CB's "Local Boy" Grilled Short Ribs

When I purchased these short ribs the butcher said: “Hey you gonna fix those Hawaiian-Style? I gotta great recipe!”  and he forced handed me a 3 x 5 card with the recipe printed on it.  The two main ingredients besides brown sugar were pineapple and teriyaki sauce. I smiled.

Having spent a bit of time over the past 30 years visiting for work and pleasure – I’m not sure that it’s appropriate to call a dish “Hawaiian-style” because it’s made with pineapple and teriyaki sauce; too many recipes and cookbooks I’ve read seem to do that.  Not to say that both of those ingredients don’t show up in a lot of island food – but if you are from Hawai’i or have visited  – then you certainly know that island food is influenced by many cultures and offers more complexity of textures and flavors than just those two ingredients.  I’d say the food I’ve enjoyed in Hawaii has influenced my belief in freshness and local ingredients more than visiting my neighborhood farmer’s markets. Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten has been in island restaurants like Indigo, Roy’s and Sam Choy’s just to name a few.  And absolutely my preferred first stop when I land in Honolulu is to head to Rainbow Drive in for a mixed plate lunch of mahi-mahi, teriyaki beef and chicken with two scoops rice and macaroni salad.

So, for this dish, I tried to use ingredients that provide flavors more respectful of the true “local food” of regular folks and island cuisine I’ve enjoyed. And no grilled pineapple anywhere on the plate!

Thanks and…

Happy Grilling! E ʻai ka-kou  – Let’s eat!

CB’s EZ Local Boy Grilled Short Ribs

First off – here’s an excerpt of what Wikipedia has posted about beef short ribs:

“Beef short ribs are cut from the chuck and plate primals. A full slab of short ribs is typically about 10 inches square, ranges from 3-5 inches thick, and contains three or four ribs, intercostal muscle and tendon, and a layer of boneless meat and fat which is thick on one end of the slab and thins down to almost nothing on the other. There is a variety of ways to butcher short ribs. The ribs can be separated and cut into short lengths (typically about 2 inches long), called an “English cut”, “flanken cut” across the bones (typically about 1/2 inch thick), or cut into boneless steaks (a style recently introduced in the U.S.A. as a cheaper alternative to rib steak).”

I chose the ‘Flanken cut” because it marinates and grills quickly. After preparing the marinade I poured it over the short ribs in a plastic bag, sealed it and left it on the counter for about 1 hour. If I’d wanted to marinade overnight – then it would have gone into the fridge and I would lesson the amounts of acids in that solution because acid in soy sauce, citrus and vinegar (etc.) breaks down the meat and can turn it to mush if left on too long. After an hour I removed the ribs and patted them dry and let them air dry just a bit whilst I pre-heated the grill to HIGH (about 500F degrees at the grate).

Beef short ribs cut in the 'flanken' or thin cross-cut style are placed on a HOT clean grate to sear. Expect some charring as the sugars burn.

The ribs are very thin, already somewhat ‘cooked’ by the acid in the marinade, and have a good dose of brown sugar on them from the marinade – so they will take almost no time to grill. I like just a touch of char to them that comes from the brown sugar and soy sauce burning a bit.

Beef short ribs finished on the grill after about 7 minutes total grilling time for both sides. You can see where the edges are charring just a bit - for my taste that adds to the mouth feel and flavor balance to the sweetness of the marinade.

I served these on a big platter along with some of the marinade I’d reserved and thickened a bit in a small pan over low heat to serve as a sauce.

NOTE: Never use a marinade that has been in contact with raw meat to dress cooked meat unless it has been boiled for more than 2 minutes to reduce the risk of bacterial ingestion. It’s better to set some marinade aside when first made so it never comes in contact with the raw meat.

The meal also include sticky white rice and a cabbage slaw. Sorry – no mac salad!

For a printable version of the recipe with ingredients & steps CLICK HERE.