Korean-Style Hasselback Short Ribs
Crispy bits. Charred edges. Burnt ends. They’re inarguably the best part of any piece of grilled meat and inevitably the ones in shortest supply. That’s the sheer brilliance of the boneless short rib served at Cote, NYC’s tony Korean steak house. By making deep slashes all along both sides of the meat before marinating and grilling (imagine a Hasselback potato) rather than thinly slicing the meat before cooking, chef David Shim creates a whole new world of surface area, creating enough crunchy, crusty morsels to keep the whole table happy. For this recipe, we combined his slashing technique with a bulgogi-inspired marinade, for a riff on bulgogi that is ideal for grilling at home. You can simply grill the scored short ribs on a standard grill grate without fear of losing meat to the fire below.
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Ssamjang
Scallion Salad
Short Ribs and Assembly
Preparation
Ssamjang
Step 1
Mix together scallion, miso, gochujang, sugar, oil, sesame seeds, and 1 tsp. water in a small bowl.
Scallion Salad
Step 2
Trim scallions and slice in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 3" lengths, then slice pieces lengthwise as thinly as possible into matchsticks. Rinse under cold water; drain well and pat dry. Transfer scallions to a medium bowl; add oil, vinegar, and sesame seeds and toss to combine.
Short Ribs and Assembly
Step 3
Mix ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, gochugaru, and sesame oil in a medium bowl to combine.
Step 4
Using a sharp knife, slice short ribs at a steep angle every ¼", cutting no more than halfway through meat. Turn over and slice on the second side, maintaining the same angle as the first side (this helps to keep meat in 1 piece by minimizing the danger of slicing all the way through). Place meat inside bowl with marinade and toss well to coat, working marinade into slashes in meat. Cover bowl with a large plate and let sit at room temperature at least 2 hours or chill up to 1 day.
Step 5
Prepare a grill for medium-high heat; oil grate with vegetable oil. Remove short ribs from marinade and very lightly season with salt. Grill, turning every 1–2 minutes and moving to a cooler part of grill if needed, until meat is firm to the touch and peeking inside deepest slashes shows just a streak of pink (cooking the meat to at least medium helps build flavor and yields the best texture), 8–10 minutes.
Step 6
Transfer short ribs to a cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing across the slashes—or frankly, just tear it apart.
Step 7
Season scallion salad with salt. Serve short ribs with scallion salad and ssamjang, wrapped in lettuce if desired.
