Kalbi - Korean Beef Short Ribs on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

Today,  on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Nadia Kidwai, I will be presenting these amazing Korean Beef Short Ribs.  First of all, the beef.  Wonderful meaty beef short ribs from Wildfire Farm.  I also love Korean food.  It is wonderful to sit together and enjoy meals in Korea.  This recipe is so simple to prepare and even easier in an Instant Pot!  You can leave out the marinating time if using the Instant Pot.

I'm serving these ribs with Cook's Creek Kimchi, also available at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market on Saturday and the PopUp market at VIA Rail on Sunday.

Kalbi  Korean beef ribs in Instant Pot*

1 pkg Beef Ribs (available today from Wildfire Farms at St.Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)

1 onion, sliced thinly

8 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tbs grated ginger

1 Asian Pear, grated finely

2 cups beef broth

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup brown sugar or maple syrup

2 (+) tbs Kochujiang (gochujang – Korean pepper paste)

2 tbs rice or black vinegar

1 tbs good sesame oil (dark toasted and single ingredient)

1 tbs black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

For the garnishing and serving:

1 bunch green onions, sliced for garnishing

2 tbs sesame seeds

Kimchi (available today from Cook’s Creek Kimchi at St.Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)

Rice

Fresh herbs, such as Perilla leaf, mint, coriander, basil, etc.

Shredded carrots

1. Combine onion, garlic, ginger, grated pear, beef broth, soy saucy, sugar, vinegar and sesame, Kochujiang, pepper and salt.  Place beef ribs in the marinade and let sit, chilled, for a few hours.

2. For the Instant Pot method:  Place ribs into the pot and pour over the marinade.  Shut and lock the lid and seal the valve.  Set the Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 45 minutes.  (Press Manual or Pressure Cook, the + button until it is set to 45).  Let the pressure release naturally.  If it hasn’t after 25 minutes, release it to venting.  Check that the ribs are tender.  If not, continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes under high pressure.  Serve with rice, kimchi and garnishes.

Enjoy!

*  If you have a slow cooker, place ribs and marinade in slow cooker for 4-6 hours.  Remove ribs from cooker and brown if desired.

Getting Cheeky on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

 Yesterday morning I presented the following dishes for CBC's Weekend Morning Show with guest host Laurie Hoogstraten.  

The wonderful ingredients are all available now at your farmer's markets.  The eggs for the köfte are from Nature's Farm,  the beef cheeks and ground beef are from Wildfire Farms, and you can often find me either through the blog or at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market.

It is not common at all to find beef cheeks, let alone beef shank in many large grocery stores.  Knowing your beef producer directly makes it possible to get parts of the steer that are delicious but not easily found otherwise.  The lovely beef today can be purchased at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market from Wildfire Farms.  Beef cheeks can also be incredible as a burger instead of ground meat.  Marinate in red wine and spices overnight and braise until tender.  Put the cheek on the bun with coleslaw, caramelized onions, chutney, etc.

Braised Beef Cheeks in photo and the "Cook like a Chef" workshop photo for cooking Wildfire Farms beef in St. Norbert's Farmer's Festival

Beef Cheeks

This is the adaptation of Tyler Florence’s recipe for Osso Bucco. The wine that he recommended using was Amarone.  

 This makes an elegant winter comfort meal.

1. Beef Cheeks or Osso Bucco (Make both as they cook the same in this dish):
 1 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Beef Cheeks (Available at Wildfire Farms at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1-3 tbs butter

1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 lemon, zest peeled off in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
1 head garlic, cut horizontally through the middle
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bottle dry red wine
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth (I had homemade chicken broth on hand instead)
1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed

Put the flour in a large shallow platter and season it with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour and then tap off the excess (extra flour will burn and make the dish off-tasting).

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and hit it with a 3-count drizzle of oil. Add the butter and swirl it around the pan to melt. Sear the meat, turning carefully with tongs, until all sides are a rich brown caramel color. Drizzle with a little more oil, if needed. (Do this in batches if the shanks are big and look crowded in the pot.) Remove the browned meat to a side plate. There will be a lot of flavor left over in the bottom of the pot. You're going to use that to create your sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using the same pot, sauté the onion, celery, carrots, lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley over medium heat. Cook the vegetables down until they start to get some color and develop a deep, rich aroma. Season with salt and pepper; add a little oil if needed. Nestle the meat back in the pot. Pour in the wine and let it simmer down for 20 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half. Reducing is key for intense flavor. Add the beef broth and tomatoes and stir everything together. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Braise for 1 and a 1/2 hours. Then remove the cover and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be thick and the meat tender and nearly falling off the bone.
Remove bay leaves.

Enjoy!

2. Mini Köfte two ways  Moroccan and Turkish

Moroccan
1 lb ground beef (or lamb), Beef today from Wildfire Farms, available at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market
1-2 tbs Ras el Hanout (available St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)
pinch salt
1 egg (Nature’s Farm eggs are superb and available at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)

Mix ingredients well together and form into patties or oblongs (Köfte shaped)

Grill over high heat until desired cooked state.  Let rest and serve with your favourite condiments such as Dijon mustard, caramelized onions, tomato chutney, soft egg, cheese, etc.  Served today with yoghurt tahini sauce.

Turkish
1 lb ground beef (Wildfire Farms at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)
1-2 tbs Turkish Baharat (Karenfood at St. Norbert’s Farmer’s Market)
pinch salt
1 egg (Nature’s Farm eggs at St. Norbert’sFarmer’s Market)

Mix ingredients well together and form into patties or oblongs (Köfte shaped)

Grill over high heat until desired cooked state.  Let rest and serve with your favourite condiments such as Dijon mustard, caramelized onions, tomato chutney, soft egg, cheese, etc.

Enjoy!