Korean BBQ Short Ribs
There’s a reason why Korean style barbecue has become so popular in the United States and around the world. Marinated with soy sauce, fresh lime juice, ginger, and garlic, these grilled Korean beef short ribs have a hint of smoke and deep umami flavors.
In traditional Korean BBQ, this style of ribs would be called Galbi, which is also the Korean word for ribs. In many Korean restaurants, the ribs are cooked by guests on grills set in the table.
Our favorite way to make this style of short ribs at home is to grill them over wood charcoal if it’s available and propane or gas if it’s not.
Tips for Grilling Korean BBQ Short Ribs
The marinade for this Korean short rib recipe is our favorite Korean BBQ Marinade, which is delicious on chicken, pork, and vegetables. If you like your ribs a little spicer add 1 tsp or so of Gochujang, which is a Korean spicy fermented paste made from peppers.
The ribs should be marinaded for at least an hour to let the flavors soak in. If you have the time or want to work ahead, they can be marinated longer or even overnight.
Since the ribs are going to be grilled, it helps to use short ribs cut flanken style, which means they’re cut across the bone, so each piece has a small chunk of bone, making them easy to hold between your fingers.
The thickness of the ribs, around 1/2 inch thick, makes it easy for the marinade to soak into the ribs and for them to be cooked on the grill. Short ribs cut English style where there’s a thick piece of meat on one bone need to be braised or smoked to give the connective tissue enough time to break down.
The ribs should be grilled over medium to medium-high heat. The goal when you’re cooking these ribs is to cook them to a nice medium with a good char on the outside, getting the brown sugar and soy sauce to caramelize. This gives the ribs a nice texture and incredibly deep umami flavors.
A great thing about these Korean beef short ribs is how simple it is to make the marinade and grill the ribs, making it easy for them to become a part of your summer dinner rotation. We like to serve these ribs with some grilled or stir-fried vegetables along with our Instant Pot Ginger White Rice and Garlicky Refrigerator Pickles.
Korean BBQ Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef short ribs, cut flanken style
Marinade
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 3 to 4 green onions, chopped
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
Prepare Marinade
- Start by mincing the ginger and garlic and dicing the green onions.
- In a small pan, toast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes over medium heat. Make sure to keep everything moving while the seeds are toasting, so they toast evenly and don’t burn. The seeds are done when they’ve browned a little and have a nice toasted smell to them.
- In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, sesame seeds, and green onions, along with a pinch of black pepper.
- If you have the time, let the marinade sit for 15 minutes or so to let the flavors come together, before using it. Marinate the ribs for at least an hour before cooking.
Grilling Short Ribs
- Over a medium-hot grill, gas or charcoal, set the ribs directly over the fire. Grill the ribs for 5 to 8 minutes a side, flipping as needed to keep them from flaming up.
- The ribs should be cooked until they’ve reached a medium level of doneness.
- Take the ribs off the grill and slice them along the inside of the bone. Serve the short ribs with a little diced green onion on top.
Mark is an experienced food writer, recipe developer, and photographer who is also Umami’s publisher and CEO. A passionate cook who loves to cook for friends, he can often be found in the kitchen or by the grill testing new recipes.
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