Corky’s Oven Barbecued Short Ribs – Flanken-Cut Beef Ribs Dry-Rubbed with a Spicy Seasoning Blend, Slow Roasted with Sauce to Tender-Crisp Perfection
As some of you may have heard, I recently embarked on a new business venture as a partner in an entertainment company called WonderFish Media. It’s an exciting new step and I’ve met some really fun, inspiring people along the way. Recently I hosted a dinner party to celebrate the new business. One of our partners, Hal “Corky” Kessler, was excited to make his famous oven barbecued short ribs for the occasion. He even brought his own dry rub all the way from Chicago. The ribs were a huge hit, and I knew I had to share them with all of you. They have a serious kick… you’ve been warned!
Corky’s “famous spice rub” uses a blend of 3-4 different rubs in equal amounts – he likes a mix of Kirkland Sweet Mesquite Seasoning, Rudy’s Turku Rub, Kozlik’s Meat Rub, and another brand that is coincidentally called Corky’s. Unfortunately these rubs are not widely available in my area, so I had to make do with finding their ingredients online and trying to replicate them on my own. The custom blend below is my crack at capturing Corky’s delectable rib flavor from scratch.
Short ribs are cut two different ways. Flanken ribs are cut across the bone so that each piece contains 3-4 small pieces of bone between the areas of meat. If you’ve ever cooked or eaten Korean food, you may be familiar with this style of ribs. The short ribs most of us are familiar with, known as English Cut, are cut between the bone, leaving you with one approximately 4 inch long, thick piece of meat attached to one piece of bone. Corky insists on a flanken cut for these ribs; I think it helps keep the meat inside juicy. They can be found at kosher markets or in the meat department of most nicer grocery stores, though it’s likely you’ll have to ask the butcher to cut them for you. Korean grocers also stock them. Just make sure you ask the butcher to slice them 1 inch thick. Enjoy!
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Corky's Oven Barbecued Short Ribs
8 servings
15 minutes
2 hours
Meat
Description
Flanken-cut beef ribs dry-rubbed with a spicy seasoning blend, slow roasted with sauce to tender-crisp perfection.Ingredients
Dry Rub Ingredients
- 3 3/4 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp celery salt
- 1 1/2 tsp marjoram
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp chili powder (mild)
- 3/4 tsp dried sage
- 3/4 tsp sour salt (or citric acid)
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- Heaping 1/4 tsp allspice
Ingredients
- 4 lbs bone-in flanken rib strips cut 1 inch thick (8 rib strips - should have 4 bones to each piece)
- 3/4 cup sweet barbecue sauce
- 3/4 cup spicy barbecue sauce
- 1 tbsp dry rub mixture
Recipe Notes
You will also need: Baking sheet tray, aluminum foil (or nonstick cooking spray), basting brush, tongs
Instead of the custom spice blend listed here, Corky simply uses a blend of 3-4 barbecue spice rubs. His favorites are Kirkland Sweet Mesquite Seasoning, Rudy's Turku Rub, Corky's Rub and Kozlik's Meat Rub.
If making gluten free, use the from-scratch spice blend and make sure all of your products are certified GF.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together all of the dry rub ingredients until well incorporated. Set aside 1 tbsp of rub for later.
- Cover a sheet tray with aluminum foil or a generous amount of nonstick cooking spray and place the ribs, evenly spaced, on the tray. Coat one side of the ribs with half of the dry rub mixture, then turn and coat the other side. Place the ribs in the oven for 1 hour.
- After one hour has passed, remove the ribs from the oven and use tongs to flip them over. Place back in the oven for 1 hour, or until nicely browned.
- After the second hour has passed, remove the ribs from the oven and turn the oven temperature up to 450 degrees F.
- While the oven heats up, mix the two barbecue sauces and 1 tbsp of dry mix in a mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Generously coat each side of the ribs with the barbecue sauce mixture using a basting brush.
- Once the oven has reached 450 degrees F, place the ribs back into the oven for 2-3 minutes, just until they are crisp on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside. Watch closely to make sure they don't burn. Slice and serve!
IVY says
September 7, 2018 at 3:24 pmSo good and easy! My first time cooking this type of bib and I love them! I used cumin, salt, pepper, garlic and Johnny’s seasoning salt for my rub and sweet baby rays for my sauce. Will save and make again!
jon says
October 28, 2017 at 8:55 pmThis tasted amazing
kaley Pittman says
September 28, 2017 at 4:44 pmMine are in the oven now!! Mouth is watering!
Yvonne R. Lucas says
June 15, 2017 at 4:05 pmI’ve had nothing but success with this recipe. Served it at 2 dinner parties and now I’m hailed as a gourmet chef! LOL
My best kept secret recipe ever! Thank you Corky & Tori!
Patricia Maddox says
May 29, 2017 at 11:04 pmSo good. Make ut almost to recipe except I was out of oregano and did not know what sour salt was so I used a little extra sea salt.
