“Short rib” is a misnomer. Imagine a rack of beef ribs. A string of bones connected by sinews with a thin layer of chewy meat on top. Now think of short ribs. Tender meat stands tall atop a long line of bones, with layers of fat interrupting the surface. In other words, short ribs are not shorter at all! Hence my confusion whilst shopping for short ribs. Do not be fooled, dear friends, by the height of the meat. A butcher’s vocabulary will always remain a partial mystery.
Near our new apartment is a meat shop called Wild Fork. I’ve never lived so close to a meat shop before, and let me tell you, it’s a real treat! Wild Fork only sells frozen meat, so I had to let my short rib thaw in the fridge for two days before it was ready. On the day of cooking, Jordan took the meat out an hour or so beforehand to let it come closer to room temperature, then covered it with salt and brown sugar. By the time they were ready to sear, the brown sugar had turned liquidy and showed the color of molasses over the surface of the ribs.
I’ll admit, I was nervous about attempting to sear a new cut of meat. Short ribs just look intimidating, there’s no way around it. With mild trepidation, I nestled the ribs meat-side down in my skillet and let the sugar form a dark crust while the meat cooked. Alison recommends 6-8 minutes per side, not counting the bone side. However, after the instructed amount of searing, my thermometer read 99 degrees in both ribs, which is far more rare than I’m comfortable with. If the cookbook picture of this recipe tells us anything, it’s that Alison doesn’t mind a bloody piece of beef. But sadly, I cannot wrap my head around that one. So I ended up turning the temperature to medium-low, covering the skillet with a lid, and cooking it until 125 degrees. While it was edible, I can’t say I loved the fattiness or the rareness. Our dinner guests said they enjoyed it, but I wasn’t thrilled.
As per usual, Alison nails the condiments here. Quick kimchi, cucumbers, cilantro, flaky salt, and sesame oil are the perfect accompaniments. I made Melissa Clark’s Coconut Rice from Dinner, which paired well, but I missed having meat juices or a type of sauce to drizzle on the rice.
Given the price of short rib, and my preference for less fattier meat, I don’t plan to invest in short rib again. I want more meat for my money. Next time I’ll try the sides in this recipe with a flavorful, less fatty beef or pork.
143 recipes cooked, 82 to go.
