SHORT RIBS

Let's take a taste of another bone in option, the short rib. These ribs are one of two types of ribs which include the short ribs and the back ribs. The short ribs come from the chuck, plate, rib or brisket area of the cow while the back ribs come from the loin area of the cow. We are just going to focus on the short ribs in this taste tester article.

The short ribs tend to have less meat on them than the back ribs and due to the location of the cut tend to have tougher meat than the back ribs. The marbling is what excited me the most with this meal (photo above is actually just a stock photo as I was so excited to cook these ribs that I forgot the before photo!!). The short ribs that I cooked this day were incredibly well marbled, a prime level marbling if you ask me but I'm not the pro so I cannot say for sure what grade!

As usual we fired up the schwank and let 'er get to 1500 toasty degrees before loading up the stainless steel shelf with these fatty ribs! They took a bit longer due to the thickness of the ribs and I should honestly start timing the process to give you a better idea of how to best prepare them but bear with me as I'm new at this! I am a flipper - I like to flip frequently as I find it gives a better all around sear. I probably flipped these every other minute and let each side cook for about a minute at a time for about 15 to 20 mins. No idea if that's the 'right' way to do it but it sure made some delicious ribs so I am not going to be fussy!

As you can imagine these were just dripping with juice and bursting with flavor thanks to all of that fatty goodness marbled through the muscle! (I actually cut the ribs off of the bones to cook them so that I could crisp up the meat on the bones a little more.) The heartier portion of meat that I removed from the bone was quite chewy in texture, definitely a tougher cut of meat no question. It definitely requires a little more effort to chew however the flavor makes up for the texture thanks to the fat. These were definitely very rich and juicy with a very deep beefy flavor.

The meat on the bone was probably my favorite part as the texture was a little crispy with a super rich flavor. You can thank the marrow for the extra kick of flavor! Mmm mmmm, can't go wrong with bones! And bonus, chewing on the bones helps with cleaning your teeth! At least that is my theory anyway.

While these were delicious and incredibly filling I will admit that this is not one of my favorite cuts of meat and I would not eat it regularly. I know that sounds crazy as people tend to love the ribs, but for me, these were a nice treat not to be repeated frequently. I think its more of a texture thing for me and I definitely like a more tender or softer steak. If you don't mind the extra jaw workout and love you some fat, these are a very affordable option for a fattier cut of meat! The price of course will depend on who you buy from but in general the pricing of cuts tends to follow a similar trend across the board - meaning certain cuts of meat are just cheaper than others even if one 'brand' is more expensive than another.

Would I recommend trying short ribs, absolutely. Give 'em a taste and tell me what you think!