[ed-Seth: Sources close to Jim Harbaugh are now saying with 99.999999% certainty that whether he leaves Michigan to coach the Colts this offseason will not come down to who has the better barbecue. Again, we're not screwing around this.
So we're bringing out the big guns, and in the case of BBQ that is Joe Pichey from MMMGoBluBBQ.Stubb's has again offered to sponsor it. This is one of those things where we really liked their BBQ sauce, and they like this blog, and the blog likes Joe's recipes, and we all like to laugh at NFL people who think their stale, over-manufactured, flavorless product is more attractive than Michigan.]
[Also please know that Joe sent me the photo below with 1 hour left to go in yesterday's fasting holiday. Thanks Joe.]
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I love this recipe. If I had to choose only one hunk of meat to grill each season, this would be it. Every Saturday...Every Tailgate...Every opportunity to fire up the grill would include this part of the cow. The Flanken Ribs or TABLITAS as they are known in Texas would be my "GO TO". Flanken Style ribs are nothing more than cross cut beef short ribs. They are the fastest and tastiest cut of beef you will ever serve to your Maize and Blue guests. Not only are they super tender, they have huge flavor and can be cooked during halftime. Trust me, head to your local butcher shop and pick up a few pounds of these Flanken style Short Ribs.
Ingredients:
Flanken Style Ribs - aka "TABLITAS"
Stubbs BBQ Rub
[After the jump: no more excuses; you are going to make these]
Directions:
Set your grill up for medium high heat. To test, hold your hand 5 inches above the grate. If your hand can only stand about 3 - 4 seconds over the heat, your grill is medium hot. While the grill is heating up, it's time to season the meat. Most flanked ribs come packaged 12 - 15 ribs per. I found these at my local Sam's Club.
You can also find these pre-marinated at most Mexican grocery stores. If you'd like to marinate these on your own, I wouldn't go any longer than 4 hours as they are rather thin and may fall apart on the grill if over marinated. If you are asking your butcher to custom cut some ribs, don't go any thicker than 1/2 inch.
Season both sides of the ribs and let sit for about 30 minutes. These had great fat marbling throughout. The majority of the fat will render out as you cook and add great flavoring.
Once the grill is heated up, toss em on and grab your tongs. Don't wander away as these will cook FAST. Due to the fat marbling, they have a tendency to flare up over the high heat. This helps add some nice char on the meat. We all love that char, right? If they flare up and start to burn, just move them to a cooler part of the grill. You can also close the lid to help lower the heat.
After about 3-4 minutes, it's time to flip. You should have some great grill marks by now. The meat will start to shrink a little, but not too much.
Another 3 minutes on this side and they are done. You should start to see the juices pooling on top of the meat. Once this happens, remove from the heat and let rest for 2 minutes.
These can be eaten directly off the bone or cut up for delicious tacos. For you low carb guys, this one is perfect. Any meat than is started 10 minutes prior to game time and is "FALL OFF the BONE" by kickoff is good with me. Let me know what you think. GO BLUE!
