Korean Short Ribs

Short ribs. Again.

It’s gotten to be a compelsion, which is a compulsion with a mind of its own.

Compelsions make plans for you, you don’t make plans for compelsions.

You make a list and head to the grocery. Once in the electronic doors, the compelsion takes over..

It’s like I have blinders on. My eyes glaze over. What list?

I walk straight past the produce, the fish, the bakery and head straight to the meat counter.

Next thing I know, I’m in the check out line with a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms and 5 pounds of short ribs.

Groom is dispatched with haste back to the store to get what was on my list in the first place. He doesn’t have compelsions. Unless it’s about a song. And you can’t eat that.

This recipe is from the massive yellow Gourmet Cookbook. It requires little or no talent in the kitchen at all ( a first for something from Gourmet) ,a grill and a bit of prior planning. And for your minimal effort, you get a rich, sticky, caramelized short ribs that need little more than a bit of rice, maybe a salad and those dark choco M&Ms.

And, maybe, a compelsion.

I’m starting a support group.

Korean Short Ribs
Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

4-1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs
3-5 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
Couple of dashes Worcestershire
Couple of dashes fish sauce
4 swirls toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 spoonful garlic confit
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sprinkle the short ribs with the sugar on both sides, cover with plastic and let sit in fridge four hours. (they can sit up to eight hours in fridge with just the sugar on them).

Put everything but scallions in blender and whirl together. Add the scallions and pour over the short ribs and let marinate minimum 2 hours.

Grill 15 minutes total. let sit for five.

Serves 4 generously.

Click here for a printable recipe!

Korean Short Ribs

Short Ribs Braciole

Fine and you?

It’s been a nice holiday break around the Red Brick Ranchero. Wild “goings-on”, as they say.

Standing rib roast, flourless dark chocolate truffle cake and one of the better Christmas Eves ending with my great great great somebody’s eggnog that makes your eyes water to grilled lobster tails and old and new friends gathering on New Year’s Eve. Never a dull moment!

This past weekend, Groom requested short ribs. And being the loving person that I am, I said,
“well, if we must.”

I know, I know. But I love short ribs.

This recipe is from Andrew Carmellini’s new cookbook, Urban Italian. And it’s a good one.

I’d seen Braciole in several cookbooks, usually a flattened piece of beef rolled with cheese, prosciutto and hard boiled eggs, browned and braised in a simple tomato sauce.

This recipe takes the simplicity of the tomato sauce, the salty flavor of pancetta and spicy crushed red pepper to make a memorable meal from short ribs.

No eggs., no rolling up anything. Just easy.

Fine with me!

Short Ribs Braciole
Liberally Adapted from Urban Italian by Andrew Carmellini and Gwen Hyman

¼ pound pancetta, diced
2-3 lbs boneless beef short ribs, trimmed of fat as much as you care to do
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium sweet yellow onion, chopped
1 large spoonful garlic confit, smashed
Crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups whole canned San Marzano tomatoes
½ cup red wine

¼ cup pine nuts, chopped
A couple of swirls of extra virgin olive oil
½ bagel, not toasted and whirled in food processor til bread crumb texture
1 tbsp Turkish oregano
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2-3 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Over medium high heat, cook pancetta in large Dutch oven til the fat renders, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Season short ribs with salt and pepper to taste and add to pan. Brown on all sides and remove from pan. Add onion and cook til softens, about five minutes. Add garlic confit and a couple of good shakes of crushed red pepper flakes.

Add the ribs back to the pan and squeeze the tomatoes into the pan along with their juice. Bring to a low boil, cover and put in the oven to cook for 2-1/2 hours or until you can stick a fork in the ribs and they fall apart. Take out of the oven and add the red wine to bring the sauce together. Let sit over very low heat.

Toast the pine nuts over low heat about five minutes and then add a bit of extra virgin olive oil and then add the bagel crumbs. Add oregano and fresh parsley, stir well, remove from heat and grate in the cheese.
Plate the short ribs, (we served it with a couple of new potatoes), top with pine nut mixture and serve.

Serves 3-4 generously.
(I did this in the slow cooker, setting it on high for 3 hours. Worked beautifully!)

One Year Ago on Feeding Groom

Short Ribs Braciole

Chili Rubbed Short Ribs with Kale

The last weekend of November, cold and damp.

