Teriyaki Flanken Short Ribs
Teriyaki Flanken Short Ribs
These teriyaki flanken short ribs are the short-rib recipe you make when you want bone-in beef off the grill in under ten minutes of cook time. Flanken is the cut that rewrites the short-rib rulebook, instead of the thick English-style block that braises for three hours, flanken is sliced cross-cut through the bone into thin strips about half an inch wide. Four or five oval bone cross-sections per strip, marbling running the full length, and enough surface area per pound to pick up real char in two to three minutes a side.
Flanken is cut across the bones rather than between them, which makes this the fastest thing in the BBQ rib recipes and the only one that does not want an afternoon.
The move here is Kinder’s Teriyaki Glaze as the marinade for teriyaki flanken short ribs, savory-sweet, soy-forward, just enough sugar to caramelize on high heat without tipping into candy. The thin slices let the marinade reach the center of the beef through the bone slices in hours, not days. Grill hot, grill fast, pull when the edges are darkened and the glaze is shiny. Sesame seeds and sliced green onion at the plate. That’s the whole thing.
Teriyaki flanken short ribs ride the line between Korean galbi and Japanese teriyaki, same cross-cut style used in Korean LA galbi, dressed in a Japanese-leaning glaze. Weeknight-fast, entertaining-worthy, and honestly hard to overcook if you respect the timer. A pound per person if this is the main, three-quarter pound if it’s riding with rice and something green.
The short version of the playbook: marinate four to twelve hours, drain and pat dry, hot grill, two to three minutes a side, rest two minutes, finish with sesame and scallion, separate the bone segments with scissors or a knife if you want individual rib pieces for a platter. Serves four to six off a four-pound rack.
Three details separate a great teriyaki flanken short ribs plate from a middling one: the marinade has to reach through the bone slices (time, not force, four hours minimum), the grill has to be truly hot before the beef hits (flanken is too thin to forgive a cold grate), and the beef has to come off when the outside is dark and the inside is still pink. Past medium, thin-cut short ribs turn chewy, the fat hasn’t had time to render and the muscle seizes.
Teriyaki flanken short ribs are a high-heat, high-reward cook. Dairy-free by default, high-protein by every measure, and the sort of dish you can plate on a board and have people eating with their hands inside thirty seconds. Flavor-forward, minimal equipment, zero drama.
Flavor First.
Teriyaki Flanken Short Ribs
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Transfer beef into a large sealable freezer bag. Add teriyaki sauce, press out air from bag and seal. Massage beef by turning beef around in the bag, ensuring beef is well coated. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, overnight for best results.
- Heat grill to medium-high heat.
- Drain excess marinade from beef and place on the grill. Grill for about 3-4 minutes, flip, then grill for another 3-4 minutes until desired doneness.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve with rice or broccoli. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
- Know what you’re buying. Flanken (also called cross-cut or Korean-cut short ribs) is sliced across the bone into thin strips, usually around half an inch thick, with four to five small oval bone cross-sections per strip. That’s different from English-cut short ribs, which are thick bone-in blocks meant for braising. Flanken goes on a hot grill; English-cut goes in the oven for hours. Ask the butcher for “flanken cut” or “Korean-style short ribs” if the label isn’t obvious.
- Marinate four to twelve hours, not longer. The bone slices make flanken act like a thinner cut than it looks — four hours gets the teriyaki into the center, twelve hours deepens the flavor without breaking down the muscle. Past about sixteen hours, the salt and sugar start pulling water out of the beef and the texture goes soft-mushy on the grill. If you started the marinade last night, you’re fine. Overnight is the sweet spot.
- Drain and pat dry before the grill. Excess marinade drips onto the flames, flares up, and coats the outside of the ribs in steam instead of sear. Shake the strips over the bag, pat the surfaces with paper towel, and place them on a grate you’ve already preheated to medium-high. Dry beef on hot metal is the whole game.
- Two to three minutes per side, that’s it. Teriyaki flanken short ribs cook fast because they’re thin. At medium-high heat (around 450°F), you’re looking for darkened char lines on the first side in two to three minutes, a single flip, and another two to three minutes on the second side. Total grill time four to six minutes per strip. Any longer and the beef tightens up.
- Rest before you plate — even for thin cuts. Two minutes off the grate on a cutting board, loose foil tent optional. The juices redistribute, the glaze sets, and the ribs stop cooking from residual heat. Slicing or serving straight off the grill turns flanken gray inside in about thirty seconds.
