An Epic Fail

While making my grocery list earlier this week, I came across a recipe for slow cooked Asian Shredded Beef.  Per the reviews, it pretty much sounded like bulgogi--since making bulgogi can be time consuming I was excited to find a recipe that did all the work and guaranteed a tender piece of meat.

I threw all the ingredients in the crockpot this morning and when I came home from work, the house smelled delicious.  As I was walking in the Mayor's Holiday Parade, Justin started the rice and supper was ready when I got home.  I was so excited to try the bulgogi!

The recipe was an epic failure.  Salty doesn't even begin to describe the sodium content.  Don't get me wrong--I love salt and generally think things are on the bland side...after all, I would be thrilled if someone gave me a salt block!  But holy cow--I couldn't even eat the meat because it was so salty.  The flavor was good, but something tells me the soy sauce/ketchup/hoison sauce combination was a bit much!  In the future--if I'm ever brave enough--I may try it with reduced sodium soy sauce and a tomato paste v. ketchup.

And I think part of the problem was an Asian rib recipe we tried over Halloween weekend...I keep thinking about it and comparing other meat dishes to it!  I had just seen it on Allrecipes.com and as it turned out, Hy-Vee had the short ribs deeply discounted that particular week...so I just had to try it!

I skipped the whole marinating part and the meat still soaked up tons of flavor....only suggestion: cut back on the amount of sesame oil and olive oil.  I realize oil plays a huge role in marinating meat but the ribs produced enough grease on their own...and the additional 6 Tablesppons of oil was ridiculous.  I would guess that adding a bit of sesame oil at the end would give you enough flavor to satisfy the taste buds!

ASIAN STYLE COUNTRY RIBS
Ingredients

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot pepper sauce (I must say, I love anything that calls for the rooster sauce!)
12 boneless country-style pork ribs

Directions:

1.Stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and Sriracha in the crock of a slow cooker. Add the ribs; cover and refrigerate. Allow ribs to marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.

2.Before cooking, drain marinade and discard. Cook on Low for 9 hours. Drain cooked meat and shred, using 2 forks.  Serve with hot rice or shredded cabbage for a crunch (yes, this sounds crazy but I like serving it with Asian meat dishes--it doesn't add any flavor but rather texture).