Gochujang Braised Beef Short Rib

Beef short rib is in right now. Like gluten free in. Like I’m only eating things that don’t have a shadow in. You get my point. If you go into any fine dining restaurant or “hip & trendy” restaurant you will see beef short rib on the menu. What exactly is beef short rib? Well lucky for you, I’ve cooked with it a zillion times and went into a explanation of it in a previous post.

Basically, you can get beef short rib in two cuts, either the English cut or the flanken cut. The flanken cut, will go across the rib, while the English cut will be more of a singular piece of the rib with the meat. Most people prefer the English cut because there is so much more meat to eat/cook with. When you go out to eat, you’re getting English cut, they’re just not telling you that.

What I’ve created is a mix on two kinds flavors, Korean and traditional braising flavors (thyme, garlic, etc. etc.).  Short rib is very popular in Korean cuisine (it’s usually always a flanken cut though). But I love braising meats, why? Because the meat is always tender and you can really build complex flavors with the meat.

I browned the short ribs here, then I braised them for a few hours with some tomatoes, carrots, and some spices. You’re gonna ask, how are these Korean flavors? You’ll see. Once the meat is completely cooked, remove it from the broth/sauce you have, then I added some gochujang sauce, fish sauce, a touch of brown sugar, and rice wine. I then pureed the whole thing and allowed it to simmer, it left me with a delicious Korean BBQ sauce that was perfect for the short rib.

Recipe – Gochujang Braised Beef Short Ribs

1 Package of English Cut Beef Short Rib

1 Cup Diced Onion

3 Tbsp. Crushed Garlic

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Pepper

1 Tsp. Thyme

2 Whole tomatoes, chopped into quarters

1 Cup of Broth/Water

1 Tbsp. Butter

2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

1 Carrot sliced

1 Tbsp. Gochujang Sauce

1 Tsp. Fish Sauce

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp. Rice Wine

Method

In a large pot, heat your butter, then as it foams add your onions and garlic.

Brown the onions/garlic. Add your spices.

Now add your short ribs browning each side.

Once the short ribs are browned on each side, add your tomatoes, carrots, and water/broth.

Cook on a low heat with the cover lid on for 2 to 3 hours. If you have bone in short ribs, the bones will fall out just fish them out at the end. You want to leave them in as you cook so they add flavor to the meal.

Once the short ribs are fully cooked (they should be so tender than they can break apart with your fork pretty much), remove them from the pot.

The short ribs tend to leave a lot of grease in a braising sauce, use a spoon remove all the excess fat as it will ruin the meal. I save the fat for later use down the road, it’s perfectly fine.

Now add the gochujang, fish sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, and rice wine to the pot. Stir intermittently for a 2 minutes on medium heat.

Use an immersion blender to completley puree the sauce, if you don’t have one a regular blender will do, just be careful to not burn yourself.

Once it’s completely smooth, add it back to your pot and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes.

While your sauce simmers, add your short ribs to a skillet and broil them in the oven for 1 minute on high to brown the tops. Be careful not to burn the meat.

Once it’s all done, you can opt to cut the layer of fat off the back of the rib before you serve it.

Serve with your sauce and enjoy!