How to Braise Beef Short Ribs - Food Wishes

I thought I had a winner when I decided to braise some beef short ribs in apple cider, spiked with Korean chili paste, but I could not have been more disappointed.
The good news is that despite not tasting anything close to what I wanted, the short ribs were perfectly cooked, and so this was rebranded as a “How to Braise Beef Short Ribs” techniques video. Enjoy!

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Here are the ingredients amounts I used just in case you want to play around with the recipe:

Korean Chili Cider-Braised Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients for 4 portions:
3 1/2 pounds “English-cut” Beef Short Ribs (about 6 three-inch wide pieces)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 2 teaspoon fine salt)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
3 tablespoons Korean chili paste (Gochujang), 2 tablespoons for marinade, 1 for braising liquid
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 rib celery, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups hard apple cider, or non-alcoholic apple cider
1 cup chicken broth

[Canadaheather]

You know what I love, is that chef John puts up videos even if they have failed or we’re not up to his standards or hopes. He doesn’t fake it - That’s why I have been a subscriber since he’s very beginning’s and I have so enjoyed watching him grow.

[BigMamaDaveX]

01:59 "...so if you want to eat this today, you have to start this yesterday." 😂😹

[sonnyiovieno]

Chef, everytime I hear that piano riff, I feel like everything will work out for the better...or tastier based off of your recipes.

[jstrawnusn]

I respect the hell out of this chef, he does a fantastic job but also isn’t afraid to be his own critic.

[matthewwheeler]

Early in the pandemic, my grocery store had bone-in beef short ribs mislabeled as “turkey tenderloin” at $4.79/lb., about half what they charge usually. I held my breath at the checkout counter waiting for someone to notice, but nope. I got out of there with like 5 pounds of short ribs for under $25 bucks. And that was a good day.

[dannyfinnz]

My man Chef John was about to join the clean plate club.

[AHman]

7:00 turn the heat off and let it cool for a second then fill the ladle with ice, let it cool the ladle, then just run it along the top. The fat will solidify and stick to the outside of the ladle. It’s much easier, faster, and efficient as it only really grabs the oils.

[navidgharavi]

You are the first Chef/youtuber that actually said something other than "It tastes amazing!" and that is the reason I trust you and your videos and use them in my cooking everyday.

[victoriarobertson]

Head chef: Where did you learn to cook if you didn't go to culinary school?
Me: Chef John..

[TechforSenior]

I have made this twice and it is now our signature dish. Don't change a thing. Keep those videos coming. Thanks for all you do.

[MisfitsFiendClub]

Chef: I can't taste the Korean chili paste or the apple cider vinegar

Chef adds cayenne :)

[mirandahoffman-giles]

I made this last night and it was hands-down the best thing I have ever eaten. Better than Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon. I made a few changes, though, that I think helped. I didn't marinate the ribs overnight (I was in a hurry!). I used a whole, red onion and extra celery, and a big pinch of red chili flakes and some gochugaru powder. Added my gochujang at the same time as the tomato paste, and added a spoonful of mild ssamjang I had on hand. I used the cheapest (ie: sweetest) hard cider I could find, actually maybe a little too sweet. Put in a big splash of apple cider vinegar before the 1st reduction. Cut way back on the chicken stock. Served it atop some spaghetti squash. I couldn't say the cider or the gochujang flavor stuck out particularly well, but they worked together to create something akin to magic. Thanks for this great idea!

[gwenb]

I learn a lot from watching on how to do things that I thought would be really hard to do. Chef John, you always explain things well.

[josephmoretti]

I've been watching chef John's videos for many years and admitting his mistakes is nothing new. That's what makes him great. Honesty. Hate it when friends say that they never screw up a dish. Liars. Even the best chefs in the world mess up. Always best to be humble. Can't wait to try this recipe.

[Chemgeek]

I love it when a chef admits failure (well, partial failure in this case). It reminds the rest of us that it's OK to experiment and fail. You will always learn something. Thanks for being real, Chef John!

[WatchesTrainsAndRockets]

I took this as a method as recommended. I went in an oriental direction. I marinated the ribs in a mixture of soy, garlic, hoisin sauce, ginger and cinnamon. Also sprinkled the meat with pepper. I did not add any salt because of the soy. Also, I did not put the celery and onion in the marinade. I marinated over night and then browned the meat in a cast iron pan. After the meat was browned, I removed it and deglazed the pan with the sliced onion and celery. Once those were softened, I returned the meat to the pan, added the marinade and beef stock. I then added some sliced mushrooms to enhance the flavor. Cooking method in the oven was the same as in the video. The texture was perfect and the whole family loved the taste.

[ingridmatthews]

"Well that didn't come out tasting like I thought it would" ... the story of my cooking life.

[mjmalone]

Respect for admitting a dish didn’t turn out as planned and still releasing the video. Technique was spot on though.
👍🏻👍🏻

[Nick-hccs]

"at least enough of it, so i could look my cardiologist in the eye" xD

[TulipsToKiss]

I'm not an expert but my understanding is that gochujang is like miso in that if you cook it for a long time it can lose its flavor. it's amazing in korean soups, but these soups aren't cooked for a long period of time (again to my understanding, I'm no expert.) if you added another tablespoon to your sauce at the end it would've livened it up and also helped to thicken since it has a high sugar content. you can also add korean red pepper flakes or powder, in my experience those will hold up better to slow cooking than gochujang. also a little splash of sesame oil at the end would've been 👍👍👍👍👍