Brown Sugar Chipotle Flanken Short Ribs Recipe

For this recipe, I skipped the typical asian flavors and went for a southwestern flare. These Brown Sugar Chipotle Flanken Short Ribs are a really easy way to grill this great cut of beef. If you like eating the meat from around the bone of a ribeye… you gotta try this recipe.

Flanken cut Beef Short Ribs are cross cut sections from the Short Primal. Here the short ribs are cut across the bone into thin strips about 3/8” to 1/2” thick. They perfect for marinating or seasoning and grilling up fast.

For this recipe I use Chipotle Pepper, Cayenne, and Smoked Paprika to give the ribs a spicy flavor and to balance out the heat I went with Brown Sugar. The sugar tones down the spice level and helps create a nice caramelization on the outer surface. You can find the recipe below.

Season each piece of short rib on all sides and pat in the rub. Let the meat hang out at room temperature while the grill comes up to temperature.

I fired up my Big Green Egg set up for direct grilling for this recipe but you can use any grill. Royal Oak Lump charcoal is used as a base and when the coals are hot, I add a few chunks of Pecan wood for flavor. Adjust the vents so the Egg runs around 350-400 degrees or medium high heat.

Place the flanken cut ribs on the cooking grate and cook until completely browned on all sides flipping each piece every 5-10 minutes.

You’ll know they’re done when they develop a beautiful, mahogany color on the outside. If some of the pieces start getting dark just move them around on the cooking grate.

This style of short rib is meant to be eaten well done. The fat renders and drips over the hot coals giving the meat a ton of flavor and the coals and pecan wood add the right amount of smoke.

If you love gnawing the last delicious morsels of meat off a good steak then you will go crazy over these Flanken Short Ribs.