Stout Braised Beef Ramen
There is something almost spiritual about a long braise on a cold afternoon, the kind where you commit to a project and the whole apartment starts smelling like a pub that makes its own food. Stout and beef are old friends, and I don't mean that in a marketing-copy way. The bitterness of a Guinness-style stout cuts through the fat of the short ribs in a way that feels almost orchestrated. You end up with a broth that is dark and malty and deeply savory, the kind of thing that Irish grandmothers probably made before anyone was calling it "umami." Ladled over springy ramen noodles with parsnip and carrot gone soft and sweet, it lands somewhere between a pub stew and something you'd eat in a bowl at midnight and feel genuinely glad to be alive. It takes a while. It is worth it.
Dark stout fills the pot—Beef surrenders to the flame—Ramen drinks it all
Let Me Tell You...
Some food is patient, and some food demands patience from you, and short ribs braised in stout are firmly in the second camp.
The ribs go in looking like meat, they come out looking like surrender, which is the exact right word for what good braising does to beef.
Irish stew has always had this thing about it where the whole point is not to rush, not to trim, not to finesse too much, and this recipe honors that tradition with a frankly aggressive commitment to low heat and time.
A proper brown crust on all sides is not optional — it's where half the flavor lives.
The stout goes in after the aromatics have softened, and watching a dark beer pour into a Dutch oven full of seared beef and caramelized onion is genuinely one of the better moments in home cooking.
It hisses.
It smells incredible.
The parsnip and carrot soften into the broth over the next two and a half hours until they're practically volunteering to dissolve, adding this quiet sweetness that keeps the stout's bitterness from going too far.
The bay leaves and thyme do their slow background work the whole time, which is very on-brand for herbs that are impossible to photograph but essential to everything.
Use a wide spoon or refrigerate overnight and lift the solidified fat cap off clean.
The first time I made this, I forgot to skim the fat and the broth was genuinely too rich to finish, which felt like a lesson in hubris.
The short ribs forgave me.
The broth did not.
The second time, I skimmed it properly and it tasted like someone had figured out what beef was actually supposed to taste like.
There is something specific about the roasted barley in a stout that rounds out the collagen-heavy braising liquid in a way that red wine does not, a little bitter edge that keeps the whole thing from being cloying.
Discard the bones and any large pieces of fat.
Ramen noodles are not the obvious call for an Irish braise, and I understand if that raises an eyebrow.
But the springy chew of the noodles against the falling-apart beef is a better contrast than potatoes, which were the original plan and which I still think would be fine, but just fine.
The broth soaks into the noodles in a way that makes every bite carry that dark malty weight, and the thyme and parsnip floating in the bowl add enough herbal sweetness to keep things lively.
This is a bowl that takes three hours to make and about nine minutes to eat, and you will spend at least two of those nine minutes in a quiet, private appreciation of what patience and a can of stout can do.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone-in beef short ribs (about 4-5 pieces), trimmed of excess fat
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 can (14.9 oz) Irish stout (such as Guinness), at room temperature
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 8 ounces dried ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced, for serving
Preparation
- Pat the short ribs dry with paper towels and season generously on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches to avoid crowding, sear the short ribs for 3-4 minutes per side until deeply browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes until softened and lightly caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more until fragrant.
- Push the onion mixture to the sides and add the tomato paste to the center of the pot. Cook the paste, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until it darkens slightly and smells faintly sweet. Stir everything together.
- Pour in the stout, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Let it bubble for 2 minutes, then add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
- Return the short ribs to the pot along with any accumulated juices. The liquid should come about halfway up the ribs. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and braise for 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours, until the beef is completely tender and falling off the bone.
- Add the carrots and parsnips to the pot during the last 45 minutes of braising, nestling them into the broth around the ribs.
- When the ribs are done, remove them to a cutting board. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Use a wide spoon to skim excess fat from the surface of the broth, or refrigerate the pot for easier fat removal and reheat before serving.
- Shred the short rib meat off the bones, discarding the bones and any large pieces of connective fat. Return the shredded beef to the pot and keep warm over low heat.
- Bring a separate large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ramen noodles for 2-3 minutes until just tender, then drain well.
- Divide the noodles between bowls. Ladle the stout broth generously over the noodles, then top with shredded beef, parsnip and carrot pieces. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve immediately.