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Ultimate Slow-Cooked Short Rib Bolognese: A Rich and Hearty Italian Comfort Dish

Prepare to embark on a culinary journey with this ultimate Slow-Cooked Short Rib Bolognese, a dish so deeply flavorful and comforting that it will undoubtedly become a staple in your kitchen. From the very first tantalizing bite, you’ll understand why this classic Italian-American creation earns its place as a truly crave-worthy meal. Imagine tender, fall-apart short ribs, slowly braised in a rich, aromatic tomato sauce, creating a decadent experience perfect for cozy evenings or impressive gatherings. If it were possible to enjoy this exquisite bolognese every single day, we certainly would!

Finished Short Rib Bolognese sauce ready to be put on pasta or polenta, garnished with fresh basil.

Bolognese is more than just a meat sauce; it’s a testament to slow cooking, patience, and the magic that happens when simple, quality ingredients are allowed to meld and deepen in flavor over time. While many bolognese recipes rely on ground meats, this short rib version elevates the dish to an entirely new level of richness and texture. The collagen in the short ribs breaks down during the extended braising process, yielding incredibly tender meat that effortlessly shreds into the luxurious sauce, enriching it with unparalleled body and a silky mouthfeel. This isn’t just dinner; it’s an event.

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Essential Ingredients for an Authentic Bolognese

Crafting this exceptional short rib bolognese begins with a commitment to classic flavors and high-quality ingredients. Our list reflects the traditional approach, ensuring a deeply satisfying and authentic taste experience. At its heart is the venerable mirepoix – a trio of carrots, celery, and onions – which forms the aromatic foundation of nearly all great Italian sauces. Coupled with the unparalleled sweetness and acidity of genuine San Marzano tomatoes from Italy, the result is a truly decadent sauce that you might just want to, well, bathe in! Every ingredient plays a crucial role in building the layers of flavor that make this dish so special.

Fresh ingredients laid out for making Short Rib Bolognese, including short ribs, vegetables, and canned San Marzano tomatoes.

Let’s delve deeper into some of the key components:

Beef Short Ribs: These are the star of the show. Bone-in short ribs offer the most flavor and a richer sauce due to the marrow and connective tissue breaking down. Their marbling ensures tender, succulent meat after hours of slow cooking. Look for well-marbled ribs with a good balance of meat and fat.
Mirepoix (Carrots, Celery, Onions): This aromatic base is non-negotiable for a truly flavorful bolognese. Finely dicing these vegetables allows them to soften and release their sweet, earthy notes, which caramelize slightly during sautéing, adding depth without overpowering the dish.
San Marzano Tomatoes: Hailing from the volcanic plains of Italy, these plum tomatoes are renowned for their balanced sweetness, low acidity, and thick flesh. Crushing them by hand before adding them to the pot ensures a rustic texture and releases their vibrant flavor into the sauce. While other canned tomatoes can work, San Marzano truly makes a difference.
Wine (Red or White): Wine plays a vital role in deglazing the pan, lifting all those delicious browned bits (fond) from the bottom, and adding a layer of complexity and acidity to the sauce. Red wine will offer a deeper, more robust flavor profile, while white wine can provide a brighter, slightly lighter note.
Tomato Paste: This concentrated tomato flavor powerhouse adds an intense umami depth to the bolognese. Sautéing it briefly before adding liquids helps to deepen its flavor, removing any raw tomato taste.
Heavy Cream: Added at the end, a touch of heavy cream enriches the sauce, giving it a luscious, silky texture and mellowing the acidity of the tomatoes. It brings a luxurious finish that is characteristic of many traditional bolognese recipes.

For precise measurements and detailed step-by-step instructions, please use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or simply scroll to the very bottom of the page to find the full recipe card. This comprehensive guide will ensure your Short Rib Bolognese turns out perfectly every time.

Crafting Your Decadent Short Rib Bolognese: A Step-by-Step Guide

While making this exquisite Short Rib Bolognese is indeed a lengthy process, requiring several hours of simmering, it’s crucial to understand that it demands surprisingly little active work or constant “babysitting.” The majority of the cooking time is hands-off, allowing the magical transformation of ingredients to happen slowly in your pot. Once the initial groundwork of assembling the sauce is complete, the short ribs simply need time – a few hours – to gently braise until they reach an unbelievably tender, melt-in-your-mouth consistency. This slow cooking is the secret to unlocking their rich flavor and creating a truly memorable dish.

