Make Short Ribs with Mole Rojo This Holiday Season

November 12, 2024

The first time he hosted Thanksgiving on his own, Hrna Eatz swapped turkey for braised short ribs, creating a new holiday tradition. Because there really are no rules when it comes to celebrating: make the dishes you love, and the people you serve will feel it. These fall-off-the-bone short ribs melt into a rich mole rojo made from smoky guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles, Mexican chocolate, and a blend of spices. Scoop it all up with homemade tortillas and share some with the people who mean most to you.

Short Rib Mole Rojo

Hrna Eatz

Rated 3.7 stars by 130 users

Author

Hrna Eatz

Ingredients

For the Short Ribs

2 lbs beef short ribs
1 white onion, quartered
1 head of garlic, cut crosswise
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
3 cups beef broth
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/8 cup vegetable oil

For the Mole Rojo

Vegetable oil
13 dried guajillo chiles, stems, veins, and seeds removed
4 dried ancho chiles, stems, veins, and seeds removed
4 dried chiles de árbol (use 2-3 if you like it less spicy), stems removed
2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
1 white onion, quartered
8 garlic cloves, peeled
3 bay leaves
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup sliced almonds (or ⅓ cup whole almonds)
¼ cup sesame seeds
1 cinnamon stick
¼ tsp fennel seeds
8 cloves
8 peppercorns
½ tsp ground cumin
10 galletas María (María Mexican cookies)
2 cups beef broth
½ tablet of Mexican chocolate (Abuelita or Ibarra)
1 tbsp sugar

To Serve

Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Queso fresco, for garnish
Corn tortillas
Rice and beans

Directions

Prepare the Short Ribs

Preheat the oven to 350.
Season the short ribs with salt and pepper on all sides.
In a large Dutch oven, heat 1/8 cup oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the short ribs and sear on all sides, working in batches if necessary. Remove and set aside.
In the same pot, add the onion and cook until translucent.
Return the short ribs to the pot, along with the garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon, and beef broth.
Place in the oven and bake for 2-3 hours, until the meat is tender.

Prepare the Mole Rojo

Once the ribs are in the oven, start preparing the mole rojo. (You can also make it ahead and refrigerate — just add a bit more broth when re-warming.)
Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat, and add ½ tbsp oil. Fry the guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles until fragrant, being careful not to burn them. Once fried, transfer the chiles to a saucepan with the beef broth and bring to a simmer.
In the same nonstick pan, fry the tomatoes, onion, and garlic, adding more oil if needed. Once softened, add them to the saucepan with the chiles and broth.
Next, toast the bay leaves, cinnamon, fennel, cloves, peppercorns, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and sesame seeds, adding a bit more oil if needed. Once toasted, add them to the saucepan.
Fry the María cookies in the same pan until golden, then add them to the saucepan as well.
After about 10-15 minutes of simmering, transfer all the ingredients to the blender, along with the cumin, and blend until smooth. If necessary, blend in batches and strain to remove any large pieces.
In a pan, heat ½ tbsp oil over medium heat and cook the strained mole for a few minutes.
Stir in the chocolate until melted and fully combined. Add the sugar and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat and cover.
When the short ribs are tender, place them in the mole sauce for 10-15 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.
Garnish short ribs with cilantro and queso fresco. Serve with warm handmade corn tortillas and/or rice and beans. Enjoy!

16 comments

MASIENDA | December 22, 2025

Hi Suzanne! 2 lbs of short ribs will feed about 3–4 people as a main, especially if you’re serving rice, beans, and tortillas. The mole makes a generous amount of sauce. You can increase the meat to about 3 lbs without adjusting it, but if you go beyond that, plan to scale the mole up by about 50% so everything stays well coated.

MASIENDA | December 22, 2025

Hi Lizzie! Yes, you can absolutely leave out the Maria cookies and use gluten-free cookies instead, or substitute another ingredient that adds sweetness to the mole, like raisins, sugar, or dates. Let us know how it turns out!

SUZANNE ROSEN | December 22, 2025

how many people will 2 lbs of short rib feed? if i increase the pounds of meat, do i need to double the sauce or does this make plenty of sauce ?

LIZZIE | December 22, 2025

Hi, this looks great and I can’t wait to try it! If I wanted to make it gluten free, could I just leave out the Maria cookies? Or would you recommend swapping them for something else?

MASIENDA | March 21, 2025

Hi Mariah! You can swap the two Roma tomatoes for about a cup of canned diced tomatoes (drained) or two whole canned ones, just chopped up. Let us know how it turns out!

MARIAH | March 21, 2025

What equivalent of canned tomatoes can I use for the two romas?
I don’t often have access to organic Roma tomatoes.

DAVID HILLS | January 10, 2025

Made this recipe for the New Year. It is fantastic and now going into my monthly rotation. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.

FELICIANO | January 7, 2025

Amazing! We had this last night and yes, its quite elaborate the first time around, but tasty and worth it! I am surprised by the 3.6 rating, what do those that give a low criticize?
I like the idea of cooking in the mole, but the short ribs need a bit of browning and cooking them separately as recommended removes some of the fat and gets the ribs started before the mole needs to be ready. I think chicken would be different. I just prepared a batch of the mole alone for chicken later this week.

MASIENDA | November 22, 2024

Hi LB. Thanks so much for your feedback! We love that you’re thinking about ways to elevate the recipe. While we’re not planning to test cooking the short ribs directly in the mole right now, if we get a chance to try it, we’ll definitely add those notes in. If you give it a go before we do, we’d love to hear how it turns out—feel free to share your results!

MASIENDA | November 22, 2024

Hi Joseph! Yes, this recipe uses boneless short ribs.

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