Slow Cooker Asian Short Rib Tacos with Pineapple
I’ve mentioned it before, but seriously, I eat homemade tacos for dinner every single (or darn near every single) Saturday night. Allow me to explain my longest-running food tradition to you. #warning #itslong
The tradition began before I was even born. My parents played tennis with friends on Saturdays, and tacos were an easy and cheap way to feed a crowd at the end of the day. The tennis playing waned over the years, but the tacos remained.
At some point, it dawned on me that I would have to find a husband willing to go along with this delicious insanity. Luckily, Jeff didn’t bat an eye when I broke the news that every Saturday dinner for the rest of his life had been pre-determined.
Fox Family Tacos are prepared according to an un-changing set of guidelines: Browned ground beef with a little chopped white onion and taco seasoning. La Victoria Salsa Brava hot sauce. Extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (also a necessity for my taco macaroni).
Chopped tomato and shredded iceberg lettuce, tossed together in the same bowl with plenty of salt and pepper. Flour and soft-shell corn tortillas, pan-fried in oil. Coca-Cola Classic on the rocks.
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Tacos are a perfect way for families to spend time together in the kitchen. My Mom got me involved as soon as I was old enough to wield a box grater.
She would start the beef, and we would both take turns stirring while it cooked. I shredded the block of cheese while she chopped lettuce and tomato. I set the table, poured the Cokes, and woke Dad up from his nap while she fried the tortillas.
Now that Jeff and I have continued the tradition in our own home, I’ve taken over most of my Mom’s old duties, and passed most of my previous duties (including the monotonous cheese-grating task) on to Jeff.
Did I ever eat an Asian taco growing up? Absolutely not. Or a mushroom taco or lamb tacos, for that matter. But since taco night is moving from Saturday evening to Sunday Supper this week, I figured I’d give the tacos a new spin, just this once.
Inspired by some great Korean short rib tacos I’ve eaten from food trucks, these tacos utilize short ribs simmered in a slow cooker with a variety of Asian flavorings, like the gochujang I’m still trying to use up. I topped them with a crunchy carrot and cilantro slaw and juicy, sweet pineapple.
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Asian Short Rib Tacos with Pineapple and Crunchy Slaw
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 3 pounds bone-in short ribs
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can beef broth 14.5 ounces
- ½ cup gochujang Korean chili paste
- ¼ cup rice vinegar divided
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 ½ cups shredded carrots
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
- 12 small flour tortillas warmed
- 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add short ribs and cook 8 minutes or until very brown, turning every 2 minutes to brown all sides.
- Meanwhile, in slow cooker bowl, whisk together garlic, broth, gochujang, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, ketchup, honey and ginger. Add short ribs, turning to coat. Cover and cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours.
- In medium bowl, toss carrots, cilantro and remaining 2 tablespoons rice vinegar until combined.
- When short ribs are finished cooking, remove from slow cooker. Remove bones and any visible un-rendered fat. Coarsely shred meat. **The meat should be very moist and can be eaten as is. However, if desired, separate the drippings from the fat remaining in the slow cooker bowl. I use a gravy separator for this. Alternatively, you can pour all liquid remaining in the slow cooker bowl into a large measuring cup and refrigerate 20 minutes. The fat should come to the top, and you can easily skim it off and discard. Use a few tablespoons of the meat drippings to stir into the meat.
- Build tacos using tortillas, pineapple, meat and carrot slaw. Serve garnished with sesame seeds.
Talk to me about cooking a few days ahead and freezing until ready to eat. Have you ever made earlier, froze then thawed? Was the texture and consistency the same?
Hi Jennifer! When you say a “few days,” if you just mean 2 or 3, I don’t think you need to freeze the meat at all. Just refrigerate it and reheat when needed! Frozen short ribs may get a little softer in texture once thawed, but since you’re serving it in tacos, it should be just fine. Let me know if you have any questions 🙂
So glad you loved them, Betsy!
I made these and LOVED them! I STILL do not have a slow cooker, but roasting the meat in the oven worked beautifully.
The slaw was delish and the pineapples were the PERFECT addition.
Thanks for a yummy recipe!!!
You could more than likely speed up cooking time, by doing the short ribs in a pressure cooker, and still get all that same yummy flavor in a fraction of the time.
You sure could, Jeff! I don’t have a pressure cooker, but I wish I did! Someday!
Made these last night. Wonderful flavor! I don’t think I’ll use short ribs next time though. The meat taste and texture was so similar to other meals that I make with a nice chuck roast that I would probably use that in the future. A little cheaper too. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
You know what, Bianca? I agree! I was shocked at how expensive short ribs were when I bought them. I think they used to be a cheaper cut of meat, but now they’ve just exploded in popularity, which has made them more expensive. I think these tacos would be great with a chuck roast. But so glad you like the recipe, and thanks for stopping by!
Tacos are such a fun way to get kids involved in prep and in making up their food! We do tacos a lot (But not as much as you guys!), so we will have to give this a shot soon!
Thanks, Sarah!
I could easily eat your standard tacos every Saturday night. Switch up turkey for ground turkey and we already do. lol I need to switch up our routine and try these and a few others I see listed on your site. They all look amazing!
Oh, turkey sounds great for tacos! I’ve never tried it, but I bet it’s delish.
Your photography is great, Lori! Your creative take on tacos is pretty fantastic, too =)
P.s. Nice to know a lady from another die-hard tennis family. My mother was a Wimbledon semi-finalist a couple of times =)
Wow, Kim – your mom is awesome! That’s so cool!
I love this story! I wish we had more taco dinners growing up…I think we had those El Paso dinners, like, twice!
Haha, time to make up for lost time, Amy! I KNOW you have homemade gochujang to make this version 😉