Barbecue beef short ribs with black garlic and urfa chilli

These wonderfully smoky and aromatic short ribs are actually cooked a day in advance (mind, it takes four hours or more), marinated for 24 hours and then barbecued and warmed up briefly just before serving. You can take the meat off the bone, as in the instruction, for easy grilling and eating, or leave on for the wholesome look. Serve with crispy lettuce salad and roasted potatoes.

4 people

Serving size

Ingredients

4 large beef short ribs (2.2kg)
1 onion, quartered
1lt beef stock
Salt

Marinade:
50g peeled black garlic  
20g harissa paste  
15g pomegranate molasses 
1 tbsp urfa chilli flakes, or another mild dried chilli flake
50g tinned tomatoes
25ml whisky
15ml red wine vinegar  
1 tbsp maple syrup  
½ small onion, chopped (30g net)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 140C.

  2. Place the beef ribs in a lidded casserole pan, add the onion, ¾ teaspoon of salt and pour over the stock; they need to be immersed in liquid so add more stock or some water if you need to. Place on a medium-high heat, bring to a light simmer and then cover the pan and transfer to the oven. Cook for 4 to 4½ hours, depending on size, until the meat is completely tender. Once done remove the ribs from the stock (you can use the stock for soups or sauces). Remove and discard the bones and excess fat leaving the meat in large chunks.

  3. While the beef is cooking make the marinade. Place all of the ingredients in the small bowl of a food processor. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and blitz to form a very smooth paste. Transfer to a large non-reactive bowl, add the beef meat and mix well so that the meat is well coated. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight to marinate.

  4. The next day, preheat the oven to 200C. Place a ridged griddle pan on a high heat and, when it is starting to smoke, add the beef pieces (you can obviously also do this on a barbecue outdoors). Grill for 2 minutes, turning so that all sides get some colour and smoke. Transfer to a baking tray and place in the oven for about 12 minutes, until the meat is warmed through. Leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.