Flanken Ribs Calculator

Flanken ribs are beef short ribs cut a different direction: thin strips sliced across the bones, so each piece has a row of little bone segments. They are the classic Korean galbi cut, marinated and grilled hot and fast. Set your serving time below and the calculator plans it backward.

How long to grill flanken ribs

Cut about a half-inch thick across the bones, flanken cook in minutes over high heat: roughly two to three minutes a side. This is the opposite of low-and-slow English-cut short ribs, which are thick and take hours.

Galbi: the marinade

The Korean galbi marinade is the reason to buy this cut: soy sauce, sugar or grated pear, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and green onion. The pear’s enzymes and the sugar tenderize and lacquer the meat. Four to six hours is plenty; the sugars char beautifully over the fire. Sesame seeds and more green onion on the way off the grill.

How to eat them

The bone segments run along each strip. Grill the strips whole, then eat the meat right off the bones, or cut between them. Because they are thin, they are eaten closer to medium than a steak, tender and a little chewy, with the caramelized marinade doing the heavy lifting.

Best wood for flanken ribs

Traditionally cooked over charcoal, flanken take well to oak and a little cherry for color. If you smoke before searing, keep it short: the marinade is the star.

FAQ

What is the difference between flanken and English-cut short ribs? Same rib, different cut. Flanken is sliced thin across the bones (galbi, fast grill); English cut is thick between the bones (low and slow, hours).

Do you eat flanken ribs medium-rare? A little more done than a steak is traditional, around medium, so the marinade caramelizes and the thin meat stays tender.

Can you smoke flanken ribs? You can add a short smoke, but the cut is built for hot, fast direct heat. Long smoking dries these thin strips out.