Korean honey grilled beef ribs come off the fire with charred edges, a glossy coat of sauce and meat that is still juicy inside. The sauce is blended from garlic and chili, so it is deep rather than sharp. The hardest part is managing the heat, because a sauce with honey in it blackens easily.
At least 2 hours in the fridge, and peeling the thin membrane off the back of the rack, is what gets the flavor through the meat evenly. The sauce is split in two, half for the marinade and half for brushing on the grill, since using all of it at the start leads to burning.
This batch weighs about 1.1kg, at roughly 214 calories per 100g.
Method
Wash 900g beef ribs in lightly salted water, rinse them clean and pat off the excess water with paper towel. Cut the rack into pieces of about 4 to 5 bones.
Put 4 cloves garlic, 3 mild chilies, half a teaspoon MSG, half a teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons chili oil, 1/3 teaspoon five spice powder and 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend in a blender and blend smooth.
Brush the mixture over both sides of the ribs, score lightly between the bones and peel off the thin membrane on the back. Wrap tightly in plastic and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Mix the grilling sauce from 1 tablespoon chili oil, half a tablespoon oyster sauce, half a tablespoon ketchup, half a teaspoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon honey and ground pepper, then stir it together with whatever marinade is left.
Set the ribs on the grill and cook both sides evenly, brushing on sauce now and then so the meat turns glossy and takes on flavor, then serve.
Tips
Chili oil can be swapped for annatto oil or gac oil.
Over charcoal the ribs need turning often so they do not burn.
For softer meat, wrap the ribs in foil and roast at 220 degrees C for 30 minutes first, then brush on the sauce and grill for charred edges.
Honey is still a sugar, and only 1 tablespoon goes into all 900g of ribs here, which is where it should stay.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so the blended mixture rests 5 minutes and gets another stir before it goes onto the meat.
The sauce only goes on in the second half of the grilling, because brushing early blackens the surface before the meat is done.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.