Grilling Beef Short Ribs

[Redfraggle]

I have 3.5 lbs of farm fresh beef short ribs. I made a special trip to the local Farmer's Market this morning just to get them. We plan to cook them on the bbq. We don't have a temp controlled smoker, or gas grill. We use hardwood charcoal (actual pieces, not little formed briquettes). We have some mesquite wood chips, but I might skip that as the taste seems nasty to me while pregnant. I have orange chipotle sauce for them that I bought at the same time.


My family historically parboiled many meats prior to bbq'ing them. As far as I can tell, that would be tantamount to sacrilege in the bbq world for these ribs, so I won't do that.

There's always this disagreement to sauce/marinate before or not, to just brush on as you go. I tend to do both with certain sauces (this one having a good deal of citrus and spice would probably marinate well).


So, let's have it -- tips and tricks as I have not cooked these before (I didn't eat beef in my adult life until a few years ago and am still discovering the tasty world of cow eating). Hindus avert your eyes!

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Short ribs were made for braising. Make a good stock or, just invest in a good bottle of wine and chop some mirepoix to rest the ribs on. 3 or 4 hours and you're good to go.

Da Chef has spoken.
So, let it be written. So, let it be done.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Short ribs were made for braising. Make a good stock or, just invest in a good bottle of wine and chop some mirepoix to rest the ribs on. 3 or 4 hours and you're good to go.

Da Chef has spoken.
So, let it be written. So, let it be done.

Pretty much. Beef short ribs are pretty tough so braising them is the perfect application. You "can" grill short ribs but you'll need really low indirect temperature and a marinated.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Short ribs were made for braising. Make a good stock or, just invest in a good bottle of wine and chop some mirepoix to rest the ribs on. 3 or 4 hours and you're good to go.

Da Chef has spoken.
So, let it be written. So, let it be done.

QFT

 

[Fern]

Three steps:

(preheat grill and oven)

1. Sear the meat (w/o sauce) quickly over the grill. The point is not to cook, but brown the 2 sides of the ribs. Then remove from grill.

2. I then wrap in foil after having applied BBQ or whatever sauce. Wrap 'em good so the juices will not leak out during cooking. Put in the oven at low heat (about 225-250) and cook for several hours. This low/slow cooking will disolved the conective tissue and leave the ribs tender.

3. Remove from oven and put on grill at med-high. You wanna add more sauce and the heat from the grill will glaze it and give you that BBQ's flavor. Since they're already cooked this just takes a few minutes each side to glaze the sauce.

Sometimes I skip #1. You might wanna skip it also or you'll have to get your grill going twice for very little cooking time. Don't skip #3 though as it really adds the flavor. Step #1 is mostly to 'seal' the meat to keep the juices in, not really necessary here IMO.

Fern

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Short ribs were made for braising. Make a good stock or, just invest in a good bottle of wine and chop some mirepoix to rest the ribs on. 3 or 4 hours and you're good to go.

Da Chef has spoken.
So, let it be written. So, let it be done.

Yep, came in to say this, except for the last part.

KT

 

[idiotekniQues]

this is what i do with the boneless short ribs i get at costco. a friend adapted it slightly from a batali recipe. he made it while we were camping in a dutch oven over the campfire and it was perfect.

i throw in some quartered yukon gold potatoes in there also, and extra garlic and a few bay leaves.

"BRAISED SHORT RIBS

3lbs Boneless Short Ribs (bone in works, but not as good)

Cook in batches, dont crowd the pan, the key is to sear the outside until goldeen brown. Put about 1/8-1/4" of olive oil and heat high first. It should smoke the whole room up, my stove fan never worked good enough. Each batch takes 6-10 minutes turning every 2-3 minutes. After its browned keep it in a bowl to keep it warm and catch the juices


While thats cooking cut your miripoix (or have it ready). I say keep it big and rustic, dont cut too fine.

1-2 Big Onions (spanish or vidalia)
2-4 carrots
2-3 cerery stalks
4-8 garlic cloves (just cut in half)
Season with salt and pepper

Put into the pan after the meat comes out and cook until clear and starting to brown

Next add...