The journey begins with developing deep flavor through proper searing. First, you’ll want to generously season your short ribs with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Then, in a large, heavy-bottomed pot like a Dutch oven, sear the short ribs on all sides until they develop a beautiful, deep brown crust. This crucial step isn’t just for aesthetics; it caramelizes the proteins, creating a rich “fond” at the bottom of the pan, which will become the flavor bedrock of your bolognese. Once perfectly seared, carefully remove the short ribs from the pan and set them aside on a plate, reserving all those delicious browned bits and rendered fat in the pot.

Short Ribs generously seasoned with salt and pepper, ready for searing.

Perfectly seared Short Ribs resting on a plate after being browned on all sides, ready for the next step.

Next, it’s time to build the aromatic base of your sauce. In the same pan, utilizing the flavorful fat left behind from searing the ribs, sauté the finely diced onions, carrots, and celery – your mirepoix – until they are beautifully softened and lightly browned. This caramelization adds a deep, sweet complexity. Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Then, the magic of deglazing begins: pour in your chosen wine, scraping up all those flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. This “fond” is pure flavor gold. Let the wine simmer and reduce slightly, concentrating its essence. Once reduced, stir in the tomato paste, cooking it for a minute or two to deepen its flavor. Finally, add the San Marzano tomatoes, crushing them by hand as you add them for a rustic texture and burst of fresh tomato flavor. Gently nestle the seared short ribs back into the pot, ensuring they are partially submerged in the rich, developing sauce.

Cooked mirepoix and tomato paste in the bottom of a pan, ready for deglazing with wine.

Hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes being added to the pot with the simmering sauce base.

At this pivotal point, the magic of slow braising truly begins. Cover the pot and allow the short ribs to simmer gently in the sauce for a good 3-4 hours. The goal is for the meat to become incredibly tender, so much so that it can be effortlessly shredded with a fork. The exact cooking time may vary slightly depending on the size and thickness of your short ribs, so keep an eye on them after the three-hour mark. This long, low-temperature cooking allows the collagen in the short ribs to break down, releasing incredible flavor and yielding that signature fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

For the absolute best results and a perfectly balanced sauce, we highly recommend a crucial extra step: cooling and refrigerating the pot overnight after the initial braising period. This allows the fat to rise to the surface and solidify, making it incredibly easy to remove. Simply don a glove and carefully scoop off as much of the solidified fat as possible. This process ensures your bolognese is rich and flavorful without being greasy, resulting in a cleaner, more refined texture and taste. It’s a small investment of time that yields significant improvements in the final dish.

After cooking and cooling, short ribs in the pot with a solidified layer of fat on top.

Hands removing the solidified fat layer from the top of the cooled short rib bolognese sauce.

When you’re ready to finish preparing your magnificent short rib bolognese, and with the excess fat now removed, gently bring the sauce back to a gentle simmer over low heat. The braised ribs should now be incredibly tender and easy to handle. Carefully remove them from the pot, taking care to extract the bones, which should slip out effortlessly. Then, using two forks or your fingers, shred or dice the succulent meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any remaining hard fat or connective tissue you might find. This ensures every mouthful of bolognese is pure, unadulterated pleasure.

Intact short ribs carefully removed from the pot after braising.

Bones cleanly removed from the tender short rib meat.

Return the tender, shredded, or diced meat back to the pot with the simmering sauce. Stir in the heavy cream and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes – the latter offering a subtle warmth that beautifully complements the rich flavors without making the dish overtly spicy. Bring the sauce back to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently, and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes. This final simmer allows all the flavors to fully meld together, and the cream to integrate perfectly, creating a luxuriously thick and harmonious sauce. Your magnificent Short Rib Bolognese is now ready to be generously spooned over your favorite pasta, creamy polenta, or even gnocchi. Serve it with an abundance of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and, if you like, a sprinkle of fresh basil leaves for a burst of color and herbaceous freshness.

Finished Short Rib Bolognese sauce in a pot, ready to be served over pasta or polenta, garnished with fresh basil.

