Korean Beef Short Ribs (BulGogi)

Flame-Kissed Goodness!

I made these last week kind of by accident. You see, me and my wife love shopping at Fresh and Easy. One of the things we love the most about it as that if you time your trip right, you can find a lot of fresh meat that is marked down fifty percent because it is about to expire. We grab those deals up, even if we can't use the meat the same day because they always freeze well. If you didn't know yet, you will soon realize I am frugal. So she picked up some beef ribs that I had no idea what to do with.

The only time in my life I had ever had beef ribs was at a dive steak-house on Route 66 in Williams, Arizona near the Grand Canyon. They were horrible three inch-thick chunks of broiled disgustingness. So I'm thinking great, what am I going to do with these?

Well thank god for Google, because I found a recipe I thought was worth trying.

I changed it up a little bit to reduce the sugar content and make it a little more WLS friendly, but generally it is a very basic, very authentic Korean recipe.

From what I understand this is one of the most commonly eaten meals in Korea, and after tasting it I can tell you why. It is some of the most tender beef I have ever bit into, almost as tender as fillet Mignon. The flavor is also amazing, the ginger gives it a unique twist and tang that goes great with the savoriness of the meat and the garlic.

This is a new favorite for me, and hence the reason it is going on my blog as the first of many recipes to come.


Ingredients: 2-1/2 pounds beef short ribs, cut 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon Splenda Granular or equivalent
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (I just used 2 teaspoons of minced garlic from the handy jar I keep on hand in my fridge. This makes my life easier in two ways, less chopping and it stays fresh forever.)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or cayenne pepper if you want to spice things up!
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, preferably toasted

Use a sharp slender knife to butterfly the ribs so that you wind up with 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick long strips of meat.

Combine the rest of the ingredients and give it a quick stir.

Put the meat into a large zip-lock freezer bag and pour in the marinade.

Close all but one inch of the zipper, then squeeze out most of the air before zipping up the rest.

Try to make sure all the meat is in contact with the marinade.

Let the bag sit in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Throw them on a hot grill and pour half of the marinade left in the bag on top.

Give them a flip after about three or four minutes and pour the rest of the leftover marinade on top of the other side.

About three or four minutes for the other side and their done. These taste best when cooked just long enough that the flames begin to kiss the meat and develop caramelized goodness on the outside, the inside will remain more tender if you don't overdo the cooking time.

Let them sit a few minutes before you cut into them so the juices have a chance to redistribute.

These taste phenomenal with my peanut dipping sauce! That recipe will be posted soon!