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4.65 from 17 votes

Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs

See a short video of how we make these!

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs bone in short ribs the thick American grocery store cut, not the thinly sliced kind
  • 1 to 2 packages whole baby bella or white mushrooms cut into halves (these will cook down tremendously)
  • 2 medium potatoes cut into halves
  • 1/3 cup light soy sauce see notes section
  • 1/2 cup low sodium broth we use Pacific low sodium beef
  • 2.5 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 5 cloves garlic minced or smashed whole
  • 2 teaspoons ginger minced
  • frozen peas optional
  • cilantro or scallions, sesame oil optional for garnish
  • salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Salt & pepper the short ribs, then add oil to the InstantPot and set to "Saute." When the oil is heated, brown the short ribs a few minutes on each side, in batches if necessary (careful not to burn, as the InstantPot gets hot fast on Saute depending on your model)
  • Turn off the heat, remove browned short ribs to a plate and set aside. Carefully scoop or pour out excess oil / fat from the pot.
  • Add soy sauce, broth, sugar, garlic, and ginger to the pot. Stir gently to mix, scraping up any browned bits off the bottom.
  • Place the short ribs back into the pot so that they sit in the sauce mixture. Add in mushrooms, then layer the potato halves on top.
  • Cook on the "Meat / Stew" pressure setting for 45 minutes. Do natural release for at least 20 minutes and carefully remove the lid after venting fully.
  • Stir in frozen peas until heated through. Serve with the potatoes (which can be cut just a little smaller and kept in the pot, or mashed up separately on the side), rice, or a hunk of bread. Garnish with optional cilantro or scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil on top if desired.
  • Optional but recommended: de-fat the dish if you're able to make it in advance, or use a fat separator (see reader comments!). This will take extra time and effort but we always try to do it! After opening up the Instant Pot, use tongs or a large slotted spoon to remove all the potatoes and short ribs from the sauce and place them in a separate bowl. Let the sauce cool and then chill in the fridge, and skim off and discard the white layer of fat on top. Reheat everything together when you're ready to eat.

Notes

  • If you have these in your pantry, Nick likes to sub in a little dark soy sauce and fish sauce as well for added depth of flavor. To make it this way, instead of 1/3 cup regular soy sauce from the ingredients list above, do: 4 Tablespoons regular soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon fish sauce. 
  • If you don’t have time to mince the ginger, you can do thick slices but use more like a generous 2 to 3 inch chunk.
  • We included carrots in the photos but note they get mushy after the longer pressure cooking time (our toddler doesn't mind).
  • For a little heat, you can add gochujang or chili flakes into the sauce.