Galbijjim (Braised Short Ribs)

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while now. I was really surprised to see how much fruit it contained! You want me to make the sauce/gravy for my beef stew out of apples, pears, and kiwi? Really?! But it's great!

We'd already eaten this year's supply of beef ribs by the time I was making this, so I ended up cutting up a sirloin steak to go in the pot instead. I realize that this doesn't really give you the authentic galbijjim experience, but it's what I had available and I'm pretty happy with the results.

Galbijjim

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 900g Korean (brown) or Asian (yellow) pear
• 250g sweet apple (such as fuji or ambrosia)
• 150g kiwi
• 1 yellow onion (1/2 if it's large)
• 6 green onions (scallions), divided
• 3 c. water, divided
• 1/2 c. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. dasida (Korean beef stock powder)
• 3 Tbsp. mirin
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1.2kg bone-in beef short-ribs
• 300g daikon
• 200g carrot
• 125g fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 5 shishito peppers
• 1 red chile pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Peel the pear, apple, kiwi, and onion and cut into large pieces.
2. Place pear, apple, kiwi, onion, and 2 of the green onions in a blender with 1 c. of the water.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Add the light soy, oyster sauce, dark soy, dasida, mirin, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper to the blender and mix well.
5. Bring some water to a boil and blanch the ribs for 3-5 minutes.
6. Drain the ribs and return them to the pot.
7. Add the sauce from the blender.
8. Swish out the blender with the remaining 2 c. of water and add it to the pot with the ribs.
9. Bring to a boil.
10. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, peel the daikon and carrots and cut them crosswise into 2cm pieces. Bevel the edges of the pieces if you'd like to be extra fancy.
12. Clean and trim the shiitakes. Put some decorative cuts in the caps if you'd like.
13. Chop the remaining 4 green onions and halve and deseed the shishito peppers.
14. Once the beef has cooked for 50-60 minutes, add the daikon and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
15. Add the carrot and mushrooms and cook until sauce reaches desired consistency (15-20 minutes).
16. Add the green onions, shishito peppers, and red chile (if using).
17. Serve with rice.

Beef Tagine with Fresh Apricots

I was originally planning to make the apple and prune version of this tagine. But then I got to the grocery store and they had local nectarines on sale. And I momentarily forgot that the apricot version wanted apricots and not nectarines. So I got a bunch of nectarines and didn't get the prunes and figured I'd just make that version. Then I got home and realized my mistake. But I already had the nectarines, so I figured I'd just go for it anyway. Nectarines and apricots are basically the same fruit, right?

Beef Tagine with Fresh ApricotsNectarines

Slightly adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• scant 1/8 tsp. saffron threads, crushed
• 3/4 c. hot water¹, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 shallot, grated or finely minced
• 1kg beef short ribs (braising ribs), cut into individual ribs
• 500g stewing beef, cut into 4-5cm chunks
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 4-5 fresh nectarines², quartered and pitted
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

1. Set your tagine on a heat diffuser and melt the butter and oil over medium-low heat. (I tried out an induction cooker for this and set it to 600W.)
2. Pour 2 Tbsp. of the hot water over the crushed saffron.
3. Add the salt, pepper, ginger, and 1/4 tsp. of the cinnamon to the saffron water. Let stand for 1-2 minutes.
4. Pour the spice water into the tagine along with the shallot and mix well.
5. Once the spices have warmed through, begin adding the beef. Try to make sure each piece gets coated in the buttery spices.
6. Add the remaining water along with the cilantro, cover, and simmer for 2.5 hours. Check on it every half hour or so to turn the meat, remove any bones that have come loose, and make sure it's neither boiling over nor boiling dry.
7. After 2.5 hours the meat should be very tender and falling off the bone. At the point, add the onion, cover, and simmer for another 30 minutes.
8. Stir in the honey and remaining 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon.
9. Cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.
10. If possible, transfer the meat to a serving dish leaving the sauce in the tagine. Add the apricots/nectarines to the sauce and continue simmering until just heated through. Then pour the sauce and nectarines over the beef. Otherwise, just place the nectarines on top of the beef in the tagine, cover, and simmer for another 10-20 minutes until heated through.
11. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

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Variations

Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Apples

This version can also be made with beef if desired. Or the above version can be made with lamb. Mix and match as you see fit.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• scant 1/8 tsp. saffron threads, crushed
• 2 3/4 c. hot water, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 shallot, grated or finely minced
• 1.5kg bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into 4-5cm chunks
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 450g pitted prunes
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 4 Tbsp. honey, divided
• 4 tart apples (eg. Granny Smith)
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

1. Start as above with 2 Tbsp. each of butter and oil in a tagine over medium-low heat.
2. Proceed through the next four steps as directed above.
3. Once the meat is in the tagine, pour 2 c. of the remaining hot water over the prunes and set them aside to soak.
4. Pour the remaining water over the meat and add the cilantro.
5. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, checking on it every 30 minutes or so to turn and remove loose bones as above.
6. After 2 hours, add the onions, then cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
7. Drain the prunes and add them to the tagine along with 3 Tbsp. of the honey and 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon.
8. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, quarter and core the apples (leaving the skin on).
10. Melt the remaining Tbsp. of butter with the honey and a pinch of cinnamon.
11. Add the apples, cut-side-down, and sauté until soft and glazed (~3 minutes).
12. Transfer the meat to a serving dish, pour the sauce over, then decorate with apples. Or, alternatively, place the apples on top of the meat and serve directly out of the tagine.
13. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for adding hot water to "almost cover the meat". For me, this was the 2 Tbsp. used in the spice water mixture + 1 c. But I found the resulting tagine very soupy. Maybe that is as it should be. But I think I would prefer a less soupy result next time so I've reduced the water quantity somewhat here. ^Back
2The original recipe called for 900g of fresh apricots, "pitted and cored". I weighed out 900g of nectarines. This worked out to be 7 nectarines for me. I managed to fit four of them into the tagine before it was in imminent danger of overflowing. So I've written up this recipe to reflec that. If you want a fruitier final product (and have a larger tagine than I do), you may decide that you want to use more nectarines/apricots than this. ^Back

In the stock recipe I wrote up yesterday, I kept referring to the braising liquid from these ribs. Given that, I figured I'd better write up this recipe next.

