Side Dishes
Short Rib Stuffed Shells
| Level: Intermediate |
Total Time: 4 hours 30 min |
Yield: |
This short rib recipe is amazing, but can be more involved than you might think. I made the mistake of making spicy pickles while I was smoking the ribs at 7:00 at night, the result was me barely being able to stand half way through cooking. But when it was finished it was so delicious it was to die for!
Short Rib Stuffed Shells
Print RecipeServings: 4 people
I honestly can’t take full credit for this recipe. This recipe comes from Guga Foods channel, be sure to go to his channel and show him some appreciation. The ribs covered in a red wine reduction sauce are truly amazing! I will warn you this recipe is way more involved than you might think. But the time and effort was well worth it!
Equipment
- Grill or Smoker
- Large Dutch oven or saucepan
- Crockpot or slow cooker see notes
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. Beef short ribs see notes
- Garlic powder to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For the Sauce
- 1 Medium white onion diced
- 3 - 4 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Carrots diced
- 1 cup Celery diced
- 1 can Diced tomatoes 15 ounces, undrained
- 1/2 cup Dry red wine
- 4 cups Beef stock
- For the Filling
- 1 1/2 cup Whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1/2 cup Low moisture mozzarella cheese shredded
- 6 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- Grill or Smoker instructions: note -- if not using a grill or smoker, drop to step 14 below.
- Preheat the grill to 250° F.
- While the grill is preheating, prepare the beef by covering it in yellow mustard and coating it with your favorite meat rub. Place on grill and cook for 3 to 4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 175°, F.
- After 2 hours place a large heavy sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium low heat (see notes). Add the oil. Cook the onions until soft and translucent, about 10 – 12 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute making sure to not burn the garlic.
- Add the carrots, celery, and tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
- Deglaze the pan using red wine. Cook the vegetables in wine for 2 – 3 minutes until reduced by half. Add half the beef stock and reduce to a low temperature.
- Remove the beef from the grill once it comes to temperature and add it to the red wine sauce. Cover and let cook for 1 hour (see notes). Make sure to keep the beef half covered in sauce by adding the remaining beef stock as needed.
- When the beef is almost done, fill another pan with water and cook the shells according to the package instructions.
- When the beef is done, remove it from the sauce and shred it reserving the sauce for later use.
- In a mixing bowl combine the beef with the ricotta cheese, garlic, paprika, and onion powder. Mix well.
- In a gallon size Ziplock bag using gloves, carefully pipe the hot beef mixture into the shells.
- Strain the vegetables preserving the red wine sauce. Discard the vegetables.
- Pour the red wine sauce over the filled shells. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Serve and allow your friends / family to shower you with praise!
- Slow Cooker instructions:
- To cook the meat off the grill, heat some oil in a pan over high heat. Sear the outside of the meat. You don’t need to cook it through, just sear it to lock in the moisture to prevent it from drying out. Then continue to follow instructions below to continue cooking it with the sauce.
- Place a large heavy sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium low heat (see notes). Add the oil. Cook the onions until soft and translucent, about 10 – 12 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute making sure to not burn the garlic.
- Add the carrots, celery, and tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
- Deglaze the pan using red wine. Cook the vegetables in wine for 2 – 3 minutes until reduced by half. Add half the beef stock and combine.
- Add the ribs and sauce to a large slow cooker. Add enough of the remaining beef stock to half cover the ribs -- you may not need it all.
- Cook and cook over low heat until the internal temperature reaches about 200° F. Add more beef stock if needed to keep the beef half covered in liquid.
- Go back to step 8 above and complete steps 8 - 13 to complete the recipe.
Notes
- The original recipe did not use a slow cooker but I have added instructions if you prefer that. Or if you prefer, you can use an Instant Pot to cook the ribs, there are recipes available online for instructions.
- Beef short ribs are expensive, I get it ( $14 + per pound as of 2023). If you want to go with a cheaper cut for this recipe, you can use chuck roast cut into steak size chunks so they do not fall through the grill grate and are easier to flip.
- I realize that some of you may not want to use a grill, or don't have one. Sadly, there is no replacement for that great smokey goodness. But if you're willing to forego that smokey flavor in the interest of time, you can cook the meat in a slow cooker or Instant Pot with the modified instructions.