Grilled Beef Flanken Ribs
Add a new twist to the grill with these Grilled Beef Flanken Ribs! They’re kinda like the beef version of chicken wings!
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“They’re kinda like the beef version of chicken wings.” Uhh, say what again!? A couple weeks ago, I had the chance to join a handful of other food bloggers in Cleveland to hang out with the Certified Angus Beef ® kitchen team. We spent the better part of 3 days eating our way through Cleveland, and it was awesome! We visited with some chefs in the area who are really turning things upside down when it comes to unique ideas in the kitchen. Case in point #1: fresh pasta stuffed with smoked brisket. Case in point #2: pickled potatoes…that have been pickling for a year. A year!
Don’t be surprised if you see those recipes ideas pop up on the blog sometime in the future (especially that smoked brisket pasta!), but today’s post is case in point #3: Grilled Beef Flanken Ribs. The recipe for these grilled beef flanken short ribs comes from Chef Michael Ollier, who is a grill master and barbecue aficionado on the Certified Angus Beef ® kitchen team. We spent one day at the Certified Angus Beef ® HQ in Wooster, Ohio where we spent a couple hours hanging out and cooking with Michael.
When we arrived in the parking lot behind the Culinary Center, Chef Michael met us with 8 (yes, 8!) different grills all fired up at different temperatures. We had everything from gas to traditional charcoal to lump charcoal. Talk about being in grill heaven! Once outside, Michael pulled some flanken cut short ribs out of a marinade and tossed ’em on a Big Green Egg over super high heat.
Now wait. Beef short ribs on the grill? But aren’t short ribs meant to be cooked low and slow? Well, yes, but if you have your butcher cut them into flanken style short ribs, then you can toss ’em on the bbq for “a beef version of chicken wings.” As Chef Michael noted, these cook up in just a couple of minutes, so they’re a great party appetizer while you’re standing around the backyard (or in our case, the parking lot) with friends.
What are Beef Flanken Ribs?
Flanken style short ribs (also known as Korean short ribs) are simply beef short ribs that have been thinly sliced against the ribs. The slices are about 1/2″ thick, and each slice will contain a couple pieces of bones – thus the comparison to chicken wings.
If you’re shopping at an Asian grocery store, you might be able to find flanken ribs already sliced. However, for most stores, you’ll need to ask the butcher to slice these up for you. (Tip: Make sure the butcher bone scrapes the beef ribs for you. Most butchers will do this anyways, but it’s important to make sure there aren’t any bone fragments on the ribs before cooking.)
Flanken short ribs cook quickly…like 3-4 minutes quickly. Since you’re grilling over such high heat, you do want to keep a close eye on these ribs so they don’t overcook. Flanken ribs aren’t quite as tender as a traditional steak, but they are packed with good beefy flavor. They’re also a unique party appetizer!
Today’s post is a 2-for-1 special. Both recipes get marinated for the same length of time, and both recipes get grilled over high heat. The only difference is the marinade itself. The first recipe is Chef Michael’s “Mexican Beer and Lime Grilled Short Ribs.” There are so many awesome flavors going on here, and they’re perfect for summer! I highly recommend serving these with Mexican beers.
Michael’s comments about flanken ribs being “the beef version of chicken wings” got me thinking, though. What if I marinated these in a buffalo wing sauce, and then brushed more buffalo sauce on ’em once they come off the grill? I tried this idea out, and I rather enjoyed it – the taste was amazing!
Thus, 2 recipes in 1 post. The Buffalo Grilled Short Ribs are a bit messier to eat thanks to the sauce, but man are they delicious! Either way, give these grilled beef flanken ribs a shot. They’re a fun way to mix up the traditional grilling routine. Happy grilling!
Did you make these Grilled Beef Flanken Ribs at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Looking for other tasty beef recipes for the grill? Check out some of these favorites, too:
Grilled T-bone Steaks w/ Greek Seasoning
Grilled Stuffed Flank Steak
Grilled Steak Salad with Strawberries + Blue Cheese
Grilled Beef Kofta Kabobs
Steak Sliders with Blue Cheese Butter and Grilled Mushrooms
Mexican Beer and Lime Grilled Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 jalapenos sliced
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp ancho chile powder
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 2 limes zest and juice
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 12 oz. Mexican lager
- 1½ lbs flanken-cut beef short ribs ~½” thick
Instructions
- Using a medium skillet, add olive oil and place over medium heat. Once hot, add onions, garlic, jalapenos and salt; stir until well combined. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until onions are translucent.
