Instant Pot Short Ribs with Triple-Cream Mashed Potatoes

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Short ribs in an Instant Pot? We were skeptical. But our fears vanished after one bite of these rosemary- and juniper berry–crusted beauties. The internet’s hottest kitchen gadget lived up to the hype, delivering fork-tender results in about half the time. You’ll need to sauté the short ribs in batches, so be sure to hit the sauté button periodically (it has a 30-minute cycle). A bed of extra-creamy potatoes makes the perfect base for the short ribs, but the sleeper hero of this recipe is the simple salad of apple, celery, and toasted hazelnuts, which provides balancing acidity, brightness, and crunch to this exquisitely comforting dish.

Instant Pot Short Ribs with Triple-Cream Mashed Potatoes
Photo: Jen Causey
Active Time:
2 hrs
Chill Time:
12 hrs
Total Time:
15 hrs 50 mins
Yield:
4 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

Short Ribs

  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

  • 4 pounds beef short ribs

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

  • 2 teaspoons orange zest

  • 1 teaspoon toasted and ground juniper berries

  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 yellow onion, finely chopped yellow onion (1 cup)

  • 2 celery ribs, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

  • 1 carrot, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 cup Barolo red wine

  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

  • 1 1/4 cups chicken stock

  • 3 thyme sprigs

  • Fresh thyme leaves, for garnish

Apple Salad

  • 1 Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced (1 cup)

  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery, cut on the diagonal

  • 1/4 cup chopped dried dates

  • 1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

  • 2 tablespoons mild extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Triple-Cream Mashed Potatoes

  • 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 medium potatoes), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

  • 3 medium garlic cloves, peeled

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream

  • 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

  • 1 (7-ounce) Brillat-Savarin cheese wheel, rind removed and cut into pieces, at room temperature (or substitute any triple-cream cheese)

  • 3 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Directions

Make the Short Ribs

  1. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons salt evenly over short ribs. Sprinkle rosemary, orange zest, juniper berries, and pepper on top of short ribs, pressing lightly to adhere. Place short ribs on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Chill, uncovered, 12 to 20 hours.

  2. Remove short ribs from refrigerator. Let stand 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon salt.

  3. Program a 6-quart programmable electric pressure cooker to sauté. Add olive oil, and heat until shimmering. Working in 3 batches, add short ribs to pressure cooker; cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 20 minutes per batch (you will need to restart sauté function every 30 minutes). Transfer short ribs to a plate.

  4. Drain fat, reserving 2 tablespoons in cooker. Add onion, celery, and carrot to pressure cooker; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste coats vegetable mixture, about 1 minute. Add wine and vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid almost evaporates, 8 to 10 minutes. Add stock and thyme sprigs; stir to combine. Return short ribs to cooker. Close and lock lid. Turn pressure release valve to sealing position.

  5. Program pressure cooker to cook on manual on high pressure 45 minutes. Allow pressure cooker to release pressure (steam) “naturally” 10 minutes. Carefully turn pressure release valve to venting position to release remaining pressure from cooker until float valve drops. Carefully remove lid, and transfer ribs to a plate; set aside. Pour braising liquid through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl; discard solids. Let strained liquid stand 5 minutes; skim off and discard fat. Transfer shorts ribs and strained braising liquid to a clean saucepan until ready to serve.

Make the Apple Salad

  1. Toss together apple, sliced celery, dates, hazelnuts, olive oil, and salt in a bowl, gently separating dates with your hands.

Make the Mashed Potatoes

  1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Add garlic cloves and a generous pinch of salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high, and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and let stand at room temperature until potatoes look dry and chalky, about 10 minutes.

  2. While potatoes dry, bring heavy cream and butter to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Press potatoes and garlic cloves through a ricer, and return to saucepan. Fold cream mixture into potatoes.

  3. Place saucepan over medium-low heat. Add cheeses in batches, stirring after each addition until cheese is fully melted and incorporated. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Serve the Short Ribs

  1. Divide mashed potatoes evenly among 4 bowls; top each with 3 short ribs and about 3 tablespoons braising liquid (reserve remaining liquid for another use). Serve with apple salad.

Brillat-Savarin is a triple-cream cheese similar in texture to brie. If you can't find it at your local gourmet cheese shop, you can substitute Explorateur, Saint André, or even mascarpone.

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