Hawaiian Smoked Teriyaki Short Ribs

Inspect your 3 lbs of flanken-cut beef short ribs. These should be sliced across the bone into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick strips. Trim any loose, dangling pieces of fat that might flare up, but leave the intramuscular marbling intact. Ensure the meat is cold when you move to the marinade phase to maintain food safety and prevent the fats from softening prematurely.

In a non-reactive bowl, whisk together 0.5 cup soy sauce, 0.333 cup brown sugar, 0.25 cup pineapple juice, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp grated ginger, 4 cloves grated garlic, and 1 tbsp sesame oil. The salt in the soy sauce and the bromelain enzyme in the pineapple juice will work together to deeply season and tenderize the tough connective tissues typical of short ribs. Ensure the sugar is fully dissolved to avoid gritty textures.

Place the ribs in a gallon-sized vacuum bag or a heavy-duty zip-top bag and pour in the marinade. Massage the liquid into every surface of the meat. Refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours. Because these ribs are thin, they absorb salt and flavor quickly; do not exceed 24 hours or the pineapple juice will turn the beef texture mushy and the salt will over-cure the meat into a ham-like consistency.

Preheat your smoker to a steady 275°F using guava or kiawe wood. These woods provide a sweet, fruit-forward smoke profile traditional to Hawaiian BBQ that doesn't overpower the delicate ginger and mirin notes. Ensure you have a clean, blue smoke harvest rather than thick white billowing smoke, which would leave a bitter creosote taste on the high-sugar marinade.

Remove the ribs from the marinade, but do not rinse them. Reserve the leftover marinade in a small saucepan. Lay the ribs flat on the smoker grates, ensuring they do not overlap. Smoke for 60 to 90 minutes. You are looking for the meat to take on a deep mahogany color and for the fat to begin to soften and glisten. Because they are so thin, we are cooking for color and tenderness rather than a specific internal temperature at this stage.

While the ribs smoke, bring the reserved marinade to a rolling boil for at least 5 minutes to kill any bacteria from the raw meat. Simmer until the liquid reduces by half into a thick, syrupy tare glaze. This Japanese lacquer technique concentrates the sugars and umami, allowing you to paint a thick, glossy coat onto the ribs that won't simply run off into the fire.

Increase your heat source or move the ribs to a direct heat zone. Brush a thin layer of the reduced tare onto the ribs. Sear for 1-2 minutes per side until the sugars bubble and slightly char (the 'Maillard reaction'). Apply a second coat of tare and sear again briefly. This builds the 'Hawaiian lacquer' look—a shiny, tacky, and slightly blackened crust that defines authentic plate-lunch ribs.

Remove the ribs from the heat and let them rest for only 5 minutes—enough for the juices to redistribute but not so long that the crispy edges soften. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds and fresh scallions. Serve immediately with white rice and macaroni salad to balance the salt and smoke of the beef. Ensure the internal temperature has surpassed 160°F for beef safety while maintaining the juicy bite of the short rib.