Indoor Beef "kabobs" -- Persian Kabob Barg

This is my knockoff of the delicious steak kabobs available at many of our local Persian restaurants. This recipe is meant to be cooked indoors in lieu of grilling real kabobs; it makes very meaty, tender, smoky beef. Serve with saffron rice, kashk-e-bademjan, and a cucumber salad.

• Ready In: 8 hrs 45 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  lb boneless beef short rib
• 1  cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 -3  tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional and not strictly authentic, but I like it!)
• 1  tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Cut beef short ribs into long strips about 1/4-inch wide; kitchen shears are very handy here.
2. Mix all other ingredients except olive oil in a large plastic bag. Alternatively, of course, a bowl with a cover is fine.
3. Coat the beef evenly in the yogurt mixture and marinade for 8-24 hours.
4. Wipe or rinse most of the marinade off of the beef and pat mostly dry -- you want a little bit of marinade to stay on, for browning, but not a solid layer, which would burn while the meat steamed under it.
5. In a large nonstick pan, heat the olive oil on high heat. When it starts to smoke very slightly, put in three or four pieces of meat -- don't crowd the pan here! -- and brown on both sides, about one-two minutes per side.
6. Rest on a plate in a very low oven while you cook the rest of the meat in batches.
7. Cut the rested meat into bite-sized pieces; again, a good pair of kitchen shears makes this much easier.
8. Serve over rice.