Plate of sous vide beef short ribs on mashed potatoes.

The Best, Fork-Tender Sous Vide Short Ribs Recipe

Name: Fork-Tender Sous Vide Short Ribs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 d
Total time: 1 d 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 boneless beef short ribs; 1 Tablespoon salt and black pepper (or dry rub), to coat the meat; 1 Tablespoon high smoke point oil (such as grapeseed oil)

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Our sous vide short ribs recipe is some serious comfort food.

It’s the most tender, fall-apart roast you’ll find.

The meat will melt in your mouth and warm you up on even the coldest of days.

Follow along for all our tips on how to sous vide short ribs to perfection.

What are Short Ribs?

Short ribs come from the beef chuck or plate section of the cow. They are a tough cut of meat that can be transformed into serious comfort food when prepared properly.

This means using a slow cooking process to break down the tough, collagen fibers in the meat.

When cooked to perfection, they remind us of our tender, flavorful Beef Cheeks Recipe.

Seasoning beef short ribs on a cutting board.

The secret to amazing short ribs is to cook the meat for a long time, which is why the sous vide cooking method is the best way to cook short ribs.

The connective tissue breaks down without the risk of overcooking the meat.

If you’re in a rush, you can also use a pressure cooker or instant pot like we did for our Beef Short Rib Pasta Recipe.

Short ribs being put into sous vide water bath.

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is a cooking technique that means “under vacuum”.

It means putting the sous vide machine in a tub of water, setting the temp, adding your food to a sous vide bag, and letting it cook in the water bin.

It’s an easy way to cook food without the risk of overcooking it, which we find is the simplest way to always get perfect results.

We’re officially experts on the sous vide cooking process and have been making food in the sous vide for over eight years.

In fact, our first television cooking segment that we recorded, we taught the world about sous vide cooking on KXAN Studio512 back in 2016.

Since then, we’re mastered sous vide recipes including:

Sous Vide Chicken Thigh Recipe
How to Sous Vide Steak
Foolproof Sous Vide Lobster
Perfectly Cooked Sous Vide Beef Wellington
Sous Vide Prime Rib Roast
Sous Vide Chateaubriand
Tender Sous Vide Scallops
Sous Vide Creme Brulee
Sous Vide Shrimp Scampi
Pork Chops Cooked in the Sous Vide
Sous Vide Pork Loin

Short ribs in a vacuum sealer bag prior to being cooked in a sous vide.

Equipment Needed for Sous Vide Short Ribs

Before you start preparing your sous vide duck breast, ensure that you have the following equipment for the recipe.

Skillet: You can use a cast iron skillet, a stainless steel skillet, or a carbon steel pan for the searing process prior to making your sous vide short ribs. This helps to add some texture to the exterior and helps the short rib to keep it’s shape while in the 24 hour sous vide water bath.
Sous Vide Immersion Circulator: This sous vide machine regulates the water temperature to the precise degree, which, in turn, cooks your beef to that exact temperature.
Water Bin: You can just use a large pot for your water bath, but since this is a longer sous vide cook, it’s good to go slightly bigger. We like to use a large 18 quart container (it’s also the perfect size for a turkey brine) or a dedicated sous vide container with a lid. Or you can turn an insulated cooler into a homemade apparatus to act as your water bin.
Vacuum Sealer: Using a vacuum sealer with a vacuum bag is the most effective method to ensure there is not much air left in the bag prior to sous viding. You want a strong seal since it’s a longer cook compared to using the sous vide for other types of proteins.
Sous Vide Bags: We like to use a sous vide bag that is compatible with our vacuum sealer. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can just use a high quality freezer ziplock bag and use the water displacement method to remove excess air from the bag. However, we would advise against this for this specific recipe, since it’s a hotter water temperature and a long cook time of 24 hours. You don’t want the water to get into your short ribs during the sous vide process and that’s why we recommend using an actual vacuum seal bag.

Tips for Success When Cooking Sous Vide Short Ribs

Pre-sear the short ribs – For best results, sear your meat prior to adding it to the sous vide bag to get texture and help hold the filet together throughout the cook.
Use a high quality vacuum sealed bag – Since it is a long cook at a higher temperature, you don’t want to risk your bag leaking and ruining your meat.
Keep an eye on your water level – If your water evaporates too much, it could stop (or even damage) your sous vide immersion circulator.
Avoid adding garlic to your sous vide bag – You should not sous vide raw garlic since the spores pose a small risk of botulism. Since this is a longer sous vide cook, there could be a higher risk.

Finished sous vide short ribs in the bag with juices.

What Temperature Do You Sous Vide Short Ribs?

