optional)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. In the bowl of the crockpot, arrange the onions. Then, place the short ribs on top of the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shallots, garlic, and carrots. Pour over 2 cups red wine, the broth, and cognac (if using). Add the tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.2. Crank the heat on the crockpot to HIGH. Discard the bones. Drain any excess grease away from the sauce. Toss the ribs into the sauce. Cook, uncovered for 30 minutes, to help thicken the sauce. Note, the sauce will not thicken much. 3. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden. Add 2 tablespoons butter, the sage, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms have caramelized and the butter has browned.4. Serve the ribs in the sauce. Spoon the mushrooms over the ribs. Enjoy with potatoes, rice, and/or crusty bread.
Oven
- 1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. In a large, oven-safe brasier, arrange the onions. Then, place the short ribs on top of the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shallots, garlic, and carrots. Pour over the red wine, the broth, and cognac (if using). Add the tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves. Cover and roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the short ribs are tender and falling off the bone.2. Discard the bones. Drain any excess grease away from the sauce. 3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden. Add 2 tablespoons butter, the sage, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms have caramelized and the butter has browned.4. Serve the ribs in the sauce. Spoon the mushrooms over the ribs. Enjoy with potatoes, rice, and/or crusty bread.
Notes
For Serving: Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, egg noodles, or crusty bread.
This post was originally published on November 27, 2023
Not sure why everyone said it was bland because this was a huge hit in my house! It was so rich & velvety, I probably could have cooked it another hour to have the meat more tender (the smaller ones were perfect while the larger ones were a little tough but still very tasty) HBH never disappoints in our house!! Thank you!
Thank you so much Kristin! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! xT
I love HBH, I own one of her cookbooks, but this recipe is terrible. Made in the crockpot, bland flavour and just barely edible. Waste of $40 short ribs and a $20 bottle of wine. Skip this one unless you want to be disappointed.
Why would you buy a bottle of wine for $20 for cooking? I bought a bottle for $6 and it was amazing.
After going to three stores looking for short ribs, I settled on Costco chuck roast stew meat which had very little fat which I try to avoid. While the meat was very tender, the broth lacked seasoned flavor.
Hey Sheila! Thank you feedback! xT
So easy and sooo yummy, perfect for a cold winter day!
Thank you Hannah! xT
Way to many onions for my taste but everything was yummy! The ribs were not as tender as I had hoped but everyone ate them all the same. Favorite mushrooms ever!
Hey Amanda! Thank you for the feedback! xT
Honestly, this recipe was a huge disappointment. And this isn’t coming from a hater – I absolutely love HBH, rave about it to everyone, own two HBH recipe books, and have used HBH to meal plan every week for over 4 years. The recipes are usually so good and crowd pleasing. But this. Was not good. All it left me with was a meltdown and a sink full of dishes. I’ll try and salvage the bones for bone broth.
It was bland, the meat wasn’t tender, it was way too fatty… did I miss something?
It was a huge waste of money, time, and effort. I did it in the oven, maybe it’s better in the crockpot? I don’t know, but I don’t recommend this recipe as is.
Hi Lydia! I am so sorry this recipe wasn’t enjoyed! I so appreciate the support, and this feedback is super helpful! Is there anything you substituted/did differently in the recipe? Let me know how I can help 🙂 xT
I followed the oven recipe to a T!
Did in the crockpot. Would help if there was an actual measurement for salt. I’m always afraid of over-salting and usually end up under-salting.
After I pulled the meat out to debone, I pulled out the bay leavesand used my immersion blender to make the sauce a little thicker. It was excellent!
Hey! Thank you so so much! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 xT
Thank you to all who commented. Unfortunately mine was already in the oven but as a result, I checked this an hour before it was due to be finished, Waaayyy too much liquid and not much taste at all. Poured off about two cups and added fresh herbs, soy sauce, fresh mushrooms and have my fingers crossed this helps add some body. I will probably have to make a slurry as well as I don’t anticipate this coming together well.
Hi! I am so sorry this recipe wasn’t a success for you! How can I help? xT
Looks delish! How do you drain off the fat?
