1kg Pasture-Raised Beef Short Rib

Short rib cut from cattle raised on open pasture in the Free State. Grass-fed, grass-finished. No feedlot finishing, no antibiotics, no growth hormones.

About the cut

Short rib is beef taken from the lower chest and belly area, cut across the bone so each piece has a thick slab of meat sitting on top. It's one of the most marbled, flavourful cuts on the whole animal — the meat is run through with fat and connective tissue that need time and heat to turn into something extraordinary.

Pasture-raised short rib has a deeper red colour than grain-fed. The fat is cream-white, not yellow. When you cook it slowly, the connective tissue breaks down into gelatine and the meat falls off the bone with a fork.

How to cook it

The single rule with short rib: low and slow. This is not a weeknight cut. It's a Sunday cut, a dinner-party cut, a leave-it-in-the-oven-while-you-live-your-life cut.

• Braised: sear the ribs on all sides in a hot pot, then add red wine, stock, onion, carrot, and a bay leaf. Cover and put in the oven at 150°C for 3 hours. The meat should slide off the bone.
• Korean-style (galbi): marinate overnight in soy, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, pear and a little sugar. Grill hot and fast. Serve with rice and kimchi.
• Slow smoker: 110°C for 5–6 hours until the bark is dark and the meat probes tender. Rest for 30 minutes before cutting.
• The pot that cooks itself: brown the ribs, throw them in a slow cooker with onions, garlic, tinned tomatoes and a glass of wine. 8 hours on low. Shred, serve over pap or mash.

Save the bones after the meat is off them. They make the best stock of any cut.