Anthology

Anthology's Beef Short Rib Sliders - by Chef Todd Allison

Seems like everywhere you go, restaurants are serving up sliders.

Usually, they are smaller hamburgers or chicken sandwiches, but Anthology chef Todd Allison is going one better: He’s added Short Rib Sliders made with our own house dried tomato, a homemade Chimichurri sauce and served with spicy Kimchi.

Allison explains how he came to this culinary creation.

Q. So, a lot of places do burgers as sliders, why did you decide to use short ribs instead?

Allison: I used shortribs instead of ground beef because of how our venue operates. This dish is built for speed. Our guests don’t have to wait 10 minutes for the burger to cook. It’s already to go and at your table in 4 min.

Q. Man, they’re good. What was the inspiration for this?

A. I’ve always liked having shortribs on the menu, but always felt it was a heavy
dish for an entrée. So I thought this would be a fun treat for our guests to
have without filling them up, leaving them some room to enjoy other food on the
menu.

Q. Well, I, for one, appreciate your thoughtfulness. Do you braise these? If so, for how long?

A. I like to braise my ribs for three hours at a low temp so they are nice and tender with all that flavor from the braising jus.

Q. Mmmmm, braising juice, er, jus. What do you suppose are common mistakes people make with short ribs?

A. The most common mistake made with shortribs is undercooking. This makes the
shortrib tough or chewy and hard to enjoy. Shortribs should fall apart in your
mouth and be juicy.

Q. What is the key to getting the most out of them?

A. In my opinion, the key to shortribs is the braising liquid. This is where you
will get all the flavor with the caramelized vegetables, veal stock, and red wine.

Q. There is definite flavor here, but you serve your sliders with house-dried tomato. Do you put them on the roof or
do you use a food dehydrator?

A. I peel the skin off my tomatoes, cut them into quarters and toss them in
herbs, olive oil and salt. Then I put them into a food dehydrator for 10 hours.

Q. Chimichurri is one of those sauces that tastes so good, but people can’t believe
how simple it is. So, how simple is it?

A. Chimichurri is a simple. yet very flavorful sauce. It consists of garlic,
parsley, lemon juice and I add jalepenoes for a little kick. It’s all put into a food processor and pureed with olive oil — its that simple!

Q. Seriously tasty too. This is a real cross-cultural dish, with the Italian tomatoes, the South American chimichurri and the spicy kimchi for Korea. Now, the kimchi comes on the side. Should I put on the burger or is it a palate cleanser like ginger with sushi?

A. My slider dish takes you around the world in three bites. The kimchi can be
used two different ways: You can add it to the slider for some added crunchy heat, or eat it on the side as a spicy coleslaw. It also helps cut through the richness
of the shortrib.

Q. Kimchi sometimes scares people off, but it’s really good. How do you approach
it?

A. Kimchi is definitely an acquired taste,its got this unique spicy asian fermented cabbage flavor that is a long time favorite of mine and I
always like to incorporate it in my menu when possible.

Q. Anything else I should know about the dish?

A. Well, when asked about it, I always respond, “Don’t knock it til you try it!”

Anthology Chef Todd Allison

About Todd Allison:

When Anthology chef Todd Allison is not composing culinary masterpieces, this Coronado native loves playing the piano, drums and guitar. He’s won numerous honors for his skills, including, the Mobile 5-Star, Triple A 5-Diamond and the Grand Wine Spectator awards.