Short rib celebration

[ChrisTaylor]

I bought a nice lump of short rib this morning. One solid piece. About one and a half kilos. Heavily marbled. Grass fed. A really nice piece of beef that demands a bit more than a careless drowning with red wine. I'm open to suggestions. I'd like to cook it whole. I don't want to portion it into a dozen pieces. I'm leaning away from a braise and more towards some kind of slow roast or maybe a session in the smoker (with a very light touch on the smoke), although I could have my arm twisted to a moister cooking method if it was something special. Suggestions?

[lesliec]

This is your opportunity to enter the magical world of sous vide. Go Anova!

[ChrisTaylor]

I am already in the world of sous vide, altho' this monster won't quite fit in my ghetto setup.

[gfweb]

I cook short rib by SV and by braising. While SV gives beautiful texture, the traditional braise in red wine and seasonings I think is overall better since I get braised vegetables (carrot, onion, mushroom) and a nice sauce too.

I put a touch of cinnamon in the braise which gives a beautiful subtle note. I wonder if orange zest would work as well.

[tim]

I'd make kalbi.

[jayt90]

Tajine.

Edited January 22, 2014 by jayt90 (log)

[Dave the Cook]

Slow-roasting is an appealing option -- all the more since probably 98% of the world's short ribs are braised (or these days, s-v'd). For the 2005 Pig Pickin', we rubbed them with salt, ancho, garlic, onion, cumin and a little brown sugar, then cooked them at the edge of the fire that was being readied for the pig.

Photo of rubbed ribs here.

Almost done here (not their best angle, but w/e).

. . . and a diner's unsolicited review here.

[djyee100]

Short ribs are a chewy cut of meat, and grass-fed beef will probably be tougher than the norm. So take that into account. I liked the suggestion upthread for Korean BBQ, or kalbi/galbi, although that would mean cutting the meat flanken-style and you want the piece whole. I've never tried to BBQ the whole short ribs myself. I go for the classic braise.

Your question made me curious, also hungry for BBQ, so I went to one of my fave BBQ joints for lunch and asked the owner if he would BBQ short ribs. He said Yes, the trick is to cook it low and slow. Use the lid if you have a kettle barbecue to keep the fire down. Keep turning the meat regularly. He said you can marinate the ribs overnight in red wine (one with soft tannins), plus a little salt and pepper, and that would taste good. He's a purist, though, nothing wrong with starting with a great piece of meat, S&P, and simple careful cooking on the BBQ.

If you have a chance, let us know what you do.

[dcarch]

What is 1.5 kilos? 3.3 lbs?

That doesn't sound too big to me.

Do the best you can and find a way to do a 72 hour SV. It will be beautiful.

dcarch