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Beef Short Ribs with Mushroom Risotto are tender slow cooker braised beef short ribs served over creamy mushroom risotto. This is a flavorful, comforting dish that the whole family will love!

There’s comfort food, and then there’s comfort food. I can tell you right now that these Beef Short Ribs with Mushroom Risotto is my idea of the ultimate comfort food.

Beef short ribs are a luxury for me…they’re something I truly love. I don’t make them very often, so when I do, they’re always special. And when I go out to eat, if they’re on the menu, I’m more than likely going to order them.

This dish was inspired by a short rib risotto that I ordered at a restaurant long ago, and I’m so happy that I was able to re-create one of my favorite dishes.

I love risotto as much as I love short ribs, so combining the two is heaven on a plate for me. You know how many times I’ve made risotto? Three times! The first time was so awful that I gave up. Then I was tasked to make it in cooking school, so I gave myself a necessary pep talk and got on it. It came out perfectly, and I realized there was nothing difficult about it.

The risotto you see before you is my third attempt, and I wasn’t nervous this time because now I know how easy it is to make risotto. 🙂

Beef Short Ribs with Mushroom Risotto

This beef short rib risotto recipe is special to me because it includes two of my favorite foods and it contains California grown beef and produce. I’ve lived in California all of my life, and I do everything I can to support my home state and eat locally grown California meat and produce. I jumped at the chance to drive awareness to Cultivate California where you can see the importance of California agriculture, as well as examples of water-saving initiatives that are being put into practice due to one of the worst droughts in California history.

California farmers and ranchers play a critical role in growing delicious, healthy, and affordable foods locally and across the U.S. In fact, over half of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables for the U.S. are grown in California.

Because of the serious drought California is in at the moment, farmers and ranchers are consistently looking at innovative ways to use water responsibly to keep up with the demand for fresh food. It’s a difficult job, but they’re committed to using water efficiently and responsibly.

For my dish, I chose California grass-fed beef short ribs, mushrooms, pearl onions, and garlic.

Grass-fed beef is a must for me, because grass is what cows were meant to eat. It’s more costly, but I simply eat less. I used my favorite cremini mushrooms because they have an even meatier flavor than regular button mushrooms. And as for the garlic, I always add garlic to my dishes. Always!

I chose pearl onions because as they cook in the slow cooker with the ribs, they become so tender and caramelized, and add so much to this dish! I know peeling a whole bag of these little onions isn’t ideal, but if it wasn’t entirely worth it, I wouldn’t do it. Plus, you can blanch them in a pot of boiling water for a few seconds and the peel slips right off. If you’d rather not mess with them, you can slice one or two yellow onions and place them on the bottom of your slow cooker.

How to make slow cooker beef short ribs

The short ribs are browned on the stove top prior to slow cooking, and this step shouldn’t be skipped. The ribs get nice and caramelized, and that’s where a lot of the flavor comes in.

After browning, deglaze the pan with some dry sherry and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and pour them right into your slow cooker. This step adds another great layer of flavor!

If you don’t have dry sherry on hand, you could use bourbon, vermouth, or simply skip the alcohol altogether and use the beef stock.

The ribs will take several hours to cook, and the risotto only takes about 30 minutes. When your ribs are tender, it’s risotto go time — you definitely don’t want to make this ahead. All of your ingredients can be prepped and ready to go so it will come together very quickly!

I used a combination of white wine and chicken stock in the risotto, which may sound strange since it’s paired with beef short ribs. The flavors all work together (I promise!), but you can use whatever type of liquid(s) you prefer.

Again, if you’d rather not cook with wine, omit it and add water or more chicken stock in its place.

Beef Short Ribs with Mushroom Risotto are tender, falling off the bone short ribs over creamy risotto with caramelized onions and meaty mushrooms. This, my friends, is what the ultimate comfort food looks like, and I can’t wait to make it again.

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Pressure cooker beef short ribs

Try these delicious risotto recipes:

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Continue to Content Yield: 4-6 servings Beef Short Ribs with Mushroom Risotto Print Beef Short Ribs with Mushroom Risotto are beef short ribs braised in the slow cooker until falling off the bone tender, and served over creamy mushroom risotto. This is a flavorful, comforting dish that the whole family will love! Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 8 hours Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes Ingredients For the short ribs: 3-3 1/2 lbs. beef short ribs

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup dry sherry*

4 cups beef stock

10 ounces pearl onions, peeled*

3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

1 bay leaf For the risotto: 4 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 cup water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, peeled and chopped

16 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup grated parmesan

salt and pepper, to taste

freshly chopped parsley for garnish, optional Instructions Prepare the short ribs: Season the short ribs generously with salt and pepper, and allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour if possible. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add enough short ribs to fill the pan and brown each side about 2 minutes or until golden and caramelized (if the meat doesn't release easily from the pan easily, it's not ready to be turned). Repeat until all of the short ribs have been browned, and place in the slow cooker and set aside. Degrease the skillet and add the dry sherry, scraping up the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook over medium heat until reduced by half, about 2-3 minutes, and add to the slow cooker. Add the beef stock, peeled onions, garlic, and bay leaf to the slow cooker, and turn on low for 7-8 hours or low for 4-5 hours, until the meat is very tender. Prepare the risotto: Place the chicken stock and water in a medium sauce pan and heat over medium heat until simmering. Heat the olive oil in a separate medium saucepan or saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushrooms, and cook until the mushrooms have softened and the liquid has evaporated, about 3-4 minutes. Add the arborio rice and toast in the pan, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add the white wine to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook the wine until it has reduced by half , about 2 minutes, then add 1 cup of the warm stock mixture. Stir the risotto occasionally, and repeat adding another cup of the stock mixture when the liquid has almost been absorbed. When all of the stock has been added and the risotto is tender, remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Strain the short ribs and pearl onions from the slow cooker and serve over the risotto. Garnish with chopped parsley, if using, and enjoy! Notes *The easiest way to peel pearl onions is by blanching them in a pot of boiling water for 30-45 seconds. Drain under cold running water, and carefully peel off the skins. There's some work involved here, but the tiny, caramelized pearl onions are completely worth the effort! You can always substitute the pearl onions with a sliced yellow onion -- simply place the slices on the bottom of the slow cooker.

*The dry sherry adds another layer of flavor that I love. If you don't have any on hand, simply deglaze the pan with some of the beef stock and add it to the slow cooker.

The risotto should not be made until the short ribs are tender, but if you're ingredients are all prepped ahead, it will come together in a breeze! Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0 Saturated Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 0mg Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 0g Protein: 0g

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