Flanken Cut Short Ribs

Flanken cut short ribs are a specific way of slicing beef short ribs that’s popular in various cuisines, including Korean and Argentinian cooking. Unlike the traditional English cut, which slices between the ribs to produce thick chunks of meat sitting atop individual bones, the flanken cut slices across the bones, resulting in a thin strip of meat with multiple small cross-sections of bone within each slice.

Characteristics of Flanken Cut Short Ribs:

• Thickness: Typically, flanken ribs are cut to about 1/2 to 1 inch thick, which allows for quicker cooking methods like grilling.
• Bone-In: Each piece contains a few small cross-sections of rib bone, which add flavour during the cooking process.
• Marbling: Like other short rib cuts, flanken cut ribs have a good amount of marbling, making them tasty and tender when cooked correctly.

Culinary Uses:

• Korean Cuisine: In dishes like Galbi or Kalbi, flanken cut ribs are marinated in a sweet and savoury sauce before being grilled to a caramelized finish.
• Jewish Cuisine: Flanken ribs are often used in traditional dishes like cholent (a slow-cooked stew for the Sabbath) or braised with root vegetables and seasonings.
• Argetinian Cuisine: Cooked over a wood or charcoal fire. Argentine grilling is often done over lower heat and for a longer time compared to the high-heat grilling methods of other cultures, allowing the meat to cook slowly and become tender while absorbing smoky flavours.

Cooking Tips:

• Marinating: Given their marbling and tougher muscle structure, flanken cut ribs benefit from marination, which helps tenderise and infuse the meat with flavour.
• High Heat Cooking: Flanken ribs are well-suited to quick, high-heat cooking methods like grilling or broiling, which caramelise the exterior while keeping the interior tender.
• Monitoring Cooking Time: Due to their thinner cut, flanken ribs cook much faster than thicker rib cuts, so it’s important to watch them closely during cooking to prevent overcooking.

Whether you’re grilling up a batch for a Korean BBQ or slow-braising them for a comforting stew, flanken cut short ribs offer a delightful combination of rich beef flavour and tender meat, all enhanced by the presence of the bone within each slice.