Korean Barbecue Beef (Galbi)

In making galbi or kalbi as it is also known, the traditional cut of beef to use is thin sliced short ribs called kalbi cut, or Maui cut rubs or Korean cut ribs, depending on the butcher, in most cases regardless of what they are labeled, they are expensive cuts of beef and you can't eat the bone so it is really expensive when you eat it.

One day as I was traipsing through Costco I spied these boneless beef short ribs, and intrigued, I took them home and then wondered what do I do with them. 

Remembering back to a recent meal of galbi that rocked everyone's socks at the taste, and mine at the cost,  I thought that slicing them would offer up the same flavour and texture profile, at a reduced cost. So I set to slicing by first cutting them in half to make them easier to handle.

 
Next, I set a piece on its side and sliced them lengthwise to ensure the cut went across the grain.

I repeated the slicing getting 3-4 slices out of each piece.

 

After slicing all the pieces I began to construct the meal as per the recipe below.

The fact that there were no bones to pick around made them very enjoyable for all of us and nary a complaint was heard that evening, in fact, the crowd demanded I do them again real soon.

Beef Galbi (Kalbi)

3 lbs beef short rib, bone-in or boneless, slices should be no thicker than 1/4"

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup mirin

1 medium onion, peeled
1 medium apple, peeled and core removed
1 kiwi fruit peeled or use 1 tsp baking soda instead (for meat tenderizing)
4 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 tsp black pepper

Place onion, garlic, apple, and kiwi (if using) into a food processor and pulse until a fine mince or puree is reached. 

 

 

Pour into a large stainless steel bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir well to incorporate.

Add sliced beef to the marinade.

Cover and refrigerate for 12 - 24 hours.

Remove beef from marinade and let drain well.

Place marinated beef onto a hot grill and cook until browned, about 1-2 minutes per side.

Cook to medium-rare or medium.

Remove from grill and serve hot.

If you are serving this for an appie, slice thinly and serve warm with lettuce leaves to make a lettuce wrap.


This dish is fantastic, probably my favourite barbeque recipe and even the non-beef eater in the house likes them and that's saying a lot.

It is best if the meat is marinated for at least overnight up to 24 hours and drained very well before grilling.

 Snowy Palms Resort

Hot Fudge Sauce

There's nothing quite as wonderful as a warm fudge sauce poured over homemade ice cream, the homemade fudge sauce elevates the already grand ice cream to an ethereal delight. It is impossible to describe, so you need to make some and describe it to yourself.

Hot Fudge Sauce

2/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed firmly
1/4 cup cocoa powder (Dutch-process cocoa is best for this and Fry’s is great!)

1/4 tsp salt
6 oz dark (70%) or extra dark chocolate (85%), chopped and divided in half

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla 

Place cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of chocolate into a heavy saucepan.

Place over medium heat then bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to low-medium to achieve a light bubbling action, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. 

Add butter, vanilla, and remaining half of the chopped chocolate then stir until smooth. 

Cool sauce to warm before serving. Then watch the smiles and expressions of joy and rapture take over as your guests enjoy a bit of earthly, fudgy, bliss...

Store in a plastic container that has a tight-fitting lid.  It'll last 10 days in the fridge.

Cheesy Beef and Macaroni

 

We are all, or nearly all, or at least some of us, prisoners in our homes, sans ankle bracelets for most of us. As a result, old favourites come to the table to warm the cockles of our hearts, but first, what are cockles and do they like to be warm? Asking for a friend.

Lazy Bastard gets, meaner, crankier and lazier every day he is locked up inside the Inn. He has tried to escape confinement a few times but She Who Must Be Obeyed, ever the vigilant sleuth, has foiled his every attempt. The last one left him with a puffy eye and a fat lip that has substantially interfered with his wine drinking, which has made him more unpleasant than normal.  But he is still cooking, and for that, we all forgive his constant verbal attacks. For now...

 Not Quite Hamburger Helper

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, minced fine

4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine

1 Tbsp. olive oil
½ cup beef stock

½ cup salsa sauce (I like Pace)

2 cups milk

2 cups elbow macaroni

1 Tbsp. corn starch

1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp ground pepper
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup Asiago cheese, shredded

Mix the corn starch, chili powder, salt, sugar, paprika, cumin, ground pepper together in a large measuring cup or bowl, add salsa sauce and beef stock and stir to mix well, set aside.

 

In a large skillet saute onion and garlic until translucent (about 5 minutes).

 Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain oil (see pictures below).   

 

Fat removed from 1 pound of ground beef

Add beef stock mixture, milk and pasta to browned beef and bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.

When pasta is al dente, remove pot from heat then stir in the cheeses, mix well, cover, then let stand for 5 minutes.

When ready to serve give the pasta a gentle stir and serve hot.

This doesn't last long in the Inn.  Leftovers are hoovered faster than a chocolate bunny at a fat farm.

Snowy Palms Resort