- Add chile powder and cumin; stir until well combined. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in lime zest and lime juice.
- Transfer mixture into mixing bowl and add cilantro and beer; stir until well combined.
- Refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes, or until cold.
- Place flanked-style short ribs in a large ziptop bag. Add cold marinade and turn several times so short ribs are well coated. Refrigerate for 3-12 hours, depending on how strong you like your marinade flavors. (Note: I marinated them for 8 hours, and they were excellent!)
- Preheat gas grill to high heat or prepare charcoal grill over direct heat.
- Remove short ribs from marinade; discard any excess marinade. Pat short ribs dry with paper towels.
- Brush grill grates with vegetable oil and then grill ribs over high heat for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Transfer grilled short ribs to a plate and cover lightly with foil. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Buffalo Grilled Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp ancho chile powder
- ½ cup buffalo wing sauce plus more for brushing after grilled
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 limes zest and juice
- 1½ lbs flanken-style beef short ribs ~½” thick
- chopped green onions or chives
Instructions
- Using a medium skillet, add olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onions and garlic; stir until well combined. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until onions are translucent.
- Add chile powder; stir until well combined. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and transfer mixture into a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients (wing sauce, olive oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice and lime zest); stir until well combined.
- Refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes, or until cold.
- Place flanked-style short ribs in a large ziptop bag. Add cold marinade and turn several times so short ribs are well coated. Refrigerate for 3-12 hours, depending on how strong you like your marinade flavors. (Note: I marinated them for 8 hours, and they were excellent!)
- Preheat grill to high heat.
- Remove short ribs from marinade; discard any excess marinade. Pat short ribs dry with paper towels.
- Grill over high heat for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Transfer grilled short ribs to a plate and cover lightly with foil. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Brush with more buffalo wing sauce (not marinade!) before serving.
- Garnish with green onions or chives before serving.
Beef version of chicken wings?? Ummmm…now you’re talking! Never heard of flaken ribs before so clearly I’ve been missing out. Love that you grilled ’em too! They look delicious, David, and I’m quite confident they’d disappear in a flash at a summer bbq. And I love that you tried a buffalo version…that sounds absolutely DELICIOUS…and the messier the better, I say 😉 That just means it tastes extra good 🙂
So I had never heard of flanken style ribs until a couple of weeks ago, either, Dawn. Mind blown! They’re definitely a fun party appetizer. Tons of flavor, and I doubt anyone would’ve seen ’em before so that makes them unique for sure. And I agree with you about messy…the messier it is, the better it is!
flanken ribs* ….clearly I need coffee 😉
Mmmm…coffee rubbed flanken ribs. Now there’s an idea! 🙂
I should never stop by your blog when I am hungry 😉 Ah, YUM! I want a big plate of these right now.
That must have been such a fun catch up with the other food bloggers!
That’s the worst part about catching up on other friends’ blogs…I’m always so hungry when I see delicious recipes! 🙂 Thanks so much, Alexandra!
Holy Moly!!! What an amazing trip and experience! I want you to give those pickled potatoes a try! Can you image waiting a whole year to find out if they turned out? These grilled flanken ribs sound amazing! I love the idea that these can be cooked on the grill. Anything I can cook outside in the summer is a good thing – plus the taste of just about anything on the grill is amazing!
I can’t imagine waiting an entire year for those darn pickles! I’d have to hide them in the back of the basement fridge in order to forget about them. But with that said, it would be a really cool experiment! I can however say that flanken ribs are awesome. They cook so quickly, and they’re loaded with that good grill flavor. Talk about a fun party appetizer! 🙂
First of all, that event with other foof bloggers sounds like a lot if fun. Secondly, this pasta stuffed with smoked brisket sounds fantastic, and I might give it a try too (Should we have a competition and judge each other’s versions haha?) And lastly, this “beef version of chicken wings” looks and sounds utterly delicious too. Such a tasty blog post today, David! 🙂
I’m down to have a smoked brisket pasta party! Anything involving smoked meats and pasta is bound to be good, right? And I bet there would be plenty of cheese involved…so that makes it even better! Let me know the time and place, and I’ll be there! 🙂
Firstly, what were the year pickled potatoes like? Second, I’ve never heard of this cut of beef ribs before. Both recipes look amazing, and I’m totally going to the butcher to ask them to cut me a bunch of those bad boys!
