This simple oven baked BBQ beef short ribs recipe cooks a long time in the oven but it is so easy, tender, and delicious. Bake beef short ribs in the oven at 275F for 4 hours.
How To Bake Beef Beef Short Ribs In The Oven:
Salt and pepper the bone in beef short ribs. Simply lay the beef (bone side down) in a baking dish, snuggle the ribs close together, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and cook in the oven.
Bake bone in short ribs in the oven at 275F for 3 ½ - 4 hours. Go the extra mile. 3 ½ hours may be perfect in your oven, but most ovens need 4 hours.
Ribs are done when the meat is visibly pulling away from /shrinking from the bone and they are fork tender. Boneless beef short ribs can also be used for this recipe but I prefer 🍖 bone in.
Beef short ribs can not be cooked in the oven fast. Good luck and holler at me if you figure out a way to cook 'em quick 🙂
Difference Between Beef Short Ribs and Beef Back Ribs:
Short ribs are smaller than beef back ribs and are located more to the breastbone or underside of the cow. Conversely back ribs come from the ribs nearest to the shoulder of the cow, closest to spine.
Visually, short ribs are smaller and the meat is on top of the bone. Back ribs are elongated / longer and the meat is in the middle of the bones.
Interesting enough, the cooking method is the same for both cuts because they're a tough cut with bones, if that makes sense. Low and slow cooked in the oven or crockpot for both beef rib cuts.
Beef short ribs are also expensive. If you're looking for a more economical cut, check out my BBQ oven baked Beef Back Ribs. These ribs are the bones that are cut off from a Prime Rib Roast. They may not be as meaty but they are just as delicious.
Additional Notes On Oven Baked Beef Short Ribs:
Don't want to cook short ribs in the oven? No problem - throw them in your crockpot / slow cooker for 8 hours on low or in an Instant pot with a standard setting for tough cuts of meat.
Forgot to grab the bbq sauce for this short rib recipe? Skip it or throw some ketchup mixed with brown sugar on the top instead.
This beef short ribs recipe is a starting off point
Feel free to dress up easy baked beef short ribs with some of your favorite spices before cooking in the oven. Some ideas are:
- cumin
- paprika
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- dried herbs
Crockpot users: Toss all the ingredients plus 1 cup beef broth into the crockpot and cook low 6-8 hours.
Insta Pot users: Sear the meats first and set aside. Toss all ingredients plus 1 cup broth into the pot and set for 45 minutes. Follow cool down instructions. If time is low throw it all without searin & walk away.
FAQS ABOUT COOKING BEEF SHORT RIBS IN THE OVEN:
Nope! They are a tough cut of meat and can not be made quick. They require low and slow cooking if you want them tender.
3 ½ - 4 hours depending on your oven.
Bake short ribs at 275F.
Yup! Cover the beef ribs tightly in a pan with aluminum foil or a tight lid.
Yup! This recipe works for boneless and bone in beef short ribs.
Easy Oven Baked Beef Short Ribs
This simple braised BBQ beef short ribs recipe bakes a long time in the oven but it is so easy and delicious.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 210 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 8 beef bone-in beef short ribs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ⅓ cup bbq sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275F.
- Salt and pepper the beef. Lay the beef (bone side down) in a baking dish, snuggle the ribs close together and cover tightly with aluminum foil. I use 2 sheets of foil.
- Cook ~ 3 ½ - 4 hours or until bone starts to separate from the meat and meat is tender.
- Uncover, drain off any liquid or excess fat (you don't want to start a fire if your broiler runs uber hot. Ribs are fatty and the grease could catch on fire so don't skip this step) OR place ribs on an aluminum lined baking sheet if you don't want to drain the hot baking dish (see video).
- Remove any excess fat from the top of the ribs with a butter knife (see video).
- Baste on bbq sauce (my favorite bbq sauce is Sweet Baby Ray's). Broil on low for 2-4 minutes (watching carefully so it doesn't burn) or until caramelized.
- Serve with potato salad or corn on the cob. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
Don't have bbq sauce? Skip it or throw some ketchup mixed with brown sugar on the top instead.
Go the extra mile. 3 ½ hours may be perfect in your oven, but most ovens need 4 hours.
Things In My Kitchen:
- "Jellyroll" Baking Sheets - for slow cooking these ribs.
- Instant Pot - For quick cooking. Sear or don't sear depending on your mood & day.
- Crockpot - Set it on low for 8 hours. Walk away.
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Easy delicious!
Meat fell tight off the bone
Used crock pot!
Thank you for the comment Mary. I love how the crock pot is a no fail method that creates such tender meat and easy recipes!
Easy and oh, so good. Throw some sweet potatoes in the oven for 3 hours at the same temp!
That sounds amazing! One pan meal!
If I double the # of short ribs to 16, how much longer do you think I'd need to bake it? Thanks for the recipe!
Gosh Tram - I'm so sorry for the delay in response and thank you for the comment. I bet you know this information now and would love to know what you did. I think it would only add ~ 20% more cooking time.
I cooked 16 short ribs today in a 9x13 glass pan, placed on a cookie sheet and covered in tinfoil, for 4 hours at 300. They were perfect!!!! First time cooking ribs and they fell right off the bone. Absolutely delicious!!!!