I never eat fat on any meat, this seasoning is so good I chewed up the seasoned fat like it was meat. Thank you so much for the seasoning mix. It is perfect. My son has allergies so I make everything to avoid gluten and dairy. This is sooooo good. It is my go to recipe for oven bbq. My short ribs were fatty so I did drain the pan before adding the bbq sauce.
Santo says
May 27, 2017 at 2:36 pmAny feedback on making this with out sugar?
Julie Cluff says
May 20, 2017 at 6:48 amI have never cooked ribs before, nor had I heard of flanken style, googled it and this recipe came up. I followed it step by step and was thoroughly impressed. I will definitely be making these again, yum!!!
Kerry says
April 5, 2017 at 4:43 pmHi, I just tried this recipe, following the step by step directions, and it tastes and looks amazing!
However, it came out slightly chewier than I prefer. If I would like the meat to be softer – as in falling off the bone, can i cook it for longer after its been done? If so, would i need to add more BBQ sauce and under what temperature?
Thank you for such a fabulous recipe!
Tori Avey says
April 5, 2017 at 5:14 pmYou can increase the cook time before saucing – try 1 hour 15 minutes on each side, which will up the cook time by 30 minutes. If that’s not enough, you can do longer… but make sure the cook time is increased prior to saucing, not after. Glad you enjoyed it!
Michelle says
March 2, 2017 at 5:02 pmGreat recipe!! I will be making these again very soon.
Jill Drury says
November 26, 2016 at 2:06 pmSlice how? Just get the meat off the bone you mean?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
December 12, 2016 at 12:10 pmHi Jill, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! Yes, just cut the meat off of the bones before serving. Hope this helps!
ashley says
November 14, 2016 at 7:55 pmAbsolutely amazing! I got extra thin cut ribs, so coated in a mix of coffee and brown sugar rubs, turned them over after an hour, then coated in a thin layer of bbq sauce at that point, left in for 30 minutes then increased temp to get that glaze of sauce to set. Fell off the bone!
FaylinaMeir says
July 14, 2016 at 6:15 pmSimilar experience to JGB. The ribs came out over cooked and I would reduce cooking time to 45 minutes per side for sure. Taste wise pretty good but a little tough.
I think the problem lies in the fact flanken ribs can come in varying thickness. Was only after that I read the 1 inch part. Mine weren’t that thick. I would definately do this again though.
Oh I DID add some liquid smoke for extra flavor and I highly recommend. I used maybe 1/4 tsp directly mixed onto the meat before I added the rub. MMM
JGB says
March 15, 2016 at 7:35 pmI followed the instructions carefully, but this didn’t work out exactly right. Although everyone liked the flavor (thus the four stars), the meat was clearly overdone. I don’t know if my oven cooks differently than Tori’s. Nonetheless, if I do this again, I’ll reduce the cook time to 45 minutes per side and/or constantly check with a meat thermometer.
Tori Avey says
March 25, 2016 at 9:05 pmHi JGB, thanks for your feedback. It may have to do with the width of the ribs you chose. I recommend 1-inch thick ribs, which is what the recipe was tested with. Thinner ribs will naturally cook faster. It could also have to do with oven calibration, some ovens run hotter than others.
Cyril Thompson says
October 17, 2015 at 6:47 amjust looking at this recipe , makes me water at the mouth, it’s a must try recipe, well done to Corkie,uuuuuuuuuuuuu who
Kate says
September 18, 2015 at 2:45 pmOh wow! We are rib fanatics in this house, so I’m absolutely going to make these for dinner next week! YUM!!
Dianne Armstrong says
September 13, 2015 at 1:05 amNow I want ribs again! 😀
Barbara says
September 10, 2015 at 11:37 amWhat brand of barbeque sauce(s) did you use? I find they vary widely in taste. Corky’s has occasionally done a kosher run of his ribs (for fundraising projects) and they are AMAZING! So excited to try this recipe.
Tori Avey says
September 10, 2015 at 4:23 pmHi Barbara, my Corky (not the Memphis Corky!) doesn’t specify which sauce. I used Stubbs, but you can’t really go wrong with any combo of sweet and spicy sauces. The key is mixing some of the rub into the sauce. Enjoy!
Hadasah Kraemer says
September 10, 2015 at 7:35 amYum!
נָטָלִי יואניצכי says
September 10, 2015 at 3:33 amLooks yummy
Alice Ann Hengesbach says
September 9, 2015 at 8:45 pmOh my “thank you.” For those of you south of the Mason-Dixon, my Food Lion offers flanken cut ribs! I also use them for a family recipe for cabbage soup.
Angela McDonald Tinnermon says
September 9, 2015 at 7:40 pmLooks yummy!!
David Weinstein says
September 9, 2015 at 7:29 pmLooks good – was the Corky’s rub from Corky’s in Memphis?
Jan Klein says
September 11, 2015 at 3:03 amTori Avey, if you need more, I work for Corky’s! Let me know. I did a double take when I read the post. 🙂
Raysin says
April 28, 2016 at 8:33 amIs this the David Weinstein who knows shooey Louie?
Joseph Thompson says
September 9, 2015 at 6:55 pmLooks good