Warm, toasty fire.

Spicy smells in the kitchen for hours.

A good book.

An easy meal with inspiration from Bobby Flay.

Not a turkey in sight.

We’re thankful.

Chile Rubbed Short Ribs with Kale
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook

1 Tbsp medium hot chile powder
1 Tbsp ancho chili powder
1 Tbsp chipotle chili powder
Two good pinches coarse salt
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp smoked sweet paprika
2 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
½ large red onion, coarsely chopped
½ large Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped
3 pounds bone in short ribs
3 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup red wine
4 cups chicken stock
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large spoonful garlic confit
1 bunch kale, chopped


Preheat oven to 325.

Mix together the chile powders, salt, cinnamon, paprika and pepper in bowl. Rub the spice mix into one side of the ribs. Heat a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil in Dutch oven until wavy. When wavy, add the short ribs to the pan and cook until a crust forms on all sides. Remove from pan.

Add the onions, garlic confit, carrots, and celery. Cook until golden and add the wine. Bring to a boil and reduce down til wine is almost gone and then add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the ribs to pan and cover.

Put in oven and cook until meat is tender and falls off the bone. 2-2-½ hours.

Remove short ribs from pan and defat the sauce. Place over medium high heat and add kale. Cook for 15 minutes. Lower heat to medium and add short ribs back to pan, heat for about 10 minutes and serve. Wonderful with smashed potatoes.

Serves 4 generously.

One Year Ago on Feeding Groom

Chili Rubbed Short Ribs with Kale

Frank's Short Ribs with Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots and Roasted Veggies

We have a friend who cooks. And I mean cooks. He can run the gamut from Chocolate Mousse to Chicken Liver Pate. He cooks all the time. And he lives alone. I can’t imagine what the neighbors think at two in the morning when he takes his short ribs out of the oven because they have cooked for four hours and need to sit. That’s what I’m talking about.
Cooking all the time. One night he went to dinner at a mutual friends house and she served short ribs with winter vegetables. That was two years ago. He hasn’t gotten over them yet.
Frank dreamed about them. And one day decided to cook them. We do dinner with him just about every Wednesday night. He always arrives with a large box ready full of things ready to cook. He brought the short ribs and we finished them on the top of the stove and served them with Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots from November 2007’s Bon Appetit and Roasted Veggies. I’m here to tell you this was the meal that dreams are made of. The short ribs absolutely melt in your mouth.
No conversation took place at this meal. Just a lot of moaning. Swaying back and forth. One hand in the air and the other over your heart kind of good. Just another Wednesday night!

Frank’s Short Ribs

This is a two day process. Buy 2-3 pks of short ribs. Should be at least 3 per package. Season liberally with lots of fresh black pepper. Pour yourself a big old glass of red wine to sip on while you cook. Preheat oven to 225.
Heat a dutch oven or cast iron skillet that you can cover with a glass top and put a tbsp of bacon grease. Don’t gag…this is all about depth of flavor. When the grease is barely smoking put short ribs in the pan and brown on all sides about 3-4 minutes per side. Add more bacon grease if the pan needs it. Once browned, remove from pan. Once all are done, pour your glass of red wine in the skillet and deglaze.The wine will bubble up and then start to cook off. Peel five or six cloves garlic, cut in half and throw in the pan. Add three sprigs fresh rosemary, whole, 1 medium onion cut in quarters, a couple stalks of celery and add the short ribs back to the pot. Cover with chicken stock filling pan about 7/8ths up to the top. Put cover on Dutch oven and cook for four hours.
When done pour broth into large glass container that you can put a top on and refrigerate overnight.
Refrigerate the short ribs as well. The fat will rise to the top of the glass container and you can throw it away.
Frank is “fat averse.” He cannot stand it. And he will spend a lot of time getting the fat off of food.
“Dissect”, Frank’s term, the short ribs.”Get every morsel of fat off the ribs and give to your favorite large dog.”
Reheat the short ribs and the broth on top of the stove until hot. Thicken the broth with a bit of cornstarch. Serves 4.

Roasted Veggies

4 carrots, sliced
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced
6 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 large sweet onion, quartered then separated
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Toss all ingredients in bowl and put on cookie sheet.
Roast for 15 -20 minutes or til golden brown. SO SO Good!!

Frank's Short Ribs with Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots and Roasted Veggies