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!
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 Crock Pot.
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.
(Wanna make this comforting dish faster in an Instant Pot? Check out my Instant Pot Korean Short Ribs recipe here!)
Time to make Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs!
Serves 12
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
Method:
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), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 6 pounds bone-in English-style grass-fed short ribs
- Diamond Crystal 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 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
- 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 puree 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.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days and freeze for up to 3 months.
Caroline says
I have tried umpteen short rib recipes, never finding the perfect one. This will be a forever recipe. My hubby love love loved it (and he “hates” ginger!) I was afraid it would be too ginger-y but it was absolutely perfecto. Tender. Savory. Perfect balance of flavors. Smelled heavenly from the moment the crock pot heated up! Thank you.
Alina says
These were awesome following the recipe to T!!! Thank you.
Betsy S. says
Can you do this with boneless short ribs?
Michelle Tam says
Yep!
Sheila Buchanan says
If I was to use the instapot how long would I cook these?
Michelle Tam says
Here’s the Instant Pot version: https://nomnompaleo.com/20170327instant-pot-pressure-cooker-korean-short-ribs
Lauren Womack says
Looks fantastic! Any recommendations for sides? I was thinking mashed cauliflower. But… it’s ALWAYS mashed cauliflower.
Michelle Tam says
Cauliflower rice, Autumn mash, baked sweet potato, roasted broccoli, stir-fried bok choy or spinach…
Devon says
this was SOOOOOOOO good!!! And so easy to do as well!
Lauren Walker says
I made a big batch of these last week and froze them. We defrosted them for dinner last night and everyone gobbled it up, even my 3 kids. This is the only way I will prepare short ribs from now on. For reference, I used a fuji apple instead of a pear because that is what I had on hand.
Dawn says
Can you use beef bone broth instead of chicken?
Michelle Tam says
Yep!
Abby says
I am making these for a friend as part of a meal train. Can they go into theslow cooker without broiling first?
Michelle Tam says
Sure!
Kathleen says
I’ve been using this recipe for the last 7 years. It’s the only short rib recipe I’ll use and the only one my husband asks for – literally – I cook a lot and out of everything I cook; meat, fish, veggies, desserts, this is what he gets most excited about. Ive made this dish countless times for friends and family, and when my kiddos were toddlers they loved it! Made this again last night and my usual bird like eater of a 5 year-old asked for THREE helpings. Whenever we buy a grass fed cow we happily take the greater share of the spare ribs just to make this recipe. I’ve always seared the meat first, but now as a busy working mom of three, I skip the step. The flavor is exactly the same, just missing the char on the meat, but I’ll happily forgo that process to save me an extra 20 min.
Denise Magee says
I have everything except the Asian Pear. Is there another substitute or spice to add to replace? or I’ll just leave out. I am making this tomorrow. Thank you!
Michelle Tam says
You can add some apple or apple sauce!
Vicky says
Delicious!!! Didn’t have a pear so made it with an apple. Good advice from her on skimming the fat; I cooked them all day one day, refrigerated it all, then took out the massive chunks of fat the next day and reheated it still in the crock pot. Fall apart tender and perfect.
Gina says
Hi Michelle,
I accidentally purchased flanken short ribs, would I still be able to use them for this recipe??
Thanks!
Michelle Tam says
You can make Kalbi! https://nomnompaleo.com/kalbi-korean-bbq-short-ribs If you want, you can use the flanken ribs in this recipe. The cooking time can be shortened to 30 minutes under high pressure.
Karen says
I only have 7 hours…should I cook on high for less time or will it be done in 7 hours instead?
Michelle Tam says
I never slow cook on high…you can try it maybe 4 hours?
Alex says
If I’m don’t half the amount of ribs (3 lbs) do I need to shorten the cook time?
Michelle Tam says
No, keep the cooking time the same. Short ribs still need the same amount of time to cook through.
Alex says
Ok, thanks!!
Katie says
Can this be done with pork ribs instead of beef ribs? Is there a better pork spare rib recipe? Thanks!
Michelle Tam says
Pork spare ribs aren’t really meaty enough for this recipe. I have a great Bangin’ Baby Back rib recipe in our second cookbook, Ready or Not!