These ribs were really excellent. The homemade barbecue sauce really made them. I found it a bit on the tomato-y/ketchup-y side for my tastes, but that's probably because I didn't boil the braising liquid down as much as I was supposed to. You're supposed to strain it and then boil it down until you have only ~3/4 of a cup left. I didn't want to do that for reasons of both time and heat and humidity. I also didn't feel like straining the sauce. So instead, I boiled it down 'til there was maybe 2 cups left (including all the solids) and then I used a generous 3/4 c. in the sauce and the rest went into the roasting pan with the vegetables and soup bones. I'm sure if I'd concentrated the liquid as much as I was supposed to it would've balanced out the tomato flavour. In lieu of that, I think that next time I'd try adding a teaspoon or two of dark mushroom soy sauce.

Braised Barbecued Short Ribs

Slightly adapted from The Right Recipe

Ingredients

Braising

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 bottles of beer¹
• 1 c. dry white wine
• 1 chipotle in adobo²
• 1 tsp. chicken stock powder (or amount needed to make 1 c. of stock)
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-2.3kg short (braising/English cut) ribs
• water³ (optional, see footnote)

Barbecuing

• braising liquid (from above)
• 1 c. ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 tsp. dark soy sauce (optional)

Directions

Braising

1. Heat oil over medium heat. (Or use "sauté" setting on InstantPot.)
2. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
3. Add oregano and cumin and sizzle for 30-60 seconds.
4. Pour in beer and wine.
5. Add chipotle, stock powder, peppercorns, bay leaf, and ribs.
6. If necessary, add water to just cover the ribs.
7. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
8. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2-3 hours.
9. Remove ribs from braising liquid and set aside to cool.

Barbecuing

1. If desired, strain the braising liquid and remove the solids.
2. Return liquid to pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Cook, uncovered for ~60 minutes.
4. Combine 3/4 c. of the braising liquid (which may or may not be all of it) with the ketchup, molasses, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce (if using). Excess braising liquid can be reserved for another use.
5. Stir to combine and heat sauce over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes to marry the flavours.
6. Meanwhile, heat up your grill. The ribs will be cooked over direct heat, so arrange your coals/burners accordingly.
7. Oil either the cooking grates or the meat or both and toss the ribs on the grill.
8. Once the ribs have some good colour on them (3-5 minutes per side), baste with sauce and cook for another minute or two on each side.
9. Serve hot with additinal sauce and roasted veggies or other sides of your choice.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 3 bottles of lager. I didn't have any lager, but I did have a bottle each of alcoholic ginger beer, some sort of raspberry beer, and white wine. I put in both of the sugary beers + some dry white wine to balance it out a bit. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for a fresh jalapeño to be minced and sautéed with the onion and garlic. I didn't have any fresh jalapeños, but I did have a tin of chipotles in adobo. I figured it would work just fine since chipotles are just smoked jalapeños anyway. There were some aditional flavours from the adobo, but I think they were all harmonious. If you don't have any chipotles on hand, feel free to use a jalapeño instead. ^Back
3 I was using up the last of my braising ribs and only had ~1.6kg left. Because the quantity of ribs was less, I found that I didn't need any water to get enough liquid to cover the ribs. If you're making this with the full amount of ribs, you may find that you need to add water to get the ribs fully submerged. ^Back

I am really pleased with how this came out. It's delicious. It's easy. Everyone loved it. And, as an added bonus, it used up all the braising ribs that'd been languishing in our freezer. Don't be alarmed by the uncovered cooking, it gives the meat a chance to brown without having to do a separate searing step.

Served over polenta with roasted carrots and parsnips.

Wine-Braised Short Ribs

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2018

Ingredients

• 2.25kg bone-in "English-style" short ribs¹
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. flour
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 3 c. vegetable broth
• 4-6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 tsp. cornstarch

Directions

1. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add onion and cook until lightly browned (4-6 minutes).
4. Add tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darkened (~1 minute).
5. Add wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
6. Cook until mixture is slightly thickened (~3 minutes).
7. Add broth, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves.
8. Nestle ribs into braising liquid, bone-side-up.
9. Bring to a simmer, then transfer pot to oven and bake, covered², at 160°C (325°F) for 1.5 hours.
10. Remove pot from oven, flip the ribs meat-side-up and return to oven.
11. Cook, uncovered, for another 1.5 hours.
12. Transfer ribs to serving platter.
13. Spoon a few tablespoons of the broth into a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch.
14. Pour cornstarch mixture into sauce and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
15. Cook until thickened.
16. Serve ribs over substrate of choice (mashed potatoes or polenta work well), topped with gravy.

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1 They recommend "English-style short ribs 4-5 inches long with 1-1.5 inches of meat on top of bone". I had a bunch of braising ribs on hand already, so I just used those. They had about the right amount of meat on top of the bone, but were cut much shorter. Probably only ~1" (2.5cm). They were a little trickier to manipulate and get to stand up the right way, but other than that they seem to have worked just fine. ^Back
2 The original recipe has you leave the pot uncovered for the entire cook time. I cooked it covered for the first half and uncovered it for the last part of cooking. I didn't get quite as much browning this way, but it did leave me with a bit more sauce. I'm okay with this trade-off. ^Back