McCloud’s Easy Smothered Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Y’all listen, these smothered beef short ribs are fiya!!! You hear me? These ribs are a modification of my Grandma Viola’s husband, McCloud’s, smothered short beef ribs recipe. And although he didn’t have an actual “recipe”, he always cooked them the same way.

What makes this a good recipe?

• Easy to make: This isn’t a hard recipe! If you’ve spent just a little time in the kitchen, you will knock this out of the park, so don’t worry about messing it up. 
• Quick and simple: It’s not just a simple recipe, but the preparation process is pretty quick. After cleaning the ribs, you season and sear them. Then you make the gravy, and bake them for 1 hour and 30 minutes. That process takes a good 30 minutes.
• Hearty: Great dinner for a cold, brisk Sunday evening. This delicious Soul food-style Southern gravy will warm you ya up and comfort ya soul. 
• Everyone likes it: You won’t have any problems with people not liking this recipe. Who doesn’t like beef ribs and gravy? This will be a good choice for any dinner occasion, in my opinion. I’ve never had any complaints. Everyone always enjoys it.

McCloud’s a true Southern OG

My grandma, Viola’s husband, my step-grandpa, McCloud, whom you might remember me speaking about recently under my Baked Smothered Pork Chops Recipe, was the epitome of a Southern OG.

He ate fried pork chops and home-fired potatoes for breakfast. Who does that but a Southerner? He was also a big fan of Fatback, and he would make that twice a week, FOR BREAKFAST! Lol!

Only old folks from the South eat dinner every morning for breakfast! Lol! But these were just a few things the old man did that epitomized the South.

McCloud’s love for Apple cider vinegar

So what inspired me to share this recipe was its uniqueness. It’s not every day you hear of people making smothered ribs. When you think of Ribs, you think of them baked or grilled and smothered in BBQ sauce.

But McCloud, at least a couple of Sundays out of the year, would make smothered beef short ribs with a gravy that had a couple of splashes of vinegar in it, and my grandma and I loved them.

What I loved most about them was the flavor the vinegar gave them and how tender they were. OMG! There were never any leftovers because my grandma and I would devour them.

But McCloud clearly had a liking for Vinegar; he put it in so much. Apple Cider was a frequent smell in our kitchen during my teenage years. Lol! He said he used it frequently to add flavor to dishes and to cut fat.

Listen, if McCloud couldn’t do anything else, he could cook his butt off. My grandma, Val, wasn’t a bad cook herself, but the MEN (he and I) were definitely the cooks in the house, while my grandma and Aunt Pam were just the greedy beneficiaries.

Sunday dinner was a family tradition

One thing for sure, two things for certain: We ate well every Sunday night after church, and McCloud was going to be the one doing the cooking.

And we didn’t always eat at the dinner table, socializing like quote-on-quote normal families about how our day was and what our plans were for the week.

McCloud would cook a good ole dinner, lay everything out on the table, including the dishes and cooking utensils, and we would all serve ourselves when we were ready.

The food would sit there covered on the table until late, when he knew everyone had eaten. Then he’d put the food away and store whatever was left in the refrigerator. Lol!

My youngest aunt, Val, who lived right around the corner, would even come over and make herself a plate for Sunday dinner. We’d sometimes eat our ribs together while watching the Eagles play. Man, talking about this brings back a lot of good memories.

I really miss those days when I had someone who could cook dinner for me without me having to do it myself. Lol! Alright, so here are the ingredients you’re going to need for these delicious smothered beef short ribs

Watch Me Make It

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Ribs: McCloud used beef short ribs, which, although not the meatiest, pack a lot of flavor and are delicious once tender.
• Vegetables: I always add sautéed onions to my oven-baked ribs to enhance flavor. I like to use standard yellow onions. We’ll also be using minced garlic to add flavor to the gravy, and we’ll be adding it to the onions once they’re almost done.
• Fat: I’ve been using extra virgin olive oil lately for frying foods for a short period, as it’s one of the healthiest oils on the planet. I added butter to saute the onions and minced garlic, and to cook the flour, but it’s not really needed..
• Seasonings: Keep it simple and season the ribs with salt for taste. Paprika is optional! It just adds a hint of color to the dish. Garlic and onion powder are a necessity for seasoning ribs. They are two essential flavors, each offering a distinct depth of flavor. Lol! Italian seasoning is the best herb seasoning for ribs! It contains every major herb. Thyme is good, so a little extra on the ribs won’t hurt, and black pepper is a must!

For the gravy

• All-purpose flour: The flour is the thickening agent used to create the gravy.
• Liquid: The chicken broth adds flavor to the gravy. I used chicken instead of beef because it’s too rich, and chicken gives a better flavor. I didn’t want the gravy to be too rich, so instead of using all broth, I used a combination of broth and water.
• Vinegar: Vinegar is McCloud’s game-changing ingredient for the gravy. I use apple cider vinegar.

Deglaze The Skillet With Gravy

What does it mean to deglaze? Deglazing is essentially the process of adding a liquid, such as wine, broth, or juice, to a hot skillet. This helps loosen and scrape up flavorful browned bits and residue from meat that’s just been fried or seared, which is sticking to the bottom of the skillet.

How to make gravy using the slurry method?

