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These Air Fryer Short Ribs are marinated in a delicious Korean-style sauce and cooked in less than 25 minutes in the air fryer. They are a short cut for making deliciously flavorful short ribs in less time.
» You might also like Air Fryer Korean Fried Chicken.
If you love short ribs – and who doesn’t – you need to try these simple air fryer short ribs. You might not think that a tougher cut of meat like short ribs can cook well in the air fryer, but I’m telling you they do! Just like our air fryer ribs, they actually turn out quite tender and delicious.
The marinade helps break down the tough meat in advance so when they are cooked in the air fryer they need less time to tenderize than normal. You can cut the long cooking time in the slow cooker down to just 25 minutes in the air fryer.
Brush on some of the extra marinade as they are cooking and you’ll fill the whole house with a heavenly aroma that will bring everyone running to the dinner table.
What Are Beef Short Ribs?
Beef short ribs are a cut of the rib that come from the short plate, or the lower portion of the rib cage. They can be any size, although they are usually cut 2-4″ inches in length.
Short ribs tend to be well marbled with fat and connective tissues, making them a relatively tough but very flavorful piece of meat. Because of this marbling, they are usually cooked low and slow, either braised, slow cooked in a pot or grilled on a barbecue.
Slow cooking helps to break down the tougher connective tissues, resulting in a tender, succulent and flavorful piece of beef. Short ribs can be served as the main course, or used to flavor soups and stews, and are a popular cut of meat all over the world.
Why Use the Air Fryer?
It’s not typical to cook beef short ribs in the air fryer. You just read above that this cut of meat does best being cooked low and slow to break up the connective tissue. The air fryer isn’t exactly a low and slow cooking method. But it does get the meat pretty tender and succulent in a very short time.
The reason we use the air fryer once in a while to cook beef short ribs is because it’s faster and still produces a really awesome piece of meat. It’s not going to be the fall apart, extremely tender meat you get when cooking in the slow cooker, but it will be extremely flavorful and easy to cut with a knife.
Ingredients You Need
- Beef short ribs – You’re looking for short ribs that are about 3″ square with a bone on one side and large piece of meat on the other. These aren’t the thin Korean-style ribs.
- Soy sauce – Use light or dark soy sauce, or tamari, or Bragg’s liquid aminos.
- Brown sugar – Use light or dark brown sugar.
- Olive oil – Doesn’t have to be extra virgin olive oil. You can also use avocado or coconut oil, if preferred.
- Garlic – Be sure to use fresh garlic that hasn’t been hanging around the fridge for too long.
- Seasonings – salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes (optional)
How to Make Air Fryer Short Ribs
Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large zip top bag or glass bowl.
Place the short ribs into the bag and shake to coat with the sauce. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Transfer the short ribs to the air fryer basket, removing any bits of garlic that are stuck to them.
Cook on 350°F for about 25 minutes, flipping and basting with the leftover marinade 2-3 times during cooking. You’ll want to watch them closely though, because the marinade contains sugar and can burn easily.
My air fryer cooks pretty hot, so I tend to go with 340° to 350° F. You might need to turn yours up to 360° F to cook in the same time. Check the meat frequently and adjust the temperature as needed.
Check internal temperature with a digital thermometer near the end of cooking time. It should read 175°F when done. Remove from the air fryer and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips & Notes
- Be sure to check the internal temperature of the meat to make sure it’s done before removing it from the air fryer.
- The meat can sometimes brown or burn too quickly in the air fryer, depending on how hot your air fryer cooks, especially if you baste it with the marinade. To avoid burning, rotate the ribs a few times during cooking and keep a close eye on it. If it starts to burn, turn the heat down and continue cooking.
- You can also cover the ribs with tin foil if they are getting too dark, just make sure the tin foil is secured so it doesn’t fly up into the heating element.
How Many Short Ribs to Cook Per Person
This is always the hard part – determining how much to make. I always err on the side of more food than less, because you don’t want to come up shorthanded if someone you’re serving is especially hungry. You can’t go wrong with serving 2 short ribs per person.
Each short rib that is about 3″ long and fairly meaty will weigh about 1 pound. This includes the weight of the bone. As the ribs will cook down significantly, you are really only serving about 1/2 a pound of actual meat per person with 2 ribs each.
What is the Best Way to Reheat Ribs?
We might be biased because we love our air fryer so much, but having reheated ribs in many different ways, I honestly believe the best way is in the air fryer.
There’s no need to waste energy by turning on the oven, and you don’t have to wait for the unit to preheat. Just pop the ribs in the air fryer, set the temperature, and wait. It’s true that you should flip the wings at the halfway mark, but that will only take a few seconds.
Since the air fryer preserves the crispy texture of the ribs, so it’ll taste almost as fresh as when they were first made.
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Air Fryer Short Ribs (Korean Style)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (59 ml) soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) red pepper flakes
- 2.5 pounds (1 kg) beef short ribs
Instructions
- Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large zip top bag or glass bowl.
- Place the short ribs into the bag and shake to coat with the sauce. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Transfer the short ribs to the air fryer basket, removing any bits of garlic that are stuck to them.
- Cook on 350°F for about 25 minutes, flipping and basting with the leftover marinade 2-3 times during cooking.
- Check internal temperature with a digital thermometer near the end of cooking time. It should read 175°F when done. Remove from the air fryer and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Be sure to check the internal temperature of the meat to make sure it’s done before removing.
- The meat can sometimes brown or burn quickly, especially if you baste it with the marinade. To avoid burning, rotate the ribs a few times during cooking and keep a close eye on it. If it starts to burn, turn the heat down and continue cooking.
All air fryers have different wattage and may cook at different rates. You may need to adjust the time or temp for the best results.
Nutrition
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Laura is a passionate foodie and owner of Air Fry Anytime She is dedicated to sharing delicious recipes and helpful tips for using air fryers at home. With years of experience in the kitchen and a love for healthy, flavorful cooking, Laura has become an expert at using air fryers to create amazing meals that are both nutritious and delicious.
This recipe looks amazing but I don’t have an air fryer. Would this convert for oven or crockpot, which would be better and what would the temp/timing be? Would love to give it a try!
Hi Susan, you can cook them either way. We also like to use the Instant Pot to cook short ribs. Check out our sister site A Food Lovers Kitchen for a couple different ways to cook short ribs.