Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs

Inspired by a recipe in Slow Cooker Revolution from the editors at America’s Test Kitchen, I’ve made this Korean-style dish several times—and every time, it’s been easy-peasy and tasty. I simplified and Paleoized the recipe by subbing out the soy sauce with coconut aminos, the rice wine vinegar with coconut vinegar, and leaving out the tapioca.

What’s cool about this recipe is that you don’t need to sear off any of the meat or caramelize any aromatics—it’s pretty much a dump-it-in-and-forget-about-it kind of dish. That being said, when I do have the time I will char the short ribs under the broiler before throwing them in the slow cooker.

You may want to make this dish ahead of time and store it in your fridge because the short ribs release a ton of fat into the gravy, which you can easily remove when the chilled fat hardens.

Short on time? Make my Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) version of this recipe!

Here’s what to gather to make enough tasty meat to feed 6 hungry adults:

• 6 pounds bone-in English-style grass-fed short ribs
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 medium pear or Asian pear, peeled, cored, and chopped coarsely
• ½ cup coconut aminos
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 hunk of ginger, about the size of your thumb, cut into two pieces
• 2 teaspoons of Red Boat fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon coconut vinegar, rice vinegar, or white balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup chicken or bone broth
• Small handful of roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Here’s how top make it:

Preheat your broiler with the rack 6 inches from the heating element. Season the ribs liberally with salt and pepper, and lay the ribs, bone-side up on a foil-lined baking sheet. (Whenever I season raw meat, I set aside a small ramekin with salt and ground pepper that I use only for the raw stuff. Cross contamination can lead to some bad crap. Literally.)

Broil the ribs for 5 minutes and then flip them over and broil for another 5 minutes. Stack the ribs in a single layer in the slow cooker. I lay them on their side to cram them all in the pot.

Toss the pear, coconut aminos, garlic, scallions, ginger, fish sauce, and vinegar in a blender …

…and purée until smooth.

Pour the sauce evenly over the ribs…

…and add the broth to the pot.

Cover with the lid, set the slow cooker on low, and let the ribs stew for 9-11 hours.

When it’s time to serve the ribs, remove the meat from the slow cooker and place them on a serving platter.

Let the braising liquid settle for 5 minutes and then ladle off the fat if you wish. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and pour a cup of sauce over the ribs.

Sprinkle on the chopped cilantro and serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Super tender and very tasty. The simmer sauce is subtly sweet and the coconut aminos, while not as bold-tasting as soy sauce, lend a good umami flavor to the dish. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days and freeze for up to 3 months.

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!

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Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs

Prep 30 mins

Cook 9 hours

Total 9 hours, 30 mins

Author Michelle Tam

Yield 6 servings

This slow cooker Korean Short Ribs dish is pretty much a dump-it-in-and-forget-about-it kind of dish. Good things it's also Whole30-friendly and delicious!

Ingredients

• 6 pounds bone-in English-style grass-fed short ribs
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 medium pear or Asian pear, peeled, cored, and chopped coarsely
• ½ cup coconut aminos
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 hunk of ginger, about the size of your thumb, cut into two pieces
• 2 teaspoons of Red Boat fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon coconut vinegar, rice vinegar, or white balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup chicken or bone broth
• Small handful of roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Preheat your broiler with the rack 6 inches from the heating element.
2. Season the ribs liberally with salt and pepper and lay the ribs, bone-side up on a foil-lined baking sheet.
3. Whenever I season raw meat, I set aside a small ramekin with salt and ground pepper that I use only for the raw stuff. Cross contamination can lead to some bad crap. Literally.
4. Broil the ribs for 5 minutes and then flip them over and broil for another 5 minutes.
5. Stack the ribs in a single layer in the slow cooker. I lay them on their side to cram them all in the pot.
6. Toss the pear, coconut aminos, garlic, scallions, ginger, fish sauce, and vinegar in a blender and puree until smooth.
7. Pour the sauce evenly over the ribs and add the broth to the pot.
8. Cover with the lid, set the slow cooker on low, and let the ribs stew for 9-11 hours.
9. When it’s time to serve the ribs, remove the meat from the slow cooker and place them on a serving platter.
10. Let the braising liquid settle for 5 minutes and then ladle off the fat if you wish. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and pour a cup of sauce over the ribs.
11. Sprinkle on the chopped cilantro and serve the remaining sauce on the side.
12. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days and freeze for up to 3 months.

Courses Dinner

Cuisine Korean, Slow Cooker, Crock Pot, Paleo, Primal, Gluten-free