McCloud’s Southern Smothered Beef Short Ribs

Juicy, tender beef short ribs smothered in a hearty, tangy, flavorful dark gravy. Comfort soul food at its best made easy. Perfect for a brisk Sunday night dinner.

Yall 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 a 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 an 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 brisky Sunday. 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, who y’all 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 also was 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 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 me and my grandma would devoure them.

But McCloud clearly had a liking for Vinegar he put it in so much. Apple Cider was a frequent smell in our kitchen growing up in my teens. Lol! He said he used it a lot to give dishes flavor 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 good 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. Man, talking about this brings back a lot of good memories.

I really miss those days and having someone who could actually 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

How to clean the ribs

I do clean my meats although some people dont believe you should because they believe it spread germs. I like to do so just in case there’s some foreign debris that needs to be removed.

Here are a few cleaning agents commonly used to clean meats. You will make sure to use enough water to cover the meat by 2 inches and a tablespoon of either salt, white vinegar, baking soda, or lemon juice.

Use about 1 tablespoon of either salt vinegar, baking soda, or lemon juice per quart of water. Let the meat soak for 20-25 minutes, give it a nice scrub, rinse well, and pat dry.

Deglaze The Skillet With Slurry

What does it mean to deglaze? Deglazing is basically, when you add a liquid like wine, broth, or juice to a hot skillet to loosen and scrape up flavorful browned bits, and residue from meat you just fried or seared that’s 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 slurry inside the skillet to deglaze it and scoop up all that flavor sitting at the bottom before adding the slurry to the ribs in the baking dish. Our liquid will be chicken broth, and our thickener will be flour.

We’re just going to add our flour to the skillet, then the broth. Then, scrape the brown bits and remnants at the bottom of the skillet from the ribs we seared using a spatula. Then, stir the slurry until the flour is dissolved and everything is nice and smooth.

Lastly, we’re going to pour this slurry over the ribs, which will thicken into a nice gravy by the time the ribs are done baking.  

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Beef short ribs: These are the kind of Ribs McCloud used, and while they aren’t the meatiest ribs on the planet, they pack so much flavor and are delicious once tender.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This is one of the healthiest oils on the planet, and I’ve been using it lately for foods I fry for a short period.
• Salt: Keep it simple and season the ribs with salt for taste..
• Paprika: Paprika is optional! It just adds a hint of color to the dish.
• Garlic and onion powder: You can’t not add garlic and onion to your ribs. They are two important flavors and are for depth of flavor. Lol!
• Italian seasoning: The best herb seasonings for ribs! It has every major herb in it.
• Thyme: Thyme is good, so a little extra on the ribs won’t hurt.
• Black Pepper: Just like garlic and onion powder, pepper is a must that makes everything taste better.

For the gravy

• Butter: I added butter to saute the onions and as fat for the gravy.
• Onions: I always add sauteed onions to my gravy.
• Minced Garlic: I added more garlic to add depth of flavor to the gravy. You got to season that gravy too.
• All-purpose flour: The flour is the thickening agent used in the slurry to create the gravy
• Chicken broth: Broth adds flavor to the gravy. I used chicken instead of beef because Beef broth has a higher sodium content.
• Water: I didn’t want the gravy to be too rich, so instead of using all broth, I used a combination of broth and water
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Vinegar is McCloud’s game-changing ingredient for the gravy. 

How To Make Smothered Beef Short Ribs

1. Remove any excess fat from the ribs and soak them in salt water for 20 to 25 minutes; then scrub, rinse, and pat dry. 
2. Place the ribs in a dish and season them.
   
   
3. Place a skillet over medium-high heat and add in the oil.
4.  Add in the ribs and sear on both sides for 4-5 mins, then sit aside in the baking pan.
   
   
5.  Chop up the onions and add them to the skillet, along with the butter, and sautee for 3 minutes.
6.  Stir in the minced garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.
   
   
7.  You can remove the onions and garlic or leave them in the skillet and stir in the flour for 2 minutes or until it’s no longer white in color.
   
   
8. Stir in the water, broth, and vinegar for about 2 minutes and until the flour dissolves and everything is nice and smooth.
   
   
   
9.  Then, pour the gravy over the ribs in the baking dish.
   
   
10. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 until tender, about 1 hr 30 minutes.
    
    

Tips for best results:

• Marinate for 4-8 hrs before cooking if you can to enhance the deliciousness.
• Keep the aluminum foil on all the way through to keep it tender.
• Give the gravy a stir halfway through.

Beef Short 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 very recipe can be made using pork spare ribs, you dont have to change anything at all.
• 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, 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 beef short 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. Haha! And man, oh man, how could I forget how delicious my Frozen Spinach Recipe was? It’s been years since I made it and posted it, but recently 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 Asaparagus! 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 gravy that goes better with than Mashed potatoes. You might wanna try my delicious creamy garlic mashed potato recipe I shared with yall 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 smothered beef short ribs: Place them in a container or dish like a tupperware dish. Seal them tightly with a lid, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap and sit them in the refrigerator.
• How to reheat them in an oven: You can reheat him the way we made them. Place them in a baking dish, cover them with aluminum foil, and bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes or until warm.
• 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 thickened while in the refrigerator. Simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until warm. Stir the gravy in until smootif you need too.
• 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? Beef short ribs are easily recognizable by their 4 separated, wide, eye-shaped bones. 
• The main difference between beef and pork ribs: While pork ribs are juicer 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~

McCloud’s Easy Smothered Beef Short Ribs

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• Author: Philly Boy Jay
• Prep Time: 30 Mins
• Cook Time: 2 Hr
• Total Time: 2 Hrs 30 Mins
• Yield: 4
• Category: Steak & Beef
• Method: American
• Cuisine: Soul Food

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Description

Juicy, tender beef short ribs smothered in a hearty, tangy, flavorful dark gravy. Comfort soul food at its best made easy. Perfect for a brisk Sunday night dinner.

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Ingredients

• 2 to 2.25 lbs Beef Short Ribs
• 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tsps Salt
• 2 Tsps Paprika
• 1 Tsp Garlic powder
• 1 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1/4 Thyme
• For the gravy
• 3 Tbs Butter
• 3 Tbs All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Onions, thinly sliced
• 2 Tsps Minced Garlic
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Cup Water
• 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

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Instructions

1. Remove any excess fat from the ribs and soak them in salt water for 20 to 25 minutes; then scrub, rinse, and pat dry. 
2. Place the ribs in a dish and season them.
3. Place a skillet over medium-high heat and add in the oil.
4.  Add in the ribs and sear on both sides for 4-5 mins, then sit aside in the baking pan.
5.  Chop up the onions and add them to the skillet, along with the butter, and sautee for 3 minutes.
6.  Stir in the minced garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.
7.  You can remove the onions and garlic or leave them in the skillet and stir in the flour for 2 minutes or until it’s no longer white in color.
8. Stir in the water, broth, and vinegar for about 2 minutes and until the flour dissolves and everything is nice and smooth.
9. Then, pour the gravy over the ribs in the baking dish.
10.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 until tender, about 1 hr 30 minutes.

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