Korean Grilled Short Ribs (Kalbi)

This recipe is the most authentic lettuce wrap that I know - Korean grilled short ribs, or Kalbi.

Lettuce wraps are a favorite way to sneak extra vegetables into my diet. We serve them like we do "taco night" - everything goes on the table, and people assemble their own wraps. Of course, the kids won't touch the lettuce, so they just grab the rest of the components of the meal.

This is authentic, easy to make, and quick to cook. All the ingredients are available at your local grocery store. Sounds too good to be true, right? The hard part is finding the ribs cut this way. Check out your local Asian market, or ask your butcher to cut some short ribs very thin - ¼" thick is what you want, but ½" thick is OK.

*Or substitute thin sliced flank steak or skirt steak - see the notes.

Korean Grilled Short Ribs (Kalbi) recipe

Equipment:

• Grill (I used a Weber Summit 650. Here it is.)
• Food processor or blender (I used my KitchenAid blender.)

Korean Grilled Short Ribs (Kalbi)

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★★★★★

4.5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Mike Vrobel
• Total Time: 4 hours 8 minutes
• Yield: 2 pounds of ribs 1x

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Description

Korean Grilled Short Ribs. Korean kalbi in your own back yard.

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Ingredients

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• 2 lbs Korean cut short ribs (sliced ¼" thick, across the bone.)
• 1 head Boston bibb lettuce (for wraps, optional)

Marinade

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 scallion
• 1 Pear, peeled and cored
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp rice wine

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Instructions

Marinate the short ribs for 4 hours: In a food processor or blender, pulse the garlic and scallion until finely minced. Add the pear, and pulse again until finely minced. Add the rest of the marinade ingredients, and run until well combined. Toss the ribs and the marinade (I do this in a gallon ziploc bag), and store in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours, turning occasionally to marinate evenly.
Preheat grill for direct medium heat cooking: Preheat grill for direct cooking over medium heat. Clean grate with a grill brush, and brush the grate with a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil. On a gas grill, preheat on high for ten minutes, brush the grates clean, then turn the heat down to medium. On a charcoal grill, light the coals, wait until they are covered with gray ash, then spread them in a single layer over the charcoal grate. Brush the grill grate clean and you're ready to grill.

Cook the ribs for 4 minutes a side: Remove ribs from marinade, and cook over the direct-medium heat for 2-4 minutes per side, or until well browned on both sides. Remove ribs to a plate and let rest before serving.

Notes

• On my gas grill, I cook in a 2-2-flip-2-2 pattern; cook 2 minutes, turn the ribs 90*, cook another 2 minutes; flip the ribs, 2 more minutes, turn 90*, final 2 minutes. This gives you a nice diamond pattern on the ribs.
• Watch the ribs carefully - the marinade has a lot of sugar in it, and will burn if left over too hot of a fire.
• Serving: To serve as lettuce wraps, use a head of Boston bibb lettuce, leaves separated and rinsed. I usually serve it with a vegetable stir fry, jasmine rice, and, even though they're not really Korean, some hoisin sauce and Sriracha hot sauce. To be really authentic, you'd serve this with Kimchi, Korean pickled fermented cabbage, but that can be a acquired taste. (That's a euphemism for my kids saying "it smells awful.")
• A trick I learned at my local Korean barbecue restaurant: Use Kitchen Shears to cut the meat off of the bone.
• If you can't find Korean cut (aka "Flanken cut") short ribs, substitute either flank steak or skirt steak, cut on the diagonal into ¼" thick slices.

• Prep Time: 4 hours
• Cook Time: 8 minutes
• Category: Weeknight Dinner
• Method: Grilling
• Cuisine: Korean

What do you think?

Inspired by:
Steven Raichlen - The Barbecue! Bible

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