With meat prices up in general, Trader Joe’s Balsamic Glazed Short Ribs will feel like a little bit of a splurge. But at $8.99 / lb. for a pre-made sous vide product it’s pretty reasonable. The box I grabbed came in at 2.79 lbs. for a cost of $25.08. I don’t usually like buying meat without being able to see what I’m getting, but it worked out.
Two ribs came in each vacuum packed package, which is great whether you’re dining on your own, as a couple, or with a family of four. It really does only take 20 minutes in the oven (the box also gives you the option to boil-in-the-bag, but nah.) So you’re definitely gonna wanna get your side dishes going first, depending on what you’re having.
My one piece of advice: when you put the ribs in your baking dish along with the sauce you might notice several congealed chunks of fat. I left them in, but I’d suggest taking some out ahead of the bake. I ended up skimming off between a 1/4 and 1/3 cup of fat after baking.
Here it is just out of the oven.
I served it with mashed potatoes and some maple roasted acorn squash. The sauce does end up being on the sweet side as balsamic will do when it cooks down. I could have used an extra splash of vinegar, just to give it a little zing. The texture was fantastically fall apart tender. And, you know how I’m always on sodium watch with these prepared products? Trader Joe’s Balsamic Glazed Short Ribs are totally in the reasonable range, IMO.
You get a decent amount of sauce with these, so I could also see taking the meat off the bone and shredding it over some egg noodles with the sauce. Or, if you’re watching your carbs, some creamy cauliflower would be super tasty, too.
I would have grabbed another box today at TJ’s, but my store hadn’t yet restocked! So keep an eye out. Definitely don’t wait for the holidays to try this one. It’s tasty on a rainy Sunday, too.
Check out some other We Tried’s from Trader Joe’s:
Apple Cider Marinated Pork Loin
Sparkling Honeycrisp Apple Juice