Expert Notes & Tips for Short Rib Bolognese Perfection

Achieving the perfect Short Rib Bolognese is within reach with a few helpful tips and tricks. Here’s how to refine your technique and tailor the recipe to your preferences:

Streamlining the Fat Removal Process: If you’re eager to enjoy your sauce immediately after the 4-hour braising period and prefer not to wait for it to cool fully to remove the fat by hand, there’s a workaround. After searing the short ribs, ensure you remove almost all of the rendered fat from the pan, leaving behind only about 1 tablespoon to sauté the vegetables. This significantly reduces the overall fat content in the sauce from the outset, allowing you to finish the entire recipe in one day without compromising flavor or texture too much.
Prepping the Short Ribs for Optimal Enjoyment: Once the short ribs are cooked to fork-tender perfection and you’re ready to shred or dice them, pay close attention to the meat after removing the bones. Short ribs naturally contain a tough, rubber-band-like piece of fat or gristle that often adheres the meat to the bone. It’s highly recommended to carefully identify and remove these fibrous pieces. Taking this extra step ensures a far more pleasurable and tender eating experience, free from any chewy surprises.
The Importance of Finely Diced Vegetables: For a truly smooth and cohesive finished sauce, the size of your mirepoix vegetables (carrots, celery, and onions) matters. Aim to dice them nice and small and uniformly. This allows them to break down completely during the long simmering process, blending seamlessly into the sauce rather than remaining as chunky pieces. If you prefer an even smoother consistency or want to save time on chopping, you can certainly throw all the vegetables into a food processor and pulse them together until they are finely chopped or almost pureed. This method ensures they practically melt into the sauce.
Choosing Your Pot: A heavy-bottomed Dutch oven is ideal for this recipe. Its excellent heat retention and even heat distribution are perfect for searing and the long, slow braising required for tender short ribs and a rich sauce.
Seasoning as You Go: Taste and adjust your seasoning at various stages of cooking, especially before adding the tomatoes and then again after the final simmer. This layered seasoning approach builds depth and ensures the final dish is perfectly balanced.
Freezing for Later: This bolognese freezes beautifully! Make a large batch and store portions in airtight containers for convenient, delicious meals on busy weeknights. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and gently reheat on the stove.

Versatile Substitutions to Adapt Your Bolognese

This Short Rib Bolognese recipe is wonderfully adaptable, allowing for several substitutions to suit dietary preferences, ingredient availability, or simply to experiment with different flavor profiles. Here are some common and effective changes you can make:

Bone-in vs. Boneless Short Ribs: You can absolutely use either bone-in or boneless short ribs for this recipe. While bone-in ribs tend to impart a slightly richer, deeper flavor to the sauce due to the marrow and connective tissue, boneless short ribs offer convenience. They will also typically cook a little faster, which might be a preferred option if you’re aiming to complete the entire recipe in a single day without the overnight chilling period. Adjust cooking times accordingly, checking for tenderness earlier with boneless cuts.
Dairy-Free Adaptation: If you need to keep this recipe dairy-free without sacrificing its signature richness and creaminess, a few simple swaps will do the trick. Omit the butter used for searing and replace it with a dairy-free oil like olive oil or avocado oil. For the heavy cream added at the end, cashew milk or a rich coconut cream (be mindful of potential coconut flavor notes) can be excellent substitutes. Cashew milk, in particular, tends to offer a neutral flavor and luxurious texture that closely mimics heavy cream in sauces.
Wine Alternatives: The recipe calls for wine (red or white), which adds significant depth through deglazing and simmering. Red wine typically provides a more robust and deeper flavor, aligning well with the richness of short ribs. White wine can offer a brighter, perhaps slightly tangier note. If you prefer to omit alcohol entirely, you can replace the wine completely with an equal amount of good quality chicken stock or beef broth. Ensure the broth is low-sodium so you can control the seasoning of the sauce. A splash of balsamic vinegar can also be added with the broth for a hint of acidity and complexity if desired.
Spice Level: The red pepper flakes offer a subtle warmth. If you prefer more heat, feel free to increase the amount. For a milder version, omit them entirely.

Short Rib Bolognese generously served over creamy polenta, topped with shaved Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

More Tasty Italian Style Recipes You’ll Love

If this Short Rib Bolognese has sparked your passion for rich, flavorful Italian-inspired dishes, you’re in for a treat! Explore more delightful recipes that capture the essence of Italian cuisine, perfect for any occasion:

Italian Chopped Salad – A vibrant and fresh salad, bursting with classic Italian flavors and textures.

Tomato Feta Salad – Simple yet exquisite, this salad highlights the sweet juiciness of tomatoes with salty feta.

Classic Italian Subs Recipe – Layered with delicious deli meats, cheese, and fresh veggies, a true crowd-pleaser.

