My Pressure Cooker Short Ribs recipe took over the top spot on my Google stats a month ago, as my most popular post for the last month. I love that recipe, and I'm happy to see it bringing in new readers. Then I realized that I have short ribs in my freezer that need to be cooked. Obviously, this is a sign that I should revisit pressure cooker short ribs.
I'm craving Mexican food today; out came my collection of Rick Bayless cookbooks. The braised short rib recipe in Mexico, One Plate at a Time
 jumped out at me. I had most of the ingredient list at hand, and it is a straightforward short rib braise.
But...I couldn't just make Mr. Bayless's recipe. I can never follow a recipe any more, even when I try; I'm always tweaking and adjusting. Rick's ingredient list was the jumping-off point. I worked those ingredients into my trusted pressure cooker short ribs technique.
*And, I added beer to the recipe. It seemed like the right thing to do.
The result was tender ribs, the zing of hot peppers giving them a spicy edge. All in a little over an hour! This is the perfect comfort food to fight off early spring snowstorm blues.
*It was sixty degrees last weekend! How can it possibly be snowing! Seasonal affective disorder, here I come...
And...don't have a pressure cooker? No worries. See the Variations section for pressure free options.
Recipe: Pressure Cooker Short Ribs Mexican Style
Adapted From: Rick Bayless Mexico One Plate At A Time
Equipment:
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (It is overkill, but I used my massive Kuhn Rikon 12 Quart Pressure Stock Pot
) - Fat separator (You need a big one, at least 4 cups in size).
)
, at least 4 cups in size).
Pressure Cooker Short Ribs Mexican Style
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Short Ribs Mexican Style - short ribs with a south-of-the-border accent.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 4 pounds beef short ribs, 1 ½ inches thick, cut into 3 rib portions
- 2 teaspoons plus ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 jalapeño peppers, diced (remove the seeds if you want to reduce the heat)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade) or water
- 1 cup beer (Any amber lager will do; Negro Modelo or Bohemia match the Mexican theme of the recipe)
- 28-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juice (preferably Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced)
Instructions
- Sear the ribs in two batches: Season the ribs with the 2 teaspoons of salt. Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat in your pressure cooker pot until it is shimmering. Add half the ribs, and sear for 3 minutes per side, or until well browned. (I treat the ribs as if they have four "sides", so this should take about 12 minutes. Make sure one of the "sides" is bone side down - that will help render some of the fat.) Remove the browned ribs to a bowl. Add the second half of the ribs to the pot, and sear for 3 minutes per side. Move the second batch into to the bowl with the rest of the browned ribs. Pour off all but 1 tablespoons of the oil and fat in the cooker.
- Sauté the aromatics: Add the onion, jalapeño, garlic, thyme, and tomato paste to the pot. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté for five minutes, or until the onions are softened and the tomato paste is starting to darken. Add the beer and the chicken stock to the pot, increase the heat to high, and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits from the bottom.
- Pressure cook the ribs: Add the ribs to the pot, and stir everything until it is well mixed. Get as many ribs submerged in the liquid as you can, then pour the diced tomatoes on top. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure, then lower the heat to maintain that pressure and cook for 30 minutes in an electric PC, or 25 minutes in a stovetop PC. Remove from the heat, allow the pressure to come down naturally for 15 minutes, then quick release any pressure left in the pot.
- Prepare the sauce: Remove the ribs to a serving platter with tongs or a slotted spoon. Scoop the tomatoes and onions out with a slotted spoon, discarding the thyme sprigs as you find them. Pour the remaining liquid into a fat separator and let it rest for ten minutes for the fat to float to the surface. Serve the ribs with some of the tomato/onion mixture and the de-fatted sauce.
Notes
If you have the time, refrigerate the ribs overnight to help remove the fat. After cooking, let the ribs cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight, or up to 3 days. This will let the fat rise to the surface and solidify. To serve, lift the solid fat from the ribs, then reheat the ribs over medium heat on the stove.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Variations:
*Hot pepper substitutions: Instead of jalapeno peppers, use a tablespoon of chipotle en adobo puree. Or, use fire roasted poblano peppers, which is what Rick Bayless did this in his version of this recipe.
*Don't have a pressure cooker? Replace step 3 with:
Dutch oven: Put the ingredients in a dutch oven and bring to a boil. Cover the dutch oven, and move to a 325*F oven. Cook in the oven for 2 to 3 hours, until the ribs are tender. Remove from the oven, and continue with step 4.
Slow cooker: Put the ingredients in a slow cooker, and cook on high for 5 hours, or low for 10 hours. Continue with step 4.
Notes:
*Short ribs make amazing leftovers. Shred the meat, discard the bones, and stir in some of the tomato/onion/pepper mixture and a little sauce. Refrigerate or freeze. Â (If you're freezing, covering the ribs in sauce will help protect them.) Reheat, and serve with tortillas for the best taco night ever.
*As I said in my I love pressure cookers post, every pressure cooker works differently. Make sure you have read your pressure cooker manual before starting this recipe, so you know how to lock it, how to tell when it's up to high pressure (15 PSI), and how to release the pressure when you're done.
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
Pressure Cooker Short Ribs
Pressure Cooker Turkey Chili with Chorizo and Beans
My other pressure cooker recipes
Adapted from:
Rick Bayless Mexico One Plate At A Time
...and my pressure cooker timing came from Lorna Sass Pressure Perfect
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PH Lim
if I use chicken meat (whole chicken cut to 8 or 10 big pieces) instead of short rib, how long does it take to cook the chicken meat? 30 min?
Thanks.
Mike V
Use the timings from this recipe: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2015/07/pressure-cooker-chicken-broth-and-shredded-chicken.html/
orville76
I really like the pressure cooker short rib recipes...I am ashamed to admit that beef short ribs are essentially the only thing I cook in the pressure cooker but they are so awesome when prepared this way. Thanks for the ideas!
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner
@orville76:
You're welcome! If you want to expand your pressure cooker horizons, I'd suggest a beef chuck or pork shoulder stew. They work about the same as the short rib recipes, with great results.
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner
@Foo dinc:
English or Asian? They're from my Mexican butcher, so is "none of these above" an option?
Just kidding - you're right, they are not English cut. I've heard the cut referred to as cross cut, or flanken cut, but never Asian cut before.
Foo dinc.
Are those short ribs Asian or English cut? From the pics they look Asian. I couldn't imagine them being the English cut that would be a whole lot of rib.
Cheers!
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner
@Ty'sMommy:
I've got some Muir Glen crushed coming up next week...stay tuned!
@Daniel:
Good eye! "Don't stir the tomatoes" is a trick I picked up from Lorna.
Tomatoes burn easily. If they rest against the bottom of the pot for the entire cooking time, the heat from the burner will scorch the tomatoes.
In regular pots, you take care of this by stirring the pot every now and again - nothing sits against the bottom of the pot for the entire cooking time, so it won't burn.
Since a pressure cooker has to be locked while it's cooking, any tomatoes against the bottom of the pot will remain there, and might burn. To avoid this, I pour them on the top.
Daniel
I've noticed that in all of your PC recipes (and Lorna Sass's - who I assume you picked this up from), you put the tomatoes on the top of the rest of the stew without stirring. Why is this? Just curious. Is it so they don't break down too much under pressure?
Ty'sMommy
I love this post. I have a few packages of short ribs in my freezer just waiting to be used as well, but no pressure cooker, so maybe I'll try the oven version this weekend. Rick Bayless is amazing and I love experimenting with his recipes. Also, just have to say that we share your love of Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes, although my personal preference leans toward the crushed versus diced.