The strongest idea here is not simply cooking short ribs in unusual liquids, but giving the experiment a control. Two seasoned ribs are cooked without braising liquid, establishing that low-and-slow cooking alone can produce tender, juicy meat. The tasters initially score that version 16 points collectively, while stock reaches 23 and several flavored braises climb much higher. That comparison gives the tasting some structure and supports a useful practical conclusion: braising liquid is not necessary for tenderness in this setup, but the right liquid and resulting sauce can substantially change the eating experience.

The preparation is explained clearly enough to make the experiment useful beyond its novelty. The ribs are seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, seared for color and flavor, then cooked at 250°F in wine, milk, Coke Zero, beer, coffee, or stock. The video also shows the post-braise process of chilling the cooking liquid, removing the solidified fat, reducing the liquid, and finishing it with butter as a sauce. That last step is especially important because the tasters are effectively judging a combination of braised meat and reduced sauce rather than the cooking liquid's effect on the meat alone.

The results are pleasantly unpredictable. Wine delivers the rich, restaurant-style profile the group expects and finishes with 26 points after the tasters revise their initial enthusiasm. Beer performs even better at 29, surprising them with a slight sweetness despite expectations of bitterness. Coke Zero also earns 29 and produces a sweeter profile compared with the beer, prompting comparisons to teriyaki and adobo. Stock is good but less distinctive, while coffee's intense bitterness earns only nine points and milk finishes last at six after being judged mild and largely pointless. The willingness to show conspicuous failures makes the experiment more informative than a sequence in which every unconventional technique is declared a discovery.

There are limits to what the ranking establishes. The tasting group is small, subjective, and apparently aware that they are participating in an experiment, while scores are changed after later samples provide a new reference point. More importantly, each liquid is converted into its own reduction, so a winning score cannot cleanly demonstrate that Coke Zero or beer is inherently a superior braising medium. It demonstrates that the complete preparation used here—braise plus sauce—was preferred by these tasters. Variables such as liquid composition, reduction behavior, seasoning balance, and individual rib differences are not isolated.

The chef Q&A adds accessible technique discussion, including collagen breakdown, liquid levels, inexpensive versus premium cuts, and wine selection, but some answers are presented more confidently than the experiment can verify. In particular, the claim that braising liquid penetrates all the way to the center of the meat because of low-and-slow cooking is asserted rather than demonstrated. The discussion of expensive wine is similarly more opinion than controlled evidence. These comments work as culinary guidance from the featured chef, but viewers should not mistake every explanation for a finding established by the test itself.

The weakest section is the Doze sponsorship. It pivots abruptly from short ribs into cholesterol and makes health-related claims about absorption, ingredients, biomarkers, and study results without supplying enough context in the video to assess the research, study design, magnitude of any effect, or clinical significance. Statements that a liquid formula is absorbed more efficiently than capsules or powders and references to percentages of participants reporting biomarker impacts deserve considerably more substantiation than the segment provides. It is also a lengthy interruption just before the tasting, where the experiment has built the most momentum.

As entertainment, however, the tasting works well. The three participants disagree enough to keep the ranking from feeling predetermined, and reactions to beer, Coke Zero, coffee, and milk provide genuine contrast. The final tie between beer and Coke Zero is more interesting than the predictable victory wine or stock might have produced, while the control demonstrates that the elaborate route is not automatically necessary. The video would be stronger with tighter experimental controls and more careful technical claims, but it succeeds at turning a familiar cooking technique into a lively comparison with results viewers could reasonably use as inspiration for their own short ribs.

Pros

• Including a no-liquid control gives the comparison a meaningful baseline rather than assuming braising is automatically superior.
• Wine, stock, beer, Coke Zero, coffee, and milk produce clearly differentiated tasting results, including genuine failures.
• The preparation covers searing, low-and-slow cooking, fat removal, reduction, and butter finishing rather than focusing only on novelty ingredients.
• Beer and Coke Zero emerging as joint winners makes the experiment less predictable, while the tasters explain the flavor differences behind their preferences.
• The chef Q&A provides useful practical discussion of braising technique and appropriate cuts.

Cons

• Because every braising liquid becomes a finished sauce, the test cannot isolate whether preferences come from the braise itself or the reduction served with it.
• The small subjective tasting panel, changing scores, and lack of tighter controls make the final ranking entertaining rather than definitive.
• Some technical claims, particularly about braising liquid penetrating to the meat's center, are asserted without being demonstrated.
• The lengthy cholesterol-supplement sponsorship makes health and absorption claims without enough supporting context for viewers to evaluate them.
• The title's promise of trying “every” way is broader than the six braising liquids and control actually compared.

This is an enjoyable and practically useful short-rib experiment whose biggest success is showing that technique and flavoring choices matter more than culinary convention might suggest: the simple control works surprisingly well, coffee and milk disappoint, and beer and Coke Zero outperform more traditional options for this tasting group. The methodology cannot establish a universal best braising liquid, and some explanatory and sponsored health claims need more caution, but the clear process, contrasting results, and lively tasting make the central cooking comparison worthwhile.