This is a highly debated topic.

We opted to cook our short ribs in the sous vide at 185 degrees for 24 hours sous vide cooking time for super tender meat.

We’re talking “you don’t need to even put a butter knife out with your place setting” fork-tender meat.

If you want more of a steak-like texture, cook the meat at a lower temperature, like 140 degrees, but for a much longer cooking duration (2-3 days in the sous vide).

How Do I Reduce Sous Vide Evaporation ?

This higher cooking temperature and the 24 hour cook time means that you will be facing water evaporation with this cook.

You do not want the water to evaporate too much so that the sous vide water immersion circulator stops working.

There are a few options to help reduce this risk:

Monitor water levels: The easiest way to combat water evaporation is to just keep an eye on it and add more water as it evaporates. You’ll want to add hot water back into the bin so that the overall water temperature does not fluctuate too much. Add water every few hours and make sure the bin is completely filled prior to going to bed for the night.
Insulate your water bath: Use an insulated water bin (some people even take an insulated cooler and cut a hole for their sous vide cooking device!) or use special sous vide ping pong balls on top of the water. You can also just add aluminum foil or plastic wrap on the top of the bin to help reduce water evaporation.

Sous vide short ribs on mashed potatoes.

What to Serve with Sous Vide Short Ribs

Try these tasty side dishes with your short ribs for a perfect pairing:

Cheesy Polenta – Our Creamy Parmesan Polenta Recipe is hearty and flavorful.
Mashed Potatoes – Try it with some Garlic Roasted in Olive Oil smashed in!
Corn Pudding – This Southern Corn Pudding Recipe is made with brown butter. It’s a delicious cross between a porridge and a corn bread!
Green Veggie – This is a pretty heavy dish, so add in a side salad, our Air Fryer Broccolini, or green beans to lighten up the meal a bit.
Wine – Pour a glass of your favorite big, bold red wine to pair with your beef short ribs. We usually reach for a cabaret sauvignon.

Sous vide short ribs on a plate of mashed potatoes.

Sous Vide Short Ribs Recipe

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 24 Hours

Makes: 4 Short ribs

Ingredients:

4 boneless beef short ribs
1 Tablespoon salt and black pepper (or dry rub), to coat the meat
1 Tablespoon high smoke point oil (such as grapeseed oil)

Directions:

Preheat a sous vide water bath to 185 degrees F,
Start preparing the beef by patting your boneless short ribs dry with paper towels.
Season each side of the short ribs with salt and pepper or the rub of your choice.
Heat up the oil in a skillet on medium-high heat.
Sear each side of your beef short ribs to create texture on the exterior.
Add the beef short rib filets into a sous vide bag and use a vacuum sealer to remove all the air and seal the bag.
Add the bags to the sous vide bath. If they start to float to the top, use sous vide weights or clamps to ensure the meat stays submerged.
Cook for 24 hours. Ensure enough water remains in your water bath. You will likely have to add additional water throughout the cooking process. An insulated sous vide container can help reduce evaporation.
After 24 hours, remove the beef short rib from the bag and serve.

Note: You can use the leftover sous vide juice from the plastic bag as an au jus. Or add it to create a sauce by putting it through a fine-mesh strainer and adding it to beef stock or a red wine reduction.

Fork-Tender Sous Vide Short Ribs

Yield: 4 short ribs

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 day

Total Time: 1 day 10 minutes

This sous vide short ribs recipe creates the most tender, fall apart beef. Just set your sous vide and cook it to comfort food perfection!

Ingredients

4 boneless beef short ribs
1 Tablespoon salt and black pepper (or dry rub), to coat the meat
1 Tablespoon high smoke point oil (such as grapeseed oil)

Instructions

Preheat a sous vide water bath to 185 degrees F,
Start preparing the beef by patting your boneless short ribs dry with paper towels.
Season each side of the short ribs with the rub of your choice.
Heat up the oil in a skillet on medium-high heat.
Sear each side of your beef short ribs to create texture on the exterior.
Add the beef short rib filets into a sous vide bag and use a vacuum sealer to remove all the air and seal the bag.
Add the bags to the sous vide bath. If they start to float to the top, use sous vide weights or clamps to ensure the meat stays submerged.
Cook for 24 hours. Ensure enough water remains in your water bath. You will likely have to add additional water throughout the cooking process. An insulated sous vide container can help reduce evaporation.
After 24 hours, remove the beef short rib from the bag and serve.

Notes

You can use the leftover sous vide juice from the plastic bag as an au jus or add it to create a sauce by putting it through a fine-mesh strainer and adding it to beef stock or a red wine reduction.