Go Back

Short Rib Stuffed Shells

Print Recipe
Servings: 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. This recipe is one of the most amazing I have made so far the ribs covered in a red wine reduction sauce is to die for! I will warn you this recipe is way more involved than you might think. I made the mistake of making spicy pickles while I was smoking the ribs all at 7:00 at night, the result was me barely being able to stand half way through cooking it and admittedly I don’t actually remember making the sauce. When I do this recipe again I won’t be making the mistake of overworking myself. See my notes for comments about this recipe. Leave a comment below and let me know how this turns out for you!

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs. beef short ribs see notes
  • garlic powder to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup low moisture mozzarella cheese shredded
  • For the Sauce
  • 1 medium white onion diced
  • 3 – 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 1 cup carrot diced
  • 1 cup celery diced
  • 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes 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
  • Equipment needed
  • Grill or Smoker if using
  • Crockpot / slow cooker if using, see notes
  • gallon size Ziplock bag

Instructions

  • Using a grill or smoker, 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 heavy bottom 7 quart sauce pan 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 tempurature.
  • see instructions below if you are using a slow cooker.
  • 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.
  • After about 30 minutes cook the shells according to the package instructions.
  • Remove the beef from the sauce and shred it preserving the sauce for later use.
  • In a mixing bowl combine the ricotta cheese, garlic, paprika, and onion powder.
  • 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 praises!
  • Instructions if using slow cooker
  • After you have prepared the sauce in step 5 above, add the ribs and sauce to a large slow cooker.
  • 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.
  • Return to step 7 above.

Notes

  • The original recipe did not use a slow cooker but at a certain point a Dutch oven is completely unnecessary. If you want to use a slow cooker / crockpot I will leave the instructions below.
  • Beef short ribs are expensive I get it ( $14 + per pound as of 2023). 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.
  • Make sure to check on the sauce every now and than while cooking the beef. I made the mistake of cooking the sauce too hot and lost the red wine sauce and had to make more. If this also happens to you I will provide a link to a fast and simple red wine reduction sauce here.
  • I realize that some of you may not want to use or have no grill. Sadly there is no replacement for a good smoky flavor. In this case you can just skip the time grilling the meat.
    • 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 just to lock in the moisture to prevent it from drying out.