Hi Vic - thanks for the comment and for letting me know what you did! Meat that falls right off the bone is the goal! - Beckie
This recipe is great, and so is this site! The recipes are actually simple, like the name implies. There's something cozy about this site. I've never saved a cooking website in my favorites before, but after looking around here that's exactly what I did. Next time I want to know how to cook something, I'm going to see what Beckie Hemmerling has to say about it!
Wow Nick! You made my day. Your comment is so nice that I feel like we are related and you are an uncle or something with an alias email address. Lol. Thank you!
I baked my most recent batch of short ribs for 1 hour at 375°, uncovered, oven door cracked open, salt and peppered with a splash of rose balsamic vinegar on each rib. They started bone-side up then were flipped halfway through. They were roasted to 195° internal temp and then rested in the shut-off oven until they reached a temp of 205°-210°. The meat came off the bone easily. They were not fork-tender but required a knife and fork (barely) and were easily pulled off with your teeth or fingers (kids). They came out like my mother's favorite Sunday roast "beast." Perfectly edible and enjoyed by all. The kids liked them with steak sauce. The drippings made an excellent pan gravy for the mashed potatoes. After making them this way, I think I prefer them over the slow braised way I usually make them. They were cooked un-sauced and developed a nice crispy crust that was very tasty. The bones were used to make a bone broth. No waste here but I had to use additional beef (from the freezer) since there was none left to add to the beef stew I made with the bone broth. I had hoped there would be some meat left over. Oh, well. Two perfect meals and I will definitely make the short ribs that way again.
You asked how to make them quickly. This is my way!
Thanks!!
(Btw, hope this isn't a duplicate post)
Thank you for leaving a comment and letting me know how you make them in an hour - wow! I will have to try your method sometime. Also, LOVE using the bones for broth - perfect no waste kitchen 🙂
Hello. I made this tonight. I’ve never made short ribs and when I took them out of the oven I thought I had burnt them, but they were delicious!! So easy! I signed up for the emails. I got a thumbs up from my husband. I’m usually overcooking meat for him, so that is a huge compliment! Thank you!!
Oleeta
Thank you Oleeta for leaving a comment, signing up for my email, and letting me know! Happy Holidays 🙂
I usually braise the short ribs. While the hubby likes them I just don’t care for them, just too fatty and upsets my stomach. I had some really great short ribs from the butcher and wanted to try making them a different way. I came across your recipe and thought I’d give it a try. I was so pleasantly surprised as to how simple the recipe is and yet how delicious they were. I definitely drained the pan of all fat, even wiped it with a paper towel. Then slathered them with our favorite home-made BBQ sauce made with Jack Daniels, so good! Even the hubby said they were beater than braised!
Served with garlic mashed spuds and stewed green beans. I downed two and no upset stomach! Thank you, this recipe is a keeper!
Thank you for the comment and background story Aidee! Yay - no upset stomach - that's a huge complement, because I definitely understand how all the fat can do that. Even better that you have a favorite homemade bbq sauce made with the Jack. Your whole dinner = YUM!
Made this for the holidays and turned out delicious! Will be making it again!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and let me now Kate!
Cook in the crock pot only (with all that fat), or cook in the crock pot and finish in the broiler. IMO it could've been a little better explained.
Thank you for the comment Tori. I will look at the explanation for the crockpot section and re-evaluate / update. Best, Beckie
I had smaller short ribs and I would recommend a shorter cook time. 4 hours was too much and they dried out.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Doug and I'm sorry to hear that! I've cooked this recipe in multiple personal chef clients ovens and have not had that happen at 3 ½ - 4 hours... I hope this recipe works out for you in the future with less time or less heat (maybe 250 in your oven?). Best, Beckie
had this weekend, super easy and delicious
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment Aries 🙂 - Beckie
Making these a few days ahead of time. What's the best way to reheat? Should I broil in advance or on the day of?
I would cook them in advance and then broil the day of. Maybe warm them up at 175F covered for an hour and then take off cover and add bbq sauce and broil right before serving. thanks Merrill - Beckie
Simply Amazing!
Oven ... Low & Slow with the extra mile!
Complimented with Turkish style butter cooked rice.
Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Unsal. Yum, cream and yogurt are turkish butter I believe. Sounds like amazing rice. Thank you for the comment! - Beckie
This was the easiest, quickest & most delicious dinner I’ve made without ever cooking short ribs before. I rubbed with garlic powder, Cajun spice, a bit of salt, added ribs to my cast iron skillet, covered with foil & iron lid; 3hrs on 275 degrees and were perfectly done. Added Kinder’s Spicy BBQ & broiled. Refried beans & caesar salad, Delicious!
Thanks for the comment Flave - how you seasoned the short ribs and what you ate with them sound amazing! -Beckie
Delish! I didn't put the BBQ on them, only salt (because I'm eating carnivore). I cooked them for 3 hours and they smelled wonderful and the internal temp was 210 so I took off the foil, put them on a baking sheet under the broiler for 2 minutes, and enjoyed them. They were very tender, I could have probably left them in longer but I was hungry. 🙂
Kristen - Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and telling me what you did. I also love them without the bbq sauce. I am partial to good cuts of meat without a ton of additional flavor (unless in a flavorful stew). - Beckie