Ingredient

Short rib

Short ribs come from the rib section below the prime rib, where the meat is heavily marbled and laced with connective tissue. They are expensive for a braising cut and worth it: they give the richness of oxtail with far more actual meat.

The two cuts, and they are not interchangeable

English cut

Cut between the bones, giving a thick block of meat sitting on a single length of bone. For braising. Sold in Britain as Jacob's ladder when left as a rack.

Flanken cut

Cut across the bones, giving a thin strip with several bone cross-sections through it. For grilling — this is Korean galbi.

Bone-in or boneless

Bone-in gives a better braise and more presence on the plate. Boneless is easier to portion.

Fat

Considerable. A thick cap should be trimmed back somewhat before braising, and the braise defatted afterwards.

Chuck short ribs

From further forward, meatier and slightly less marbled. Also good and usually cheaper.

Why they suit two opposite methods

Short ribs carry both a lot of intramuscular fat and a lot of connective tissue, which is an unusual combination. The fat means the meat stays succulent under fast high heat; the connective tissue means it also rewards a long slow braise.

The cut therefore appears at both extremes of the cooking spectrum — three hours in a low oven with red wine, or two minutes over charcoal cut thin. What does not work is the middle: a thick English-cut rib grilled is tough, and a thin flanken strip braised falls apart into nothing.

Choosing the cut is therefore choosing the method, and buying the wrong one is the commonest error with short ribs.

Braising English-cut ribs

1. Trim the heaviest external fat but leave the marbling alone.
2. Season well and brown hard on every face. They are dense and take longer to brown than they look.
3. Build the braise — onion, carrot, celery, garlic, tomato purée, a bottle of red wine reduced by half, then stock.
4. Add the ribs bone side up so the meat sits in the liquid, cover, and cook low for three hours or so.
5. Test with a fork. The meat should be pulling away from the bone and giving completely.
6. Chill overnight, lift off the fat, then reheat and reduce the liquid hard until it is glossy.
7. Serve the ribs whole on the bone, or slip the bones out and serve the meat in blocks.

What to do with them

• Braised in red wine, the standard, served with mash or polenta.
• Galbi — flanken-cut, marinated in soy, pear, garlic, sesame and sugar, then grilled hard and fast. One of the best things anybody does with beef.
• Braised in soy, ginger and star anise, the Chinese red-braised approach.
• Smoked, which suits the cut extremely well and is far more forgiving than brisket.
• Shredded for tacos or a filled bun, with the reduced liquid.
• In a rich ragù, where the fat and gelatine give a sauce nothing else matches.
• Sous vide then seared, which is a genuinely good use of the technique for this cut.

Common questions