1 28oz can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes (I prefer Cento Brand)
1/2 bottle of Red Wine (I prefer something dry, an inexpensive italian red)
Meat and juices

Bring to a simmer and cover for a few hours. Stir once every hour."

 

[spidey07]

You forgot a bay leaf or two.

 

[eldorado99]

No one has asked for pics yet? :Q

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Don't even grill at the end. Ignore the word "ribs" and don't equate them with spare ribs, pork ribs or babyback ribs. They're a braised dish, nothing more and nothing less. I usually do mine with red wine, beef stock, onions, carrots and celery. Just a nice slow braise and right to the plate with no side trips to the grill.

 

[ponyo]

You have to marinate the ribs in a sauce overnight or least couple hours before you can grill it. I can ask my wife for her galbi marinate recipe if you like. It's really tasty.

You can also braise it. Or cook it as soup or stew. My wife cooks using all three methods and it's all delicious.

 

[Redfraggle]

Originally posted by: Naustica
You have to marinate the ribs in a sauce overnight or least couple hours before you can grill it. I can ask my wife for her galbi marinate recipe if you like. It's really tasty.

You can also braise it. Or cook it as soup or stew. My wife cooks using all three methods and it's all delicious.

I never say no to new recipes. I think I have a sauce I'll use this time, but I'd love to learn what others use and like.

 

[Redfraggle]

BTW, thanks everyone for the advice, it's very helpful. I'll let you how they turn out.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: idiotekniQues
this is what i do with the boneless short ribs i get at costco. a friend adapted it slightly from a batali recipe. he made it while we were camping in a dutch oven over the campfire and it was perfect.

i throw in some quartered yukon gold potatoes in there also, and extra garlic and a few bay leaves.

"BRAISED SHORT RIBS

3lbs Boneless Short Ribs (bone in works, but not as good)

Cook in batches, dont crowd the pan, the key is to sear the outside until goldeen brown. Put about 1/8-1/4" of olive oil and heat high first. It should smoke the whole room up, my stove fan never worked good enough. Each batch takes 6-10 minutes turning every 2-3 minutes. After its browned keep it in a bowl to keep it warm and catch the juices


While thats cooking cut your miripoix (or have it ready). I say keep it big and rustic, dont cut too fine.

1-2 Big Onions (spanish or vidalia)
2-4 carrots
2-3 cerery stalks
4-8 garlic cloves (just cut in half)
Season with salt and pepper

Put into the pan after the meat comes out and cook until clear and starting to brown

Next add...

1 28oz can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes (I prefer Cento Brand)
1/2 bottle of Red Wine (I prefer something dry, an inexpensive italian red)
Meat and juices

Bring to a simmer and cover for a few hours. Stir once every hour."

I do something very similar to this with short ribs. Very good recipe.

In general, braising or stewing very tough cuts (like short ribs) in tomato-based sauces works very well. The meat gets very tender and flavorful, and so does the braising liquid/stew. The key is to not discard anything when braising short ribs. If you pull them out, do something with the liquid -- reduce for a sauce or incorporate as a base for something else.

 

[Redfraggle]

I ended up marinating them overnight in an orange chipotle sauce, then wrapping them in foil and slow cooking in the oven for several hours, they were delicious and tender. Thanks for the advice all -- slow cooking was really the way to go.

 

[Iron Woode]

I used my crock pot to do beef short ribs.

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/I...de/beef_short_ribs.jpg

10 hours cooking in a honey/garlic sauce rewarded me with awesome ribs. Meat fell right off the bone. So good with mashed potatoes.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Redfraggle
I ended up marinating them overnight in an orange chipotle sauce, then wrapping them in foil and slow cooking in the oven for several hours, they were delicious and tender. Thanks for the advice all -- slow cooking was really the way to go.

heh, so you braised them. Good job, glad it turned out well.

 

[sdifox]

I get them sliced thin (like 1.5cm thick) and just grill them with a bit of salt.

They slice them while it's frozen so it's easy.

 

[dbk]

I had this for dinner tonight