Braised Short Ribs

History, tradition and origin

Grilling a thick cut of beef over fire is ancient, but the steakhouse is a nineteenth-century invention of cities such as London and New York, where chophouses fed merchants and workers. Cuts took their names from butchers and inns. Steak remains the dish of business dinners, birthdays and backyard grills, and each country argues for its own cut and doneness.

Food economy and industry

Beef is graded on marbling and age: Prime, Choice and Select in the United States, and AAA, AA and A in Canada. Dry-ageing concentrates flavour by hanging beef in cold, dry air for weeks, and the weight lost in the process raises the price. Ranching, feedlots and meat packing together form one of the largest parts of the farm economy in the Americas and Australia.