Grilled Maui Ribs

After second winter it actually looks like spring is here to stay (knock on wood, cross your fingers, wish upon a star...). With the balmy mid March weather that we had it was a bit of a reality shock to see white stuff back on the ground and have to put the winter chore clothes back on. All the while feeling slightly disgusted with myself on how wimpy I became after only 2-3 weeks of nice weather. Amazing how quickly that happens. It was only a few weeks ago that any time the temperature climbed over minus 20 and the wind stopped blowing that it felt like t-shirt weather. Wow my standards have changed!

I felt so sorry for the grass that was too optimistic about the weather for it's own good and had not been warned about the fickle nature of Alberta seasons. Second winter came as a bit of surprise to these little pasture plants.

But the moisture is good for the grass. That was my mantra as I ditched my summer chore clothes and put my winter coveralls back on. The moisture is good. The moisture is good.

What is that saying? Wait 5 minutes if you don't like the weather and it will change? Here we are back in the sunshine!

The replacement heifers are a curious and friendly bunch.With the warm weather I've been taking longer and more frequent office breaks to go and visit.

Replacement heifers are the female calves that we retain in the herd to have calves of their own. These girls are 11 months old now. They will have their first babies next spring!

As soon as the weather starts to warm up the BBQ at our house gets a work out. I think I've used it for 99% of the meals since the weather smartened up. Minus second winter. I skipped a day during second winter.

Cara was home last weekend and she had a couple requests for supper. One was Maui ribs. I've grilled a few of these every time the BBQ has been on the past few weeks. Because who doesn't love finger food?!

Maui ribs are also called Korean style beef ribs or flanken cut short ribs. They're the same muscle as short ribs but instead of the bones being cut in 2 inch lengths they are cut less than a 1/4 inch - similar to thick cut bacon. They have the same layers of marbled beef over rib bones like the short rib.

They are more tender than a short rib because the muscle fibre is cut across the grain. But they still benefit from a marinade for a couple hours at least to help tenderize them. Personally I like to marinate them overnight for that extra yummy punch of flavour! That does take some planning. And believe me having my ducks in a row isn't a personal strength. But it's worth the extra effort for these ribs. Call it personal development. And pretend that it will rub off on other areas of your life. Ha

Variety is the spice of life right? Not when it comes to marinades. Seriously though - I use this marinade all the time. Talk about a comfort zone. There's tons of good marinades but this one just tops them all! I literally use it on everything - kebabs, sirloin, round, flank, skirt, flat iron and of course Maui ribs!

The marinade takes about 5 minutes to put together the night before. All you have to do is pour it over the ribs either in a container of some sort or a ziploc bag. Then into the fridge they go!

An hour or so before you plan to cook them, take the container out of the fridge to allow the meat to come up to room temperature. Then set your grill to medium high heat and start grilling! These ribs take no time at all because they are thin cut. Two minutes or so per side to get sear marks on them then flip. These are best eaten as finger food!

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