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Korean-Style Hasselback Short Ribs

4.6

(10)

Image may contain Food Dish Meal Steak and Lunch
Photographs by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk

Crispy bits. Charred edges. Burnt ends. They’re inarguably the best part of any piece of grilled meat and inevitably the ones in shortest supply. That’s the sheer brilliance of the boneless short rib served at Cote, NYC’s tony Korean steak house. By making deep slashes all along both sides of the meat before marinating and grilling (imagine a Hasselback potato) rather than thinly slicing the meat before cooking, chef David Shim creates a whole new world of surface area, creating enough crunchy, crusty morsels to keep the whole table happy. For this recipe, we combined his slashing technique with a bulgogi-inspired marinade, for a riff on bulgogi that is ideal for grilling at home. You can simply grill the scored short ribs on a standard grill grate without fear of losing meat to the fire below.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

Ssamjang

1

scallion, very finely chopped

¼

cup white miso

1

tsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) or hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha)

1

tsp. sugar

1

tsp. toasted sesame oil

1

tsp. toasted sesame seeds

Scallion Salad

6

scallions

2

tsp. toasted sesame oil

2

tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar

1

tsp. toasted sesame seeds

Short Ribs and Assembly

1

1" piece ginger, peeled, finely grated

2

garlic cloves, finely grated

¼

cup soy sauce

2

Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar

2

Tbsp. light or dark brown sugar

1

Tbsp. gochugaru (coarse Korean red pepper powder) or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1

Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

lb. 1"–1½"-thick boneless beef short ribs, trimmed

Vegetable oil (for grill)

Kosher salt

Lettuce leaves (for serving; optional)

Preparation

  1. Ssamjang

    Step 1

    Mix together scallion, miso, gochujang, sugar, oil, sesame seeds, and 1 tsp. water in a small bowl.

  2. Scallion Salad

    Step 2

    Trim scallions and slice in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 3" lengths, then slice pieces lengthwise as thinly as possible into matchsticks. Rinse under cold water; drain well and pat dry. Transfer scallions to a medium bowl; add oil, vinegar, and sesame seeds and toss to combine.

  3. Short Ribs and Assembly

    Step 3

    Mix ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, gochugaru, and sesame oil in a medium bowl to combine.

    Step 4

    Using a sharp knife, slice short ribs at a steep angle every ¼", cutting no more than halfway through meat. Turn over and slice on the second side, maintaining the same angle as the first side (this helps to keep meat in 1 piece by minimizing the danger of slicing all the way through). Place meat inside bowl with marinade and toss well to coat, working marinade into slashes in meat. Cover bowl with a large plate and let sit at room temperature at least 2 hours or chill up to 1 day.

    Step 5

    Prepare a grill for medium-high heat; oil grate with vegetable oil. Remove short ribs from marinade and very lightly season with salt. Grill, turning every 1–2 minutes and moving to a cooler part of grill if needed, until meat is firm to the touch and peeking inside deepest slashes shows just a streak of pink (cooking the meat to at least medium helps build flavor and yields the best texture), 8–10 minutes.

    Photographs by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk

    Step 6

    Transfer short ribs to a cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing across the slashes—or frankly, just tear it apart.

    Step 7

    Season scallion salad with salt. Serve short ribs with scallion salad and ssamjang, wrapped in lettuce if desired.

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Reviews (10)

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  • I was a bit wary of the bulgogi-"inspired" marinade, I thought maybe I should just make this with actual bulgogi marinade, but I always try to give the original recipe a shot before modifying. It came out delicious. I still think it would be great with an actual bulgogi marinade, but I enjoyed this one a lot, and it's less work than real bulgogi marinade. I love the idea of hasselbacking the short rib, the texture was super nice, and I will definitely be making short ribs this way in the future. I should mention, I don't own a grill or even a grill pan, so I seared it like a steak in a carbon steel skillet. Perhaps that missed the point of the recipe, but it worked out well for me.

    • pigeonWhisperer

    • NYC

    • 6/15/2020