What’s a slurry? A slurry is a combination of a liquid, like water, broth, or juice, combined with a thickener, like cornstarch or flour, used to thicken gravies and sauces.

So to make gravy using the slurry method, all you will do is combine a few teaspoons or tablespoons of cornstarch or flour and water, broth, or whatever liquid you’re using to make a gravy or sauce. Then place it over heat in a skillet, pot, or baking dish until it slowly thickens.

How to deglaze the skillet

In this recipe, we’ll make the gravy inside the skillet to deglaze it and scoop up all that flavor sitting at the bottom before adding it to the ribs in the baking dish. Our liquid will be chicken broth and water, and our thickener will be flour.

We’re just going to add our flour to the skillet, then the broth and water. Next, use a spatula to scrape the brown bits and remnants from the bottom of the skillet where the ribs were seared.

Then, stir the gravy until the flour is dissolved and everything is nice and smooth. Lastly, we’ll pour the gravy over the ribs, allowing it to thicken into a nice gravy by the time the ribs are done baking.  

How To Make Smothered Beef Short Ribs

1. Place the ribs in a baking dish.
2. Season both sides of the ribs.
3. Place a skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil.
4. After 1 minute, add the ribs.
5. Sear on both sides for 4 minutes, then set in the baking pan.
6. Combine the broth, water, and vinegar.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F.
8. Add the butter to the skillet.
9. Once it melts, add the onions and saute for 3 minutes.
10. Then stir in the minced garlic and continue cooking for another minute.
11. Stir in the flour for 1 minute or until it’s no longer white in color.
12. Deglaze the skillet: Pour in the liquid and whisk well.
13. Let it simmer for 3 minutes until the flour is smooth and the gravy thickens a bit.
14. Pour the gravy in the baking dish over the ribs.
15. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake until tender, about 2 hours.

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Tips for best results:

• Marinate: Marinate for 4-8 hours before cooking, if possible, to enhance the flavor.
• Tenderness: Keep the aluminum foil on all the way through to keep it tender.
• Stir the gravy: Stir the gravy halfway through.
• Pat them dry: Pat the ribs dry if they’re wet before seasoning them.

Smothered Ribs Variations:

Want to switch things up and make this recipe a little differently? Here are some variations and options below if you think you might want to make your beef short ribs another way next time.

• You can use pork ribs: This recipe can be made with pork spare ribs without any changes.
• Without vinegar: You can use the same beef short ribs and omit the vinegar, and that’ll still be good.
• Without gravy: You can omit the minced garlic, flour, and oil, reduce the vinegar by half, and cut the amount of onions and broth by half.
• BBQ beef short ribs: You’ll also replace the Italian seasoning and thyme with sweet and savory seasoning or brown sugar and mustard powder for BBQ ribs.

What to serve with smothered ribs:

You have many options! I’ll give you a few vegetable sides that’ll taste great with these ribs and some starch options.

• Green Beans: These will go well with some green beans, and I have 2 green bean recipes you can find in my Vegetable Sides category. You can make fresh or frozen green beans, so check both recipes out if you think you want to make these with green beans.
• Spinach: I actually made these with spinach the day I made this recipe and plated it for the recipe photos. How could I forget how delicious my Frozen Spinach Recipe was? I’ve been receiving a lot of comments under it and was wondering why. Well, now I remember how delicious it is!
• Asparagus: You can’t go wrong with Asparagus! Check out my Delicious Sauteed Asparagus Recipe from many years ago.
• Rice: Rice goes well with gravy, but we all know that…
• Mashed Potatoes: We also know there is absolutely nothing that goes better with gravy than mashed potatoes. You might wanna try my delicious Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe I shared with y’all in 2019.
• Egg noodles: At least common but delicious option is egg noodles. I grew up on these and absolutely love them. Try them out if you haven’t.

Storage and reheating

• How to store the ribs: Place them in a container or dish, such as a Tupperware dish. Seal them tightly with a lid, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, and store them in the refrigerator.
• How to reheat ribs in an oven: You can reheat them the way we made them. Place them in a baking dish, cover them with aluminum foil, and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until warm. Add a splash of water to loosen up the gravy if it thickens while in the fridge.
• How to reheat ribs in a skillet: Place them in a skillet, and add a splash of water if needed to loosen up the gravy if it thickens while in the refrigerator. Simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until warm. Stir the gravy in until smooth if you need to.
• How to reheat ribs in a microwave: Place them in a microwave-proof dish, and heat them up for 2-3 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do beef short ribs look? Long beef short ribs, which are what we’ll be using, are easily recognizable by their 4 separated, wide, eye-shaped bones. 
• The main difference between beef and pork ribs: While pork ribs are juicier and meatier than beef ribs, they’re leaner, which means they aren’t as flavorful as beef ribs. Pork ribs get tender faster, so beef ribs require longer cooking time to reach the same level of tenderness.
• How do you loosen gravy after it thickens in the refrigerator? Place it in a skillet or pot with a little water, like 1/4 cup, and let it simmer over medium heat while stirring until it’s smooth and to your liking.
• How long do smothered beef short ribs last? I try to eat things within 3 days. After that, it’s a no for me as it loses its integrity.

Ok, y’all, leave a comment below and let me know what you think of these smothered beef short ribs. Please like, share, and subscribe as well, so you never miss a recipe.

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Enjoy, later!
Pbj~

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