This sous vide short rib melt combines perfectly tender and super flavorful boneless short ribs with buttery toasted sourdough bread, dijon aioli, white wine and thyme caramelized onions and melty gruyere. It really doesn’t get better than this.
Also to be really honest I only have one photo of this melt. It was so good that I took one photo and then it just disappeared. If that’s not a glowing review I don’t know what is. So, excuse the lack of beautifully set up photos and a whole menagerie of progress shots and know that it was just too good to waste time on all that.
Also, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about what kind of short ribs to buy and timing on those. These were just cheap boneless flanken style short ribs from Whole Foods. As long as you buy boneless (NOT) deboned short ribs and slice against the grain post-cook you’re good. As far as time goes, these boneless short ribs are very forgiving and flexible. I cooked these for 4 hours and they were great but if you’d like to go longer you could definitely go to 12+ hours and have a super tender, great result. That’s the beauty of sous vide! An important thing to note here is that boneless short ribs really aren’t short ribs at all, different places cut them from different pieces. Whole Foods and Central Market here cut them from the tri tip, I’m not sure what Costco’s policy is (but they always have them!). So if you’re wondering how you can possibly cook short ribs for this short of time and achieve a tender result it’s because they’re not really short ribs at all!
Sous Vide Short Rib Melt
This sous vide short rib melt combines perfectly tender and super flavorful short ribs with buttery toasted sourdough bread, dijon aioli, white wine and thyme caramelized onions and melty gruyere.
Ingredients
For the short ribs:
- 1 lb boneless beef short ribs
- salt & pepper
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
For the white wine & thyme caramelized onions:
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 1 whole yellow onion sliced thinly
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, removed from stem
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
For the dijon aioli:
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
For the sandwich:
- 6 pieces sourdough bread
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 8 oz gruyere cheese sliced thin or grated
Instructions
For the short ribs:
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Heat water bath to 132 degrees.
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Liberally salt and pepper short ribs and place in bag with fresh thyme.
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Vacuum seal or use the water displacement method to remove air from a ziploc bag.
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Cook at 132 degrees for at least 4 hours (4 hours works great but short ribs are very forgiving and will just get more tender as time goes on, anywhere from about 4-12 hours will be great! I tend to go more like 4-6 because I'm impatient. The short ribs in the photo cooked for 4 hours).
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While the short ribs are cooking, make the caramelized onions (see instructions below!).
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Remove from bag and dry very well. Brush lightly with avocado oil.
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Heat a cast iron pan over high heat until very hot, at least 5 minutes.
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Add the short ribs and sear for about 30 seconds on *one* side. Remove from pan. (You're just trying to get some color on one side here. They are thin so they will overcook very quickly! You want very hot and very fast).
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Slice short ribs against the grain and set aside.
For the white wine & thyme caramelized onions:
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Cut a whole yellow onion into thin slices.
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In a cast iron pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
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Once the butter is melted add the onions, salt and pepper, thyme, white wine and brown sugar. Stir to combine.
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Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is reduced and onions are caramelized, about 30 minutes. Set aside for sandwich assembly!
For the dijon aioli:
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Combine in a bowl and stir until well mixed. Set aside.
To assemble the sandwich:
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Lightly spread dijon aioli on each piece of bread.
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Layer short ribs, onions, and cheese on each sandwich.
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In a cast iron pan over medium low heat, melt butter and add sandwich. Toast, flipping intermittently, until golden brown and cheese is melted (if using a panini press spread butter on outside of bread).
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Slice in half and serve warm or cold!
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