Korean BBQ Last Night, Not So Great

dbCooper

Typically buy the ribs from butcher shop, occasionally from Sam's Club, thickness of 1/3" to 1/2".  Angie was at Sam's on Friday getting a new battery for the Santa Fe and picked up a pack of ribs.  Thing is, these were cyro-packed where before they have always been in a styrofoam tray with plastic shrink wrapping.  These were over an inch thick and had nice marbling.  Marinated overnight with our fav sauce...

Used apple chunks for smoke.  Had three or so pounds of lump remaining in the bag and dumped it in, got some bonus items...

I know many cook these hot/fast, low/slow is my preferred method, more so given the thickness of these.  Set up for indirect, when temp stabilized at around 250 on they went.  Normally would have two levels for 5lbs, one level was enough for these...

Normal "thin" cuts will take about 1.5 hours, these thick guys took over 2.5 hours before ready to come off...

Plated up with jasmine rice, lumpia (a friend makes this and keeps us supplied), and kimchi.  The ribs were just ok, texture was grainy/stringy.  They were mostly tender and cooked thoroughly, something was just "off" with them.  Probably will not be getting those cyro-packs again.

JohnInCarolina

Sorry to hear you had a bad outcome.  May have just been some bad luck with those particular set of ribs.  

RyanStl

2.5 hrs doesn't sound slow for rib if done low. Do you think it got too hot at any point?  They look really dark, but I don't see much rib sticking out where the meat constricts. Maybe I'm just not familiar with how korean ribs should be done.

dbCooper

RyanStl said:

2.5 hrs doesn't sound slow for rib if done low. Do you think it got too hot at any point?  They look really dark, but I don't see much rib sticking out where the meat constricts. Maybe I'm just not familiar with how korean ribs should be done.

The plated pic shows the ribs much darker than they actually were.  The pic of when I took them off the grill is more accurate.  Dome temp was steady at around 250.  I think it was just an old cow or something.

Note that these are not a rack of plate ribs, nor individual short ribs.  They are a rack that has been sliced down to thin sections, thus no bone protrusion when finished.  Below picture is not mine, it may give you a better idea of the raw stock and why the "short" cook time.

Photo Egg

dbCooper said:

RyanStl said:

2.5 hrs doesn't sound slow for rib if done low. Do you think it got too hot at any point?  They look really dark, but I don't see much rib sticking out where the meat constricts. Maybe I'm just not familiar with how korean ribs should be done.

The plated pic shows the ribs much darker than they actually were.  The pic of when I took them off the grill is more accurate.  Dome temp was steady at around 250.  I think it was just an old cow or something.

Note that these are not a rack of plate ribs, nor individual short ribs.  They are a rack that has been sliced down to thin sections, thus no bone protrusion when finished.  Below picture is not mine, it may give you a better idea of the raw stock and why the "short" cook time.

I buy these at Sam's Club at times. Normally pretty good but at times just too much fat.

RyanStl

Ok, I've never tried these. Stock photo does look awfully fatty.

caliking

If grainy, my theory is that the marinade didn’t agree with this cut, and how it was packaged. 

Could you post a pic of the marinade ingredients? It’s possible that the acid (or some other component) of the marinade didn’t  play well, given the time the beef was marinated. 

dbCooper

caliking said:

If grainy, my theory is that the marinade didn’t agree with this cut, and how it was packaged. 

Could you post a pic of the marinade ingredients? It’s possible that the acid (or some other component) of the marinade didn’t  play well, given the time the beef was marinated. 

@caliking

Here they are, appreciate any insights you have.

nolaegghead

I don't see anything weird in that marinade, like bromalin or acid.  I usually blame the meat when it comes out with a bad texture.  Or me.  Only twice did I legit blame the marinade (warning to others: don't marinate in fresh pineapple overnight).

caliking

dbCooper said:

caliking said:

If grainy, my theory is that the marinade didn’t agree with this cut, and how it was packaged. 

Could you post a pic of the marinade ingredients? It’s possible that the acid (or some other component) of the marinade didn’t  play well, given the time the beef was marinated. 

@caliking

Here they are, appreciate any insights you have.

The pear may be the culprit. Used in Korean recipes as a tenderizer, and for some sweetness. The meat may have marinated for too long. The citric acid may also have contributed, but its almost at the end of the listed ingredients, so maybe there isn't much of it?

If you happen to get the cryopac ribs again, try marinating for 4 hrs, and see what happens. Sounds like you've had consistently good results with the ribs you usually get, so don't mess with your method for those. 

nolaegghead

caliking said:

dbCooper said:

caliking said:

If grainy, my theory is that the marinade didn’t agree with this cut, and how it was packaged. 

Could you post a pic of the marinade ingredients? It’s possible that the acid (or some other component) of the marinade didn’t  play well, given the time the beef was marinated. 

@caliking

Here they are, appreciate any insights you have.

The pear may be the culprit. Used in Korean recipes as a tenderizer, and for some sweetness. The meat may have marinated for too long. The citric acid may also have contributed, but its almost at the end of the listed ingredients, so maybe there isn't much of it?

If you happen to get the cryopac ribs again, try marinating for 4 hrs, and see what happens. Sounds like you've had consistently good results with the ribs you usually get, so don't mess with your method for those. 

Provided the pear wasn't heated (as in pasteurized) at any point before or after being added to the marinade, sure, that could screw with the texture.

caliking

Good point.

I would still be interested in knowing the outcome of  marinating for less time. 

JohnInCarolina

One factor is surely just the thickness of the ribs.  I think the OP was trying to make kalbi.  Typically you do that with fairly thin cuts. 

nolaegghead

JohnInCarolina said:

One factor is surely just the thickness of the ribs.  I think the OP was trying to make kalbi.  Typically you do that with fairly thin cuts. 

Good point.  The thinness of the flanken cut ribs negates the need to cook them to tenderness as the cut is across the grain and there's less chewing involved.

dbCooper

@caliking @nolaegghead @JohnInCarolina

Thank you for the responses, they are helpful.

Clarifications, to ensure we're all on the same page: I was making Kalbi and the cuts were much thicker than any I have cooked previously, 1" vs 1/2" or less.  If we buy this particular package again, not likely since I have other sources that have consistently given good results, I will drop the marinate time to 4 hours.  With the regular thinner cuts, Angie and I have the subjective opinion that overnight marinate is better.

I also realize the the traditional way to cook these is hot with direct heat, flipping frequently.  Also subjective, but I like them better when cooked indirect at low temp (250ish), so that's the way I do them.

Final note, as nolaegghead pointed out, meat and method may have been fine, it could have been the cook (chef?!).  Can't prove anything but, my ego is still pointing to the meat.

caliking

Whatever you decide to do, don’t piss your wife off (she may be secretly reading this). 

If you’re happy with your usual method, and supply of your preferred cut is not an issue, don’t mess with success!