So incredibly good! Felt like I went to a gourmet restaurant while I was eating it!
Thank you so so much! Sooo glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂 xT
Well, this recipe was a little disappointing. Once I took the bones out, I had to deal with the connective tissue around the bone. The broth was so thin, I took most of it out of the crockpot and put it in my cast-iron Dutch oven. I brought it to boil and added a flour/water slurry to thicken it up. The flavor was good but for what it cost ($68) and the labor involved, I’ll stick with my favorite Bri’s Best Pot Roast recipe.
Hi Jennifer! I am so sorry about that! Thank you for the feedback! xT
I’m in the process of making this recipe for dinner. The ingredient list states 3 cups of dry red wine. In the instructions, only 2 cups of wine are added to the crockpot. Where do you use the other cup of wine?
Well, this recipe was a little disappointing. Once I took the bones out, I had to deal with the connective tissue around the bone. The broth was so thin, I took most of it out of the crockpot and put it in my cast-iron Dutch oven. I brought it to boil and added a flour/water slurry to thicken it up. The flavor was good but for what it cost ($68) and the labor involved, I’ll stick with my favorite Bri’s Best Pot Roast recipe.
Came here to ask this too…maybe it’s a gift for the cook? 😂
Made this tonight and have to say that im disappointed. Following the recipe resulted in flavor-less meat and sauce. I was able to salvage it by adding in other ingredients not included in the recipe (more salt, worcestershire sauce, beef bouillon). Luckily i knew to brown the short ribs first and cook down the tomato paste but still… pretty disappointed in this HBH recipe.
I had the *exact* same results following this to a T.
The only good part of this recipe was the mushrooms– oh, wait, nope, I did the mushrooms my way because I could see how bland they would be in this recipe.
I also thought about browning my rib meat, but decided to skip it – and I should have listened to myself.
What was the mushroom recipe you used? I don’t want to follow this recipe if it’s going to result in dismal results.
I should have listened to my gut and not done this recipe as is. Good god this is an insane amount of alliums – *2* onions, *6* shallots and *8* cloves of garlic. That is insane. There’s nothing in there that builds flavor up in the onion, and just plunking beef on top of that mess of onion and slopping some wine and broth on top of it does not do the trick. The beef comes out tasting bland. Rib meat – bland. I don’t know how the author makes this because the recipe is garbage – there’s contradictions galore. It says “takes 6-8 hours in low, 4-5 on high” but then says “CRANK the heat to high.” When? In an 8 hour cook window, that’s kind of a big deal.
To be honest, this mess is on me. I had doubts, I thought I knew a better way, but it’s aTieghan Gerrard recipe! It *has* to be good, right?
Nope.
Thanks for leading me to waste cuts of meat that aren’t cheap, a ton of other ingredients, and all for no flavour.
If this recipe is meant to be done in a brassier in the oven maybe actually TRY doing it in a crock pot. You clearly copy/pasted your original recipe, and decided that the standard cook time for crockpot would be fine. Ribs with bone in will take 12 hours in low, maybe 8 on high.
This is SO bad that it throws doubt on literally every other recipe from this site that gets recommended to me.
From now on, if I see your recipes come up, I will take the idea and do it my own way.
This was *terrible.*
I hope I’ve made the point. You’re best off taking this down, testing it yourself, and then adjusting.
Made this tonight as well and couldnt have said it better myself. Everything you said was spot on. I think she should take this recipe down and reevaluate it.
I wish I could give your reply a “like” or an upvote because, sadly, I feel better that it wasn’t just me.
Cheers, and here’s hoping for a better meal tomorrow, stranger.
Hi there! Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out! Thanks for the feedback, it’s always appreciated! If you’re not enjoying the recipes please feel free to unfollow and check out other blogs that might be better suited for what you’re looking for. xT
Hey, thanks for the feedback, but please try out not stealing recipes then posting them without any testing (or *proofreading*).
xNMHBH
I’m trying to convince my wife to use other recipe sites because we often run into the problem of missing information in these.
Ingredients list calls for 3 cups red wine, but in the slow cooker instructions it says pour two cups red wine. Where is the other cup used (other than as a chef snack)?