Slow Cooker Red Wine Short Ribs are fall off the bone tender, juicy and full of flavor. These short ribs make the perfect romantic dinner paired with your favorite mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. The shredded short rib meat also works great in tacos, burrito bowls or in pasta sauces. 

SLOW COOKER RED WINE SHORT RIBS

If you love tender beef, you are going to love today’s Slow Cooker Red Wine Short Ribs.

The meat is literally fall off the bone tender. If you have had my Balsamic Short Ribs Recipe or these Slow Cooker Italian Short Ribs then you will love today’s recipe.

It is so full of flavor and juicy, making it the perfect winter comfort food.

As Valentine’s Day approaches this would be a great meal to make for that special someone, especially if comfort food is their thing.

I paired these Slow Cooker Short Ribs with a simple, creamy mashed potatoes which was a great pairing but there are a lot of options.

You could try these Slow Cooker Gouda Mashed Potatoes if you have two slow cookers along with these Simple Garlic Parmesan Green Beans. 

The nice thing with these Crockpot Red Wine Short Ribs is that the meat is so tender that you can easily shred it.

It works great in tacos, in burrito bowls or as an addition to sauces.

Today’s Slow Cooker Red Wine Short Ribs are in partnership with The Ohio Beef Council in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Beef can be the centerpiece of a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner. Premium roasts, such as Ribeye, Rib and Tenderloin are very popular.

However, more economical roast choices – Round Tip, Top Sirloin and Eye Round – are also delicious options. Along with these delicious cuts of beef I thought that these short ribs would also be a nice, romantic meal.

The best gift you can give those you love is a healthy diet. A 3-oz serving of beef provides 25 grams of protein and 10 essential nutrients, wrapped up in one tasty package.  

Big things often come in small packages. Aside from being a great source of protein, beef provides essential nutrients in a smaller package than some other proteins. For example, you would have to eat 8 ounces of chicken breast to get the same amount of iron as 3 ounces of beef.

Last year I had the opportunity to meet Ohio beef farmers firsthand.

 They are some of the most hard working and dedicated farmers I have met.  Ohio beef farmers take care of their animals all year long, even when the weather outside is frightful.

Watch this short video to see how the Rittenhouses, beef farmers from New Carlisle, work to get their cows to a nearby pasture, where they can watch over them closely, as a winter storm approaches.

There are 17,000 beef farming families in Ohio, and 98 percent are family farms.

Watch this video series from the Ohio Beef Council to see how Ohio beef farmers change their animal care routines as the weather gets colder. Ohio loves their beef!

I am also sharing some great wine and beef pairing tips that you can use when preparing for your romantic dinner. Here are some tips that should help you in the planning:

Which wine variety overall is most “beef flexible”?

Cabernet Sauvignon. Among the most powerful and concentrated red variety, cabernet sauvignon can also be elegant at the same time. For its part, beef has a flavor that’s bold and yet refined at the same time.

In this way, cabernet “mirrors” beef, creating a whole that’s greater than the sum of the parts.

Cabernet sauvignon also possesses a considerable amount of tannin, which gives it the structure and intensity to pair well with beef.

Does the cut of beef matter when choosing wine?

Certain cuts of beef like flank steak and chuck are often very flavorful. Simple but fruity merlots and zinfandels work well, as do most inexpensive reds from Australia—which are super-fruity and usually soft as velvet.

“Middle meat” cuts from the rib and loin—like tenderloin, strip steak and prime rib—are at their best with more sophisticated, complex (expensive) wine.

A simple pot roast doesn’t require a super expensive Bordeaux. In fact, the two can feel wrong together.

For example, you can pair humble, flavorful, no-fuss cuts of beef, like ribs, with humble, flavorful, no-fuss wines—juicy, inexpensive reds from Argentina, Spain or the south of France.

When a fine New York strip or prime rib is being served, a more complex, expensive wine (such as a top-flight Bordeaux or a great American Cabernet) is definitely in order.

 

How do seasonings and spices influence wine choice? 

Seasonings and spices often act as a bridge to wines.

• Sprinkling beef with some cracked black pepper helps the dish marry well with Syrah/Shiraz, which has a black pepper–like flavor.
• Herbs in a beef dish can underscore the hint of herbal flavor in many Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux.
• The seasonings to be careful with are hot chilies, which can make a wine taste hollow. Chiles need a cushion of sweetness to land on, so fiery-hot beef dishes often do best with a white wine that has a bit of residual sugar.
• Wines with a lot of oak flavor often need a bridge to connect them to beef. Toasted nuts, brown butter and sesame oil are all excellent bridges to oaky chardonnay.

Should cooking method, too, influence wine choice?

Yes! One of the best American wine and food marriages is grilled steak and a big, oak-aged Cabernet Sauvignon.

The flame-seared flavors and crusty texture imparted by grilling are echoed by the toasty oak of the wine. Similarly, soft, braised beef dishes taste best with wines that feel soft and seamless on the palate. That’s the principle behind beef stew and red burgundy (Pinot Noir).

How does marbling affect wine?

Since fat is a carrier of flavor, marbling gives beef richness. The more marbling the beef has, the more dense and concentrated the wine should be.

A well-marbled piece of beef should not be served with a light-bodied wine, since the wine will taste frail next to all that beefy flavor. Instead, opt for a wine that’s muscular enough to balance the richness.

Check out these other delicious Valentine’s Day ideas:

Jalapeno Steak, Tastes of Lizzy T’s

Make Ahead Beef Burgundy Pot Pies, Foodtastic Mom

Pan Seared Ribeye with Kahlua Sauce, Lemons for Lulu

Today’s post is sponsored by the Ohio Beef Council. As always opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that allow me to create new and delicious recipes.