Mediterranean Beef Short Ribs
Dinner party featuring wagyu beef short ribs & flavors of countries near the Mediterranean
We recently hosted a small dinner party at our place, and due to all the hustle in the kitchen, I decided to document this meal with my phone instead of a professional camera.
I ordered about 10 pounds of wagyu beef short ribs from G5 Cattle and Meats in Sulpher Springs, Texas. The arrived well-packaged and did not require much trimming. I created a sweet and sour dry rub with sumac, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and other spices, then dry brined them overnight.
The ribs were slow roasted in the oven until tender, and paired with a moroccan-inspired BBQ sauce with harissa and dates.






Recipe Notes
North African-inspired BBQ Sauce + Glaze
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- Garlic paste (1 bulb garlic, steam in oven = 1 heaping Tbsp paste)
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp harissa
- Date water (4 pitted dates, briefly heated in microwave with 1.5 cups water + blended)
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp cumin
- 6 sprigs cilantro
- ⅛ tsp ground clove
- Pepper
- Salt to taste
Simmer ingredients, then blend.
Middle Eastern-inspired Oven Roasted Short Ribs
Dry Rub
For 10 pounds, or 8 short ribs, 6” in length
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 Tbsp sumac
- 1 Tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cardamom
To Roast
- 300 oven
- 1 cup water
- Bone down
- 3.5 hours
- Then, uncover, increase to 400. Roast for 25 to 30 mins.
Polenta
- 5 cups water
- 1 cup cornmeal
- Salt
- 2 Tbsp butter
Blitz cornmeal in the blender. On high heat, sprinkle cornmeal in water while whisking. Bring to “boil” (sputter) then reduce heat, stirring frequently for 1 hour. Stir in butter in small amounts prior to serving.
Cucumber & Tomato Relish
- Persian cucumbers
- Roma tomatoes
- Red onion
- Red wine vinegar
- Olive oil
- Parsley
- Dill
- Salt pepper
Seed cucumbers and tomatoes. Combine ingredients and let sit and room temperature while preparing other dishes.
Baba Ganoush
- 1 large eggplant
- 2 cloves raw garlic
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp tahini
- Juice of one lemon
- Salt
- Garnish with parsley & pomegranate perils
Char eggplant. Drain water. Process eggplant. Drizzle tahini + olive oil while food processor is running.