Prep 25 mins · Cook 5 mins · Total 13 to 18 hrs (incl. two-stage marinade) · Servings 4 to 6 · Difficulty Moderate
For 3 lb LA-cut short ribs
Ingredients
3 lb LA-cut short ribs, USDA Prime or higher, 1/4 to 5/16 inch thick
1 large Korean pear (Shingo or Niitaka), about 14 oz, grated and squeezed to 1/2 cup juice
1/2 medium yellow onion, divided
2 tbsp mirin
Stage two, flavor
6 tbsp jin-ganjang (Sempio 501 or Sempio 701)
2 tbsp guk-ganjang
2 tbsp mul-yeot, Ottogi or Chung Jung One
2 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup unsalted dashi or anchovy stock
1 tbsp minced garlic, microplane fine
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp doenjang
1/2 tsp dried shiitake powder
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, bloomed and crushed
1/2 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper
2 scallions, thin-sliced
To serve
1 scallion, thin-sliced, reserved
Maldon flakes
Red leaf lettuce, perilla
Ssamjang, CJ Haechandle or Sempio
Sliced raw garlic, fresh chili (cheongyang or jalapeño)
Aged kimchi
Fresh-steamed short-grain rice
Cold soju
Source the cut
USDA Prime or higher LA-cut from a Korean butcher who turns the case daily.
English-cut bone-in butterflied is the upgrade if your butcher will do it.
Marbling matters more than any line in the marinade.
The single splurge worth making, ask the butcher for two-week dry-aged short rib.
Bloom the sesame
Dry-toast the sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium-low heat, swirling, 2 to 3 minutes until they smell nutty and turn one shade darker.
Tip immediately into a mortar or onto a board, cool 1 minute, then crush coarsely. Half-crushed releases the oil, fully crushed turns to dust. Reserve.
Tenderize, stage one
Grate 1/4 of the onion to 2 tbsp juice. Reserve the other 1/4 for stage two.
Combine pear juice, onion juice, and mirin in a zip bag with the meat.
Single layer, air pressed out, 4 to 6 hours cold.
Drain hard, pat the surface bone-dry, discard the liquid. Enzyme work is done at hour six and longer reads mealy.
Whisk stage two
Grate the reserved 1/4 onion to 2 tbsp juice.
Whisk jin-ganjang, guk-ganjang, mul-yeot, brown sugar, and stock until the sugar dissolves.
Smooth the doenjang against the bowl wall before adding aromatics.
Stir in onion juice, garlic, ginger, shiitake powder, sesame oil, bloomed sesame, pepper, and scallion.
Marinate, stage two
Combine drained meat with stage two in a fresh zip bag, single layer, air pressed out.
8 to 12 hours cold, flipped once at the halfway mark.
Drain and dry
Drain hard, pat the surface bone-dry with paper towel.
Wet meat steams. Dry meat chars.
Discard the used marinade. Do not reuse, do not boil down for sauce.
Build the fire
Lump charcoal or binchotan, screaming hot, 700°F at the grate.
Gas grill caps you at 8/10 of what this dish wants.
Cast iron in a 550°F oven beats a tepid grill, ripping hot dry pan, 60 seconds a side.
Grill
90 seconds a side, no lid, one flip only.
LA-cut needs char before the interior overcooks.
Pull at deep char on both faces, the interior keeps cooking off the heat.
Rest and finish
Rest on a warm plate 90 seconds, not on a rack, the juices return to the meat.
Top with reserved scallion, a pinch of sesame, a few flakes of Maldon.
Serve
Lettuce and perilla on the table, ssamjang in a small bowl, sliced garlic and chili alongside.
Aged kimchi, not fresh.
Fresh-steamed short-grain rice.
Cold soju, served in a stemless glass.
Notes
The two-stage marinade is the single biggest leap from home-recipe to restaurant-floor. It costs nothing but a colander and ten minutes of planning.
Mul-yeot beats sugar-only, which beats honey. If mul-yeot is unavailable, corn syrup is a closer body-and-gloss substitute than honey, with no burn risk.
Doenjang and shiitake powder are the umami floor. Invisible individually, load-bearing together.
Bloom the sesame. Raw seeds taste of starch, bloomed seeds taste of sesame.
Discard the stage-two marinade after draining. Raw protein has been in it.
Plate warm, not cold. Galbi served on a cold plate seizes the lacquer within a minute.
A second small plate of unmarinated salt-and-sesame-oil short rib alongside (so-galbi style) is the move that makes a meal feel like a Korean BBQ house.