Homemade Sausage Manicotti – Comforting pasta shells filled with a rich sausage and cheese mixture, baked to perfection.

Savory Italian Sausage and Peppers – A rustic and hearty dish, perfect served on a crusty roll or alongside polenta.

Did you try your hand at this luxurious Short Rib Bolognese recipe? We would absolutely love to hear about your experience! Please let us know how it turned out by leaving a review or a comment below. Your feedback is invaluable to us and helps other home cooks discover this fantastic dish. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to get the latest recipes and culinary tips delivered straight to your inbox! You can also follow along with our daily kitchen adventures and delicious inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

📖 Recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Short Rib Bolognese

Prep Time:
30 minutes

Cook Time:
4 hours

Total Time:
4 hours 30 minutes

This classic Short Rib Bolognese is so hearty and heartwarming that you’ll crave it all the time once you have your first taste!

Ingredients

2 ½ lbs Beef Short Ribs
2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup Carrots, finely diced
3 Celery Stalks, finely diced
1 cup Yellow Onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons Garlic, minced
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 ½ cups White Wine
28 oz San Marzano Whole Tomatoes
2 teaspoons Granulated Sugar
½ cup Heavy Cream
1-2 pinches, Red Pepper Flakes

Instructions

Season the short ribs generously on all sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a large, 5-quart or more, dutch oven to medium-high heat.

Add the butter and olive oil to the hot pan and once they melted add the short ribs

Cook short ribs until brown and crusty on ALL sides. This should take 10 minutes or so. Prep the veg while they cook.

After the short ribs brown, remove them to a plate and let them rest till needed.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the bottom of the pan and add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot along with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.

Reduce heat to medium and cook until softened and the onions are translucent, 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste alone, then the wine. Simmer until reduced, 2-3 minutes.

Season with 1 more teaspoon salt and add the canned tomatoes, crushing them in your hand as you add them, along with the sugar. Stir to combine.

Place the short ribs back in the pot and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Reduce the heat too low and place the lid on the pot. Cook on low, 3-4hours or until the meat is fork-tender and falling off the bone. How long the short ribs need to cook depends on how large they are. Check on them at the three-hour mark and see if they can be shredded. If the bone doesn’t just fall out and the meat is super tender, continue to cook until they can be. Note: I place mine in on their sides, and turn them over halfway thru cooking.

If at this point the sauce has severely thickened and anything is sticking to the bottom of the pan, stir in a splash or two of wine to loosen the sauce.

When the meat is tender, and the bones will fall out, remove the bones and turn off the heat on the pot. Remove the lid and take the pot off the stove. Let the mixture cool to room temp, for 1-2 hours. Then place the pot in the fridge with the lid back on overnight, for up to 3 days.

When ready to eat, remove any cold fat that rises to the top of the pot during cooling and bring the mixture back to warm over low heat until the sauce moves freely and you can stir everything easily.

Remove the short ribs from the pot and dice or shred them.

Stir the heavy cream into the remaining sauce in the pan and ring the sauce to a simmer over medium-low heat.

Return the shredded or diced short meat to the pot.

Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the red pepper flakes. Simmer 15-20 minutes longer.

Serve over pasta or polenta with lots of fresh parmesan grated over the top!

Notes

Notes & Tips

If you would like to eat this sauce at the end of the 4 hours braising period, as opposed to letting them cool fully and removing the fat by hand. After searing the ribs remove all the fat from the pan, leaving behind only 1 tablespoon of fat to sautee the vegetable in. Then your sauce will be ready to be finished in one day.

After cooking the short ribs, when you are ready to shred or dice them, remove any hard fat pieces that remain after taking out the bones. Short ribs have a tough, rubberband-like piece of fat that holds the meat to the bone. You will want to make sure you get that out for a more pleasurable eating experience.

For a nice finished sauce, you want to ensure your vegetables are diced nice and small. You could also throw everything in a food processor and pulse them together until they are finely chopped.

Substitutions

You can use bone-in or boneless short ribs for this recipe. Boneless will cook a little faster, and this may be preferred if you want to finish the whole recipe in one day.

If you would like to keep this dairy-free, omit the butter and replace the heavy cream with cashew milk to retain the richness.

Red or White wine can be used in this recipe, red would offer a deeper flavor. If you want to omit alcohol, you can replace it completely with chicken stock.

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