Beef Short Ribs

[d-train]

Thanks, fellas.  I will be on the hunt in local supermarkets and meat markets looking for comparable shorties.  Im hooked now.  My mother-in-law is convinced she can't make them edible, so maybe she will keep sending them my way 

 

[reinhard]

D-Train,  ask your butcher to sell you the whole beef plate and split it in half length wise.  That's where the short ribs are cut from.  Buying by the plate should give you a discount in price.  You can cut off any excess fat yourself if there is any.  Just have them split them in half and smoke or grill them whole without cutting them individually.  You can cut them later when you chow down.  Reinhard

 

[d-train]

 
D-Train,  ask your butcher to sell you the whole beef plate and split it in half length wise.  That's where the short ribs are cut from.  Buying by the plate should give you a discount in price.  You can cut off any excess fat yourself if there is any.  Just have them split them in half and smoke or grill them whole without cutting them individually.  You can cut them later when you chow down.  Reinhard

That is absolutely how i will do them in the future.  I would have preferred these ribs that way, but they were already cut into individual ribs when i received them.  Thanks for the info!

 

[urickmic]

love short ribs great job they look great

 

[humdinger]

What's a good price for some good looking short ribs? Unfortunately I'm in yuppyville and there is a huge premium on groceries in my area. Have to make a drive to get decent prices.

Eastern Market is probably your best bet on prices. Steiners meats on 12 mile and Ryan Rd. usually has beef ribs too.

 

[r23bbq]

Hey D-Train! Those look awesome!! could you tell me if you foiled them? and for how long? They look nice and tender.

Thanks,

Rudy

 

[brazosbrian]

Yup ...those ribs look great!  And they are what inspired me to try them out as well ...since the price for beef short ribs is always good at Costco ...and I found a web site where the guy (some frenchie dude) believed that low & slow beef short ribs (he says 15 hours!) was better than beef brisket.  Yes ...he allowed that those were fightin' words in Texas :)

Anyway, here's what I did:

1. Rinsed in cool water, dried, brushed thin layer of mustard, then sprinkled with Gary Wiviott's rub with the toasted, ground, mexican pepper blend in it.  Then I ground additional black pepper on the ribs (I like black pepper on beef).  I made no effort to remove the membrane on the bone side - and I'm not one that really cares much about the membrane anyway.  I don't think the slight flavor improvement (noting that it's 99% bone under the membrane, not meat) is worth the work.

2. Smoked at around 230 F for 5 hours, no peeking, plenty of hickory (and no other type of wood).  This was in my 18.5 WSM and I did fill the bowl with (sink faucet hot) water.  I ran it the first 30-40 minutes with top and bottom vents wide open, then closed the bottom vents to about 1/3rd open (or a tweak less) for the rest of the time.  I used Royal Oak hardwood lump charcoal (the USA made one).

They turned out just like in the pictures above ...very nice bark, very tender, full of flavor.  Definitely recommend these.  If (or when) I do beef short ribs again, I will trim off all visible fat, noting that this meat has plenty of fat right in the meat itself, and parts have a thin layer of fat running through the meat.  If I were to complain about anything with these, it's that they were on the fatty side ...and I like fatty meats.  I'd trim off all visible fat on the outside and then smoke them exactly as described and call it good.  Hope this helps guide someone... :)

Brian