Quick Look at Beef Short Rib Tacos
- Ready In: 4 hrs and 10 minutes
- Serves: 8
- Main Ingredients: Bone-in beef short ribs, Korean BBQ Sauce, tortillas, and toppings.
- Dietary Info: dairy-free and gluten free options.
- Why You’ll Love It: This is a set it and forget it recipe that yields the most juicy and flavorful Korean short rib tacos. Start it in the morning, prep the toppings, and enjoy come dinner time.
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Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Short Ribs: We used bone-in for the best flavor, but beef chuck roast would work as well.
- Korean BBQ Sauce: We used Bachan’s Korean BBQ Sauce and they have a gluten-free variety.
- Spicy Mayo: Make homemade spicy mayo or pick some up from the store.
- Tortillas: Swap with corn tortillas to make gluten-free.
How To Make Short Rib Tacos
Step 1 – Sear short ribs in a cast iron skillet.
Step 2 – Transfer seared short ribs to a slow cooker.
Step 3 – Add Korean BBQ sauce and let cook.
Step 4 – Shred cooked short rib meat for tacos.
Step 5 – Smash avocado onto a tortilla followed by shredded short rib meat and toppings.
What We Learned Testing This Recipe
We first tested this recipe with 1 cup of Korean BBQ sauce and 1 cup of beef broth. The flavor was good, but we wanted to enhance the flavor even more. So we replaced the beef broth with another cup of Korean BBQ sauce and the flavor got that much better!
Beef Short Rib Taco FAQs & Tips
Yes! Short ribs have plenty of marbling which yields fall off the bone taco meat.
Steak cuts are meant to be sliced not shredded, so this could work for tacos, but not in the same way as short rib meat. We use tri tip steak in our grilled steak taco recipe.
For shredded taco meat, use short ribs or beef chuck roast. For sliced steak tacos, use flank steak, sirloin, or ribeye.
Yes. Beef short ribs become tender once cooked, making them easy to shred for tacos.
Store ingredients in separate, airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Ingredients
Crockpot Short Ribs:
- 6 bone-in beef short ribs
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, for seasoning
- 1 tablespoon butter, sub plant-based
- 2 cups Korean BBQ Sauce, more for serving
Other Taco Ingredients:
- 8 street taco tortillas, flour or corn
- ยฝ cup spicy mayo
- 2 avocados, smashed
- ยฝ cup feta cheese, crumbled (cotija works too)
- ยผ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- quick pickled onions
Instructions
- Sear Short Ribs: Season 6 bone-in beef short ribs with kosher salt & ground black pepper. Bring a large cast iron skillet to a medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon butter to melt. Once hot, sear the short ribs on all sides.
- Crockpot: Place the short ribs in the slow cooker with 2 cups Korean BBQ Sauce. Let cook on the LOW setting for 6-7 hours or HIGH setting for 4-5 hours.
- Toppings: Shortly before the short ribs are done cooking, prepare any toppings that you will be serving with the tacos.
- Shred + Serve: Remove the cooked short ribs from the slow cooker and shred the meat with 2 forks, discard bones. Feel free to return the meat back to the slow cooker if you want it more juicy when serving. On each tortilla, smash some avocado, add some shredded beef, and top with quick pickled onions, ยฝ cup spicy mayo, ยฝ cup feta cheese, ยผ cup fresh cilantro, and an extra drizzle of Korean BBQ Sauce, if desired!
Notes
- Korean BBQ Sauce – we used Bachanโs Korean BBQ Sauce (they even have a gluten-free bbq sauce that works great too), but feel free to use your favorite one.
- Dairy-Free: use a plant-based butter or olive oil to sear the short ribs and omit the feta cheese or use a dairy-free alternative.
- Gluten-Free: use a gluten-free bbq sauce and gluten-free tortillas.
Bridget says
These tacos were amazing! Thank you!