Sadly I actually didn’t try the year-long pickled potatoes. I should have, though. Guess I’ll just need to go back to Cleveland. Either that, or start pickling some right now. Ask me again in July 2020. 🙂
So I had never heard of flanken style ribs either, but they are fun! They’re packed with flavor thanks to the marinade and grill…and they cook up in just a couple minutes tops. Definitely a unique appetizer idea!
The marinade you used sounds so good and very uplifting flavors. I love grilled meat, the char especially makes it so better, right!
The charred edges are the best part about grilling! These Flanken Ribs are definitely a unique twist on the grill menu, but they were a fun addition to the lineup. In fact, I’m thinking about making a big batch of ’em for a party we have coming up soon! Thanks, Kankana! 🙂
Flanken is also an old Eastern European Jewish dish, seared and then boiled in a beef stock with vegetables and served with horseradish. That flaverful stock preserves the beef flavor and you also have the stock for soup. It can be boiled until it is quite tender.Some local supermarkets have it pre cut and I had it sliced to order when I saw racks of sort ribs in Mexican market. The biggest surprise was finding trays of 3 lbs or more of pre cut flanken in Sams Warehouse. They do not have English cut. Go figure. I have seen it in the flyer but don’t know if it is regional. It is standard practice to rinse off flanken to get rid of any possible stray bone chips
Interesting! I appreciate you sharing some of this background on flanken ribs, Jeff! Soup would indeed be a good way to prepare this cut – however, I have yet to actually see Flanken cut ribs up here pre-cut. (I can always ask for them, but I guess there isn’t a demand?) Either way, thanks for the notes!
Korean short ribs are a favorite of ours, but this is the first I’ve heard of the term ‘flanken’ ribs. Yum! I always learn new things from you, David!
These look super delicious whatever they’re called! They sounds like they’d have super flavorful kick!
So I hadn’t heard of flanken style ribs until that trip to Certified Angus Beef HQ a couple of weeks ago. *Mind blown*! These are such a fun addition to the summer grill. They’re great as appetizers…just be prepared to get a little messy if you go with the buffalo sauce! 🙂
David, what a cool way to eat ribs! We have a huge Asian supermarket nearby, I bet I’ll find some there. My boys will be all over these!
I bet that Asian supermarket will have flanken (or Korean) style short ribs. Of course, you can always ask your butcher to cut some for you…that’s what I did! Thanks, Kelly! And happy grilling! 🙂
picked potatoes? for a year? i am gobsmacked. can’t imagine what they’re like. fascinating.
Tell me about it, Sherry! I was standing there looking at those potatoes in the deli case thinking “a year? a whole year!?” They looked like a regular red potato, except the color had all faded away. I didn’t get a chance to try them on that trip, so I guess I just need to go back again! 🙂
Sounds like it was an awesome and delicious trip with Angus Beef, David! And this recipe is calling my name. Looks and sounds really tasty. All you need a is a grill, a warm summer night and maybe a salad. 😉 ~Valentina
Yes! I hear ya on the grill, a summer night and a side salad. I loved making these flanken ribs because (1) summer grilling and (2) a unique new cut of beef (well, new to me at least). Cheers to a long summer full of nights at the grill, right? 🙂
I must look out for these in the Asian section of our local supermarket David. They would make a fantastic change from normal ribs. And I love chicken wings so if these are the beef version they’re a winner! What a great trip you had. Picked potatoes? Can’t wait to see them David. Bring them on! 🙂
Yes! As soon as I heard these described as ‘beefy chicken wings,’ then I knew I would be hooked. They’re such a fun and unique idea for summer grilling! As far as those pickled potatoes? I’ll have to look up some recipes for how to do that. Crazy that they had been pickling for a whole year!
These looks really good, David! In fact, I think I may have had flanken ribs before at one of the Korean BBQ places in the area. We have a number of Korean supermarkets, too, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to source flanken ribs without too much trouble. On the list for this weekend’s grill session… !
I wasn’t familiar with flanken ribs until recently, but I know our local butcher was able to cut these no problem at all. These are definitely a unique and fun recipe for summer grilling! Thanks so much, Frank. Hope work is getting a little easier for ya! 🙂
These sound really fun. And messy. I expected the ribs to have a buffalo bbq sauce – did i miss that? Anyway, looks like you had a great time.
Haha! These are messy eats for sure, Mimi…but in the best way possible! 🙂 For the ribs, I went with a traditional buffalo sauce, although a buffalo BBQ sauce would be fun next time I make these! Thanks for the idea!