Succulent Thomas Keller Short Ribs Recipe - TheFoodXP (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak short ribs in water? ›

Soak them (yes, soak them—it drains the ribs of excess blood) in a very large bowl of cold water for two hours, changing the water after the first hour.

Try It in a Crockpot.

Instead of simmering the short ribs on the stove, transfer the short ribs and cooking liquid to a slow cooker. Slow cook on low for 6 hours or so (again, you can't overdo it!).

The best beef short ribs come from the chuck primal where the marbled serratus ventralis muscle is thickest. Originating near the second rib, serratus ventralis covers most of the cattle's rib cage but thins as it stretches to the rump. Short ribs can also come from the brisket, plate, and rib sections.

Beef ribs need a fair amount of cooking time to break down the collagen and tenderize, so you do want to pre-cook them before grilling. But simply boiling won't add flavor and you'll end up with a blander result. Instead, braise them in a flavored liquid or spice then slowly roast them before finishing on the grill.

You soak the ribs in vinegar for a couple of hours, drain and dry with a paper towel, and then marinate with a rub (brown sugar and some spices). The vinegar adds flavor and the acidity tenderizes the meat.

Put the ribs in a covered container and refrigerate them for 2-24 hours. Allow at least 2 hours for the marinade to absorb into the meat, or up to 24 hours for the most flavor. Keep the ribs moist by adding more marinade about every 3 hours. Always marinate meat in the fridge and do not reuse leftover marinade.

Short ribs that are cooked completely submerged in liquid will come out with a thin, watery sauce, while those cooked in just a thin layer of liquid—enough to provide a moist environment under your Dutch oven's lid—will produce a rich, flavorful sauce.

If they aren't braised long enough, they can be super tough to eat; if they are cooked too long, the meat will just fall apart. The key to preparing short ribs is to cook them until they reach a point that is just before they would fall apart.

Braising, which is actually slow simmering (after browning in a bit of oil or butter), brings irresistibly tender and boldly flavored results to this meaty cut of beef. Because short ribs require long, slow cooking for tenderness and flavor, braising is the perfect technique for cooking them.

“Short” ribs come from the beef chuck portion of a cow and there are usually five of these small pieces of meat that are too small to be sold as good steaks. So, they are exactly what the name implies; short (small) ribs. Braising is a cooking method where you brown the meat and simmer it on low heat.

What do restaurants use instead of short ribs? ›

Flavorful, easy-to-prep boneless short ribs aren't actually cut from the rib section of the cow, as their name implies. They are cut from the chuck, or shoulder, of the animal. For that reason, chuck roast is the best substitute when boneless short ribs are unavailable.

They may also be known as barbecue ribs, braising ribs, or fancy cut ribs. A section of short ribs from the plate (ribs six through eight, with their intercostal muscle) is known as a "short plate". Rib short ribs are almost always sold as a plate.

These ribs are chunky, with plenty of meat surrounding the bones and dense fat marbling throughout. This flavoursome fat and connective tissue means that beef short ribs need long, slow cooking in order to become tender.

Essentially, the vinegar solution "cleanses" the meat and makes the flavors shine through without any "gamey" flavor. According to Elizabeth, you don't need a charcoal grill to achieve deliciously-barbequed ribs.

Rinse the Short Ribs

Begin by rinsing the ribs in cold water. These short ribs are cut flanken style, which may mean they have some loose bone fragments on them and extra sediment, which you definitely don't want to eat. Rinse the ribs, drain the water, and set them aside!

Imagine eating a good ribeye after soaking it in water for a week. Years ago, before hunters started feeding deer like they do today, deer meat had a strong gamey taste. This led to the practice of soaking the meat to remove the gaminess.

Marinating also allows the meat to hold more liquid so the ribs won't dry out, whether you are grilling or smoking them. Plan on marinating the ribs for at least 12 hours or overnight for the best flavor. Offering a combination of sweet and spicy, this recipe includes honey as well as cayenne pepper.

Velveting is a Chinese method of marinating which keeps delicate meat and seafood moist and tender during cooking. The velveting technique is very easy and gives amazing results.

Just as we would with any BBQ meat, dry brine beef ribs a few hours before cooking, preferably overnight or even longer.