As you all know by now, I love cooking. I’ve also been blessed in life with an Argentine partner who loves red meat and red wine. When you combine my hobby with her love of the good things in life, I have the opportunity to experiment and make some awesome food. These short ribs are now, by far, my favorite way to consume beef.
A brief note for my fellow Americans: these ribs are not what you usually think of when you think ribs. Instead of long-way cut racks of ribs, beef short ribs are cut the short way, leaving you, effectively, with a well-marbled steak that has bones in the bottom. A good supermarket butcher should have them, but if you live within driving distance of an Argentine butcher, go. When you’re there, pick up some empanadas too.
In terms of ingredients to make these ribs, you’ll need:
2 strips of beef short ribs per person
Salt
¼ stick of butter.
Here, the trick is in the technique. Traditionally, Argentines do these over a hot grill, searing to rare or medium-rare (if you want it more cooked than that, this cut will get tough, you want a ribeye steak instead, and even then I have doubts in terms of tenderness). I’ll be using a method I use for steaks in my apartment, which forbids outdoor grills.
Before you start doing anything else, like prepping a vegetable or side (I recommend roasted corn, a baked potato, or home fries with these), get your ribs out of the package and pat them dry with a paper towel. Let them rest and warm up on a cutting board after you’ve salted them moderately. The more they heat up outside of cooking, the more control you’ll have.
Now, get out a meat thermometer, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees, and get a large pan on high heat. I put on a watch that has a very visible second hand for this next bit.
Once the pan is just below its point where it burns. Lay the strips of ribs in the pan for 30 seconds to a minute, turning them after that. That means that if you have more than two strips in a pan, you’ll be flipping the first one as soon as the last one is in.
After both wider sides are seared, pop the pan in the oven for 5 minutes. Ovens vary widely in how they heat, so I’d pull them out at 5 min and check in the thickest, meatiest part with a thermometer. For rare, you want 115.
That’s well below what the FDA recommends, but here’s where it goes from good to excellent.
Once the internal temp is 115, pull out the ribs with an oven glove or mitt, and flip the short ribs. Now, turn on a burner to medium and toss the butter in the pan. For the next 2-3 min, spoon the melting butter, infused with the tasty burned bits from the bottom of the pan, onto the ribs.
Check these about once a minute with a meat thermometer: when it hits 130, you’re done.
Let the steaks rest, pour a glass of Malbec from Mendoza, and let both of them breathe for five minutes. Enjoy with a vegetable of your choice, and perhaps top with black pepper.
A brief note for my fellow Americans: these ribs are not what you usually think of when you think ribs. Instead of long-way cut racks of ribs, beef short ribs are cut the short way, leaving you, effectively, with a well-marbled steak that has bones in the bottom. A good supermarket butcher should have them, but if you live within driving distance of an Argentine butcher, go. When you’re there, pick up some empanadas too.
In terms of ingredients to make these ribs, you’ll need:
2 strips of beef short ribs per person
Salt
¼ stick of butter.
Here, the trick is in the technique. Traditionally, Argentines do these over a hot grill, searing to rare or medium-rare (if you want it more cooked than that, this cut will get tough, you want a ribeye steak instead, and even then I have doubts in terms of tenderness). I’ll be using a method I use for steaks in my apartment, which forbids outdoor grills.
Before you start doing anything else, like prepping a vegetable or side (I recommend roasted corn, a baked potato, or home fries with these), get your ribs out of the package and pat them dry with a paper towel. Let them rest and warm up on a cutting board after you’ve salted them moderately. The more they heat up outside of cooking, the more control you’ll have.
Now, get out a meat thermometer, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees, and get a large pan on high heat. I put on a watch that has a very visible second hand for this next bit.
Once the pan is just below its point where it burns. Lay the strips of ribs in the pan for 30 seconds to a minute, turning them after that. That means that if you have more than two strips in a pan, you’ll be flipping the first one as soon as the last one is in.
After both wider sides are seared, pop the pan in the oven for 5 minutes. Ovens vary widely in how they heat, so I’d pull them out at 5 min and check in the thickest, meatiest part with a thermometer. For rare, you want 115.
That’s well below what the FDA recommends, but here’s where it goes from good to excellent.
Once the internal temp is 115, pull out the ribs with an oven glove or mitt, and flip the short ribs. Now, turn on a burner to medium and toss the butter in the pan. For the next 2-3 min, spoon the melting butter, infused with the tasty burned bits from the bottom of the pan, onto the ribs.
Check these about once a minute with a meat thermometer: when it hits 130, you’re done.
Let the steaks rest, pour a glass of Malbec from Mendoza, and let both of them breathe for five minutes. Enjoy with a vegetable of your choice, and perhaps top with black pepper.
