Nom Nom Paleo's Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs Recipe

Every week, we’re spotlighting a different food blogger who’s shaking up the blogosphere with tempting recipes and knockout photography. Today, Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo reveals her recipe for unctuous, Korean-style short ribs.

Photo: Nom Nom Paleo

Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs Recipe
Serves 4 to 6

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.

6 lb. bone-in, English-style grass-fed short ribs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 medium pear or Asian pear, peeled, cored, and chopped coarsely
1/2 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 tsp. of Red Boat fish sauce
1 Tbsp. coconut vinegar
1 cup organic chicken broth
Small handful of roughly chopped fresh cilantro

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 chicken 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.

More from Nom Nom Paleo:
Nom Nom Paleo’s Orange Sriracha Chicken Recipe
Nom Nom Paleo’s Asian Cauliflower Fried ‘Rice’ Recipe
8 Things to Know About Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo

How often do you use your slow cooker? Tell us below!