Lachie Strachan’s recipe for beef short ribs with grilled flat bread

Beef short ribs with a zaatar & sumac grilled flat bread

There is something quite magical about Beef Short ribs cooked low and slow. They transform into tender, sweet, savoury and delicious meat. The best thing is there is very little prep time or ingredients.

The most important thing is choosing the right ribs. My go to would have to be from Bass Straight Beef. These retail for about $60 a rack, but they’re well worth it!

The Ingredients

THE RIBS:

2 racks of beef short ribs with 3 ribs per rack

Beef Dry Rub:

This can be as simple as – 1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper & 1 1/2 Tablespoon of sea salt

But my favourite combination would have to be:

Hardcore Carnivore – Black BBQ Rub

+

Hardcore Carnivore – Amplify Mega Savoury Flavour Dust

(both available at Heat & Grill – Richmond)

 

The Flat Bread:

2 1/4 cups self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

350g Greek yoghurt

Method:

This particular cook is best done in a smoker but can definitely be done in a gas BBQ with a smoker box & a water pan set up for indirect, low & slow cooking.

My favourite BBQ to cook this on lately has been the Weber Smokefire, which is a brand new wood pellet-fueled BBQ by Weber. It is literally set and forget controlled by a dial on the BBQ or by your smartphone! It comes included with Weber connect technology, which will tell you when your food is cooked.

This brings me to the next part, regarding a meat thermometer. This really is an essential for any BBQ chef. As discussed in previous weeks, my favourite would have to be the Weber Grill Bluetooth thermometer which will track your cook and give you a notification to your phone when it’s done.

Step 1:

Remove the excess layers of the membrane from the back of the ribs (leaving a single layer of membrane attached). Trim the excess fat/silver skin off the top.

In a small bowl, combine the salt and pepper.

Gently massage the salt and pepper into the ribs.

However, if you want the complete flavour hit, be sure to get a hold of some hardcore carnivore – Black BBQ rub and do the same process but shake the rub directly onto the ribs from the shaker.

Step 2:

Prepare the smoker for indirect cooking over very low heat (110°C to 130°C).  Add two to three hickory or mesquite wood chunks to the charcoal or wood chips into a smoker box if using a gas BBQ.

For best results also have a pan of water in the BBQ and make sure to keep it topped up through the cook. This will greatly increase the amount of moisture retained in the beef ribs at the end of the cook.

Step 3:

After 10 minutes, smoke should be visible coming from the top vent. Place the ribs on the cooking grill and close the lid. Cook the ribs over indirect very low heat until the meat has reached an internal temperature of approximately 95°C, 8 to 10 hours.

Step 4:

Remove the ribs from the smoker or gas BBQ and place on a bed of aluminium foil.

Now the fun part. If you want the full flavour experience of this dish shake a decent coating of Hardcore Carnivore – Amplify Savoury Dust over the ribs. This savory dust provides an extra boost of umami punch that takes them to the next level!

Wrap the ribs in aluminium foil. Rest for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

 

For the Flat Bread:

Knead until just combined. Rest for 1 hour.

Cut into 4 -6 pieces.

Roll each piece out into an even round shape.

Place the flat bread onto an oiled grill over medium heat, wait until you see bubbles no more than 2 mins on each side.

Season with salt flakes, zaatar and sumac

 

To Serve:

Slice up the beef short ribs and place meat directly onto the freshly grilled flat bread.

You can enjoy just like this but I like to place a fresh bed of apple & fennel slaw onto the bread then layer with that deliciously juicy slow cooked beef rib!

 

Enjoy!