Smoked Korean beef short ribs (kalbi) and a mystery pork cut

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solman

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Nov 13, 2015
360
85
I grew up eating a ton of kalbi (korean beef short ribs) and it's always been cooked over a grill, hot and fast. I tried smoking some years ago but it turned out more jerky than tender, and I swore I'd never do it again. I think the problem then was that I smoked it at too high a temperature and/or too long. I figured I'd give it another go.

I remember kalbi being super cheap years ago. Now, it's close to $10/pound.
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I'm not sure what cut of pork this is, but it looked good and I figured I'd smoke it too. It was marinated similar to the kalbi, but definitely sweeter.
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Here's everything laid out on a half sheet pan ready for the smoker. The cut of pork was like a sheet that had been rolled up.
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I used mostly mesquite with a few hickory chunks thrown in. I think total smoke time was around 1.75 hours, temperature 180-190F.
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Out of the smoker, and ready to finish off on a charcoal grill. Next time I may smoke it for a bit longer, maybe 2-2.5 hours at 180-190F.
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Getting nice grill marks on the kalbi.
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My charcoal grill is a weber go anywhere portable grill, so it's pretty small, and I wasn't able to fit everything on it at the same time. Here's the pork getting it's turn on the grill.
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All done. Everything came out great and better than I expected. The mesquite wood smoke flavor really came through on the meat, but wasn't overpowering. Finishing it off on the charcoal grill definitely added to the flavor profile, and I wouldn't do it any other way going forward. This is actually how I ate it, no sides or fillers, just meat. :)
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Looks awesome. Big shout for the Go Anywhere as well. I have one for car camping, and love it.

i love this weber grill! my only complaint is that the air intake dampers on the sides don't open/close easily. my workaround was to cut some aluminum flashing into squares, and insert those in between the actual damper and grill body, and use that to open/close the air intake holes.

Looks really good.
I might have had to put some sauce on that, some nice Bulgogi or maybe Spicy Black Bean.

that's a great idea. i love bulgogi but the sauces and marinades have way too much sugar in them. i thought about reducing the leftover marinade to make a glaze, but even without a sauce, both kalbi and pork came out really well.

Looks great man! Nice cook

thanks! the kalbi and bulgogi marinades are super easy to make but i was feeling lazy and picked these up at the local asian store. next time i'll do my own marinade so i can control how much sugar goes into it.
 
looks tasty, I think your mystery meat looks like a boneless pork butt slice ran through a cube steak (tenderizer) machine
 
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Nice looking smoke. I'd enjoy a plate....

Point for sure
Chris
 
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