Kalbi short ribs

45 min · 25 min hands-on · pull 145°F · rest 5 min

Ingredients

3.5 lb on the fire · ~1.9 lb to the table · 4 plates at 8 oz

• flanken-cut beef short ribs, ½ inch thick3 1/2 lb
• soy sauce1/2 cup
• grated Asian pear or apple1/4 cup
• brown sugar2 tbsp
• toasted sesame oil2 tbsp
• garlic cloves, grated4
• scallions, sliced2
• black pepper1 tsp

Method

1. 1

   Whisk the marinade. Coat the ribs and refrigerate 4–12 hours. An hour is a hint, not a cure.

2. 2

   Wipe off excess so the sugar does not scorch into tar. Preheat a ripping two-zone fire.

3. 3

   Grill 2–3 minutes a side over direct heat until the edges char and the meat is just pink, about 145°F. These are thin — do not walk away.

4. 4

   Rest 5 minutes. Scallions and sesame on the board. Eat off the bone.

If you don’t have it

• Flanken short ribs → Thin skirt or flanken-cut chuck. True kalbi is rib. Skirt is the grocery stand-in.
• Asian pear → Grated apple and a teaspoon of honey. The enzyme and the sugar are the point.

Same cook, different day

• Broiler

  No grill. Rack 4 inches from a blazing element, 2–3 minutes a side. Watch the sugar.

• English-cut instead

  That is what is in the case. Wrong cook — smoke or braise those. Do not grill 2-inch bones like flanken.

• Lettuce wraps

  A table, not a plate. Same grill, rest, snip into bites. Ssamjang, rice, lettuce.