My dad bought me an Instant Pot last year and I had zero intentions of actually using it because I thought the process would be too complicated. What a fool I was! Instant Pots are actually an easy as hell way to pressure cook any meal. I won’t say that my dishes are cooked extremely quickly or are finished in an “instant,” but if I’m making food that would otherwise finish in 6-8 hours in a Crock Pot, I’m definitely going with the Instant Pot. One of my favorite dinners that my dad makes is his braised short ribs. Any meal that’s primarily meat, carrots, mushrooms, and gravy, I’m all for (and I’m going to eat for the next 3-4 business days), so I attempted my own version of dad’s short ribs aka a less fancy, no-wine-involved (because I don’t drink wine and dad always says to only cook with wine I would drink…so that’s a no for me) first try! I love short ribs because they’re rich and hearty and, when mixed with rice, are a fancier version of Hawaiian beef stew. When it gets colder in Waco, I’m going to have a large container of frozen short ribs ready to thaw whenever I want them. As always, this recipe isn’t exact and every seasoning is to taste!
Ingredients: (serves four people/me four times throughout the week)
- Two pounds of bone-in short ribs (gimme all that marbeling!)
- One cup of flour
- One onion
- Five cloves of garlic
- Three large carrots
- One container of baby bella mushrooms
- 32 oz container beef stock
- 3/4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 10 oz can diced tomatoes
- Salt, pepper, basil, oregano, thyme, two bay leaves
- One tablespoon butter
Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot on Sauté mode.
- Prep the carrots and onion by dicing into small cubes (would be a mirepoix if I added celery) and chop mushrooms into quarters. Cut garlic into tiny bits.
- Pat down each side of the ribs to remove any excess moisture (drying the meat will allow it to brown better!).
- Season every side with salt and pepper and cover with a thin layer of flour.
- Melt butter in the pot once it reads “HOT.”
- When butter is melted, sear the meat on all sides with three in the pot at a time. Be careful not to crowd the bottom of the pot.
- Remove each rib and place in a container to rest after searing.
- Cook onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant. Add carrots until softened and scrape all the brown bits from the bottom and sides.
- Return meat to the pot and add mushrooms, bay leaves, tomatoes, seasonings, and cover with beef stock until every ingredient is immersed in liquid.
- Press the Pressure Cook button and set timer for 50 minutes. Make sure venting knob is set at “Sealing” not “Venting.”
- Once 50 minutes are up, release pressure by turning the knob to “Venting.”
- Remove bones and bay leaves from short ribs.
- Enjoy over rice (and for the next three meals)!