- Separate the bone segments after cooking, not before. Each flanken strip has four or five small round bones running through it. Once the ribs rest, run a knife or kitchen shears between each bone to portion into individual rib pieces — easier to eat off a platter, better for passing around. Doing this before grilling is more trouble than it’s worth and costs you surface area for the sear.
- Sesame and green onion at the plate, not in the marinade. Sesame seeds toasted dry in a small skillet for ninety seconds before scattering; sliced green onion at the last moment so it stays sharp. Neither survives a long marinade — they belong on top, right before serving.
- Serve teriyaki flanken short ribs as the centerpiece of a grilled board, bone-segments-apart on a warm platter with sesame and scallion over the top. They eat best with your hands, one bone-segment at a time.
- Teriyaki flanken short ribs pair with steamed short-grain rice or jasmine rice (the glaze begs for something starchy to catch it), a quick cucumber salad dressed with rice vinegar and sesame, or grilled baby bok choy charred until the edges blacken. A scoop of kimchi on the side leans the plate Korean; pickled ginger and a small bowl of miso lean it Japanese — both work.
- For a full cookout: add grilled pineapple spears (the acid cuts the glaze), corn on the cob, and a cold macaroni salad. For drinks, a cold Japanese lager, a dry riesling, or a highball with Suntory and soda. Cold hojicha if it’s the middle of the day.
- Store cooked teriyaki flanken short ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The glaze actually gets better overnight as the flavors settle into the beef — next-day teriyaki flanken short ribs cold-sliced over rice is a legitimate meal.
- To reheat teriyaki flanken short ribs, a dry skillet over medium heat for 2–3 minutes flipping once is the move — crisps the exterior back up and re-warms the fat without drying out the muscle. Microwave works for lunch speed (30–45 seconds covered), but you lose the glaze snap.
- Cold flanken is legitimately good too — slice the meat off the bone segments, pile it over rice with a little soy and sesame oil, and you’ve got a next-day donburi. Freezing cooked ribs isn’t recommended; the glaze breaks and the thin strips lose texture on thaw.
- Marinated raw ribs can be frozen in the marinade bag for up to 2 months — thaw overnight in the fridge, drain, and grill as directed.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between flanken and English-cut short ribs? Flanken (also called cross-cut or Korean-cut) is sliced across the bone into thin strips about half an inch thick, with four or five small oval bone cross-sections per strip. English-cut is sliced parallel to the bone into thick rectangular blocks, typically 2–3 inches across. Flanken is built for quick high-heat cooking on the grill; English-cut is built for long low braises in the oven or a Dutch oven. Same animal, completely different cooking approach. Teriyaki flanken short ribs are the fast version, do not try this recipe with English-cut.
How long should I marinate teriyaki flanken short ribs? Four to twelve hours. The bone slices let the marinade penetrate faster than you’d think. Four hours gets the teriyaki through to the center; overnight is the sweet spot for depth of flavor. Past about sixteen hours, the salt and sugar start to soften the muscle fibers and the texture turns mushy on the grill. If you’re prepping in the morning for dinner, you’re covered.
Can I make teriyaki flanken short ribs in the oven or on the stovetop if I don’t have a grill? Yes to both. Stovetop: a cast-iron skillet or grill pan over high heat for 2–3 minutes a side, same timing as the grill. Crack a window, the glaze smokes. Oven: broil on a sheet pan on the top rack, 3 minutes a side with the door cracked so you can watch for char. You lose the smoke flavor of an open flame, but the fast-sear technique transfers cleanly.
Are teriyaki flanken short ribs gluten-free? Not as written. Most commercial teriyaki glazes, including Kinder’s, are soy-sauce-based and contain wheat unless the label specifically says gluten-free. For a gluten-free version, build a substitute with tamari or coconut aminos (1 cup tamari, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon sesame oil) and marinate the same way. Confirm any bottled glaze label before using.
Can I prep this ahead for a party? The marinade step is the ahead move, bag the ribs in teriyaki the night before, keep them in the fridge up to 12 hours, and you’re 4 minutes of grill time away from a platter. Grilling ahead and reheating is the weaker play; flanken is at its best straight off the heat. If you have to reheat, the dry-skillet method above is the cleanest. For a crowd, grill in batches and serve as each batch comes off the grate.
Why is my flanken tough? Almost always overcooked. Flanken is thin and lean-to-medium-marbled, past medium-well, the muscle fibers seize and the fat hasn’t had time to render the way it does in a long-braise English cut. Pull the ribs when the outside is darkened and the interior is still pink (medium-rare to medium). The rest does the rest. The other common culprit: marinating past 16 hours, which softens the muscle in a different direction and can leave it mushy-then-tough on heat.
More like this: Grilling Recipes · Summer Grilling Recipes
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