Beef Plate Short Ribs (NAMP 123A) on my Old Country Wrangler – Last weekend. I've been smoking on the Wrangler for a couple of years now. And, I love getting out there and smoking any kind of meat on it. I used post oak. Actually have three racks of wood that I use...one for hickory, one for red oak, and one for post oak.
A lot of people complain about not being able to keep the temps down on the Wrangler. And, I had that problem at first...but, I think just getting used to it, and getting it broke in helped it tremendously. I can keep it between 225*-235* for 12-14 hours if I need to, for a pork butt.
But, one thing I did learn from Aaron Franklin when smoking beef ribs or brisket at 250*-275* is I leave my firebox door open just about all the time, and always leave my smoke stack damper wide open. I start off with a chimney of charcoal, and one split of wood. Then, I just add another split about every hour or so. It'll set right there between 250*-275* as long as it needs to. Every once in a while, I'll need to add two splits if my temps start getting down below 240*...just to get it back up. I've also learned that you don't have to mess with it all the time, and try to keep right on a certain temp. If you can keep it within 25*-30* during your smoke, you're doing well. But, I leave that firebox door open and the smoke stack damper open all the time to keep the airflow going through. I've found if you try to close off the air flow too much, it will get hotter than just leaving it wide open. And, if it gets too hot after adding a split, I just open the lid on the firebox for a bit to let it cool down some at the grate. But, that doesn't happen very often.
I rubbed the ribs with Kosher salt and course black pepper, only. Smoked with bones down for about 7 hours at 250*-275* smoker temp. This is seriously some fantastic eating, and one of the easiest pieces of meat to smoke. If you haven't tried smoking some beef short ribs yet, let me urge you to give it a shot...you'll be surprised at how easy they are to smoke, for such great taste. I've tried different rubs in the past. But, after talking to Wayne Mueller, from Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX, I've started using just salt and pepper...same for brisket. That's what most of the great Texas barbecue places do, and really that is all beef needs. But, Wayne said his rub is 1-part salt to 9-parts pepper...and even though I think his beef ribs are the best there is, I don't use quite that much pepper.
The problem with beef ribs, even in Texas, is getting your hands on them. The next ones I smoke, I'm going to try the Beef Chuck Short Ribs (NAMP 130). Just to see the difference. The plate ribs (NAMP 123A) are 3-bone racks and consist of ribs 6-8 in the plate area behind the brisket. The chuck ribs (NAMP 130) are the 4-bone racks consisting of ribs 2-5 in the chuck area above the brisket. Some Texas barbecue joints do the plate ribs, and some do the chuck ribs. Wayne Mueller told me he did the chuck ribs for years, but changed about 5 years ago to the plate ribs. He says you get more meat on the plate ribs.
The plate ribs I did below were about $9 a pound. But, considering Texas barbecue joints charge anywhere from $18-$23 a pound to eat theirs, not too bad. However, I have finally found a butcher that I can get the chuck ribs from. He said he normally cuts them across the bone, flanken style, and has them for $5.98 a pound. But, if I want un-cut racks, he could sell them to me for $4.98 a pound. Now, we're talking, and I can't wait to try some.
This coming weekend, we're having some folks over for a barbecue, and I'm going to do 4 more racks of these plate ribs, along with some sausage. Then, the next time, I'll be giving the chuck ribs a try.
1 hour in:
3 hours in:
5 hours in...starting to look good:
7 hours in, and finished:
Sliced and ready to eat:
I have to say, they were fantastic! I only smoked the one rack, since it was just me and the wife. We ate one rib each of the two bigger ones. Then, I had the one with the fewest meat on it for breakfast the next morning. It was absolutely amazing, even warmed up in the microwave. As expensive as brisket has gotten lately, I think beef ribs are going to be my go-to meat for a while. They are definitely worth the price...and the smoke time is about half what a brisket takes. Win-Win!