Serves 4 to 6
Georgia is home to the fastest-growing Korean community in the United States, increasing at a rate of nearly 90 percent in the last decade of the twentieth century. Duluth, about twenty-five miles northeast of Atlanta, has become Georgia’s Koreatown. Increasingly, successful Korean Americans are moving from larger cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to the sunny South for a better quality of life at a cheaper cost of living. Excellent Korean restaurants proliferate in the Atlanta suburb, some serving these sweet, sticky, and mouthwatering glazed beef ribs.
There are two basic kinds of short ribs: English and flanken. The English style slices between the ribs to separate them, resulting in a thick piece of meat sitting on top of one piece of bone. These ribs can be left as is in one long piece or cut into smaller pieces approximately two inches long. In the flanken style of short rib, the meat and bone are cut horizontally across the bones so that each slice is about a half inch thick and contains a few pieces of bone. This is the style required for these Korean kalbi barbecue beef ribs.
1 In a food processor, puree the onion, pear, and garlic until smooth. (You can also grate the onion and pear on a box grater and finely chop the garlic, but the food processor makes pretty quick work of it.) Transfer to a resealable container. Add the brown sugar, the water, tamari, mirin, and sesame oil; stir to combine. Season the ribs on both sides with pepper and then add them to the container with the sauce. Turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, turning the ribs periodically in the marinade.
2 Drain any excess marinade off the ribs and discard the marinade. If using a charcoal grill, prepare a charcoal fire using about 6 pounds of charcoal and burn until the coals are completely covered with a thin coating of light gray ash, 20 to 30 minutes. Spread the coals evenly over the grill bottom, position the grill rack above the coals, and heat until medium-hot (when you can hold your hand 5 inches above the grill surface for no longer than 3 or 4 seconds). If using a gas grill, turn all the burners to High, close the lid, and heat until about 500°F, 10 to 15 minutes. If using a grill pan, heat the pan over medium-high heat. (Just know that if you use a grill pan, the marinade will definitely char, but these ribs are still delicious.) You can also cook these ribs under the broiler: Preheat the broiler to high.
3 Grill the short ribs, turning once, until nicely charred and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Or, if under the broiler, 5 to 7 minutes per side, depending on the strength of your broiler. Garnish with thinly sliced green onions. Serve whole pieces as a main course or cut into smaller pieces, using kitchen shears, for a beefy nibble.