Jacobs ladder / Short Beef rib

Tuesday ,7 January 2014  is a bit of a calmer day after the stormy wintery windy coastal flooding weather we have been experiencing in the last few days since Christmas.But its still not a calm day with strong cold winds. I decided after my BBQ that I had last night in the stormy weather that I should have a nice topic for the blog to start the new year with. Last week I bought some Jacobs Ladder or more commonly known as Short Rib from my butcher . Short rib is also a term that I think people use rather loosely sometimes but that’s for another day. Its a very underrated cut and can normally cost the same as brisket / shank. But its a big piece of meat for great value . This is something that you want to cook slowly to appreciate all the flavor in the meat and take advantage from all the fat on the meat .If you bbq/cook it too hard and too fast it will be very tough and a waste of a good piece of meat .

The best way is to start of by indirect cooking which means not on top of the coals but to the side . If you have a lid /kettle BBQ it will trap the heat so with very little effort and few coals it can cook over a long time . This is like doing a roast dinner in the oven over a long period with low heat but with the added smokey flavor .

When it was ready I browned the flesh fat bit with the direct heat method directly over the coals before taking off the BBQ .  This meant that I had the crackly fat bit with still the option of a rare to medium rare meat .