Burning question of the day .... beef ribs vrs brisket ?

[Smokin Okie]

The question in my OP was really too broad. As DougE has found, there's a lot of " varieties " of beef ribs.

They can be .....

Beef back ribs

Chuck ribs

Plate ribs

And short ribs can describe about anything.

Not to mention flaken cut ribs.

There's the Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications known as IMPS and they've numbered all the cuts.

As to beef ribs, there's IMPS #130 Chuck Rib, which is cut from above the brisket and below the chuck.

And there's the IMPS #123 plate rib that is cut from below the rib eye.

Its even more confusing, from what I can tell, there's 3 and 4 bone racks of each. But I've only seen chuck ribs in 4 bone racks.

And I've only seen pics of the 3 bone racks and they all appear to me to be the plate ribs from below the ribeye. They're larger, longer, more meatier.

A few years ago I asked the butcher at my local grocer if I could get a rack of beef ribs. He questioned why, he said they take cut those racks into short ribs, wrap them in cellophane, and sell them in the meat section. They're cut into approx 3" squares. They call that short ribs.

And it further confuses.

I recently bought some " short ribs " and I butterflied them to make one long strip that's about 1/4" thick, and I grilled them to make taco meat. Turned out pretty good.

But there has to be a lot of flavor diff between chuck and plate ribs. The diff between the chuck/brisket and the ribeye.

I think that's where beef ribs are sometimes called " brisket on a stick " , those are the chuck ribs. And those are the ones I smoke in the backyard. They're so similar to brisket, that I'd just as soon have the fatty brisket.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

The question in my OP was really too broad.

I was going to ask, but assumed you were talking about Dino ribs. Know what happens when I assume...

 

[Smokin Okie]

I was going to ask, but assumed you were talking about Dino ribs. Know what happens when I assume...

That leads to even more confusion, there's Dino ribs and what some call Brontosaurus ribs.

I've got to think that the Bronto ribs are the larger plate ribs from below the ribeye.

Beef rib can mean about anything

 

[jcam222]

The question in my OP was really too broad. As DougE has found, there's a lot of " varieties " of beef ribs.

They can be .....

Beef back ribs

Chuck ribs

Plate ribs

And short ribs can describe about anything.

Not to mention flaken cut ribs.

There's the Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications known as IMPS and they've numbered all the cuts.

As to beef ribs, there's IMPS #130 Chuck Rib, which is cut from above the brisket and below the chuck.

And there's the IMPS #123 plate rib that is cut from below the rib eye.

Its even more confusing, from what I can tell, there's 3 and 4 bone racks of each. But I've only seen chuck ribs in 4 bone racks.

And I've only seen pics of the 3 bone racks and they all appear to me to be the plate ribs from below the ribeye. They're larger, longer, more meatier.

A few years ago I asked the butcher at my local grocer if I could get a rack of beef ribs. He questioned why, he said they take cut those racks into short ribs, wrap them in cellophane, and sell them in the meat section. They're cut into approx 3" squares. They call that short ribs.

And it further confuses.

I recently bought some " short ribs " and I butterflied them to make one long strip that's about 1/4" thick, and I grilled them to make taco meat. Turned out pretty good.

But there has to be a lot of flavor diff between chuck and plate ribs. The diff between the chuck/brisket and the ribeye.

I think that's where beef ribs are sometimes called " brisket on a stick " , those are the chuck ribs. And those are the ones I smoke in the backyard. They're so similar to brisket, that I'd just as soon have the fatty brisket.

I find that when smoked both the plate and short ribs taste the same to me. Also cook the same and have the same texture. Beef back ribs can be delicious as well is there is enough meat in them to be worth doing. All the other beef ribs you see mentioned are just variations of cuts from the plate or chuck. The Kalbi cut are awesome for grilling, especially Asian and Mexican style flavors and the cross cut are also ok and take well to braising. I wouldn't turn any of them down

 

[Smokin Okie]

I find that when smoked both the plate and short ribs taste the same to me. Also cook the same and have the same texture. Beef back ribs can be delicious as well is there is enough meat in them to be worth doing. All the other beef ribs you see mentioned are just variations of cuts from the plate or chuck. The Kalbi cut are awesome for grilling, especially Asian and Mexican style flavors and the cross cut are also ok and take well to braising. I wouldn't turn any of them down

Three bone plate ribs can't be found here. I still have not hit a couple of the specialty butcher shops, but if I found them there, they'd be priced out of what I'm willing to spend.

The 4 bone racks of chuck ribs, I can find at US Chef store or order from Creekstone.

 

[tallbm]

Are beef ribs better than brisket ? Or is there just a " cool " factor with having " brisket on a stick " ? Do beef ribs have the same caveman appeal of a tomahawk ribeye ?

I read in Texas Monthly a few years ago, that the barbecue joints really don't want to serve them, cuz they can't make a profit on them. They're cost is high and they have to be sold at cost to make them affordable to customers. They're generally just a special, one day a week thing.

I've smoked the four bone racks. I've found them to be mostly bone and not much meat. Yes, they're delicious but I like fatty brisket just as well. At half the cost. Last rack of beef ribs I bought was at $8 a pound. I can get prime brisket from Sams for half of that.

Hands down beef plate or chuck or short that are like plate or chuck ribs are better than brisket in my opinion, but not by like a million miles. The plate ribs are the biggest and best if you can find them, but lots of chuck that are big and super meaty.

Now beef back ribs.... they should just be called "bones" and are not worth the money, time, or effort in my opinion hahahha. Simply get plate or chuck ribs because those are the real ones for bbq smoking.


Now I love brisket and do about 8-12 a year since I live in brisket land where they go on sale about every 2-3 months.
Proper beef ribs are basically brisket Point on a stick and sooooo rich and amazingly flavorful.
If you are ever in Dallas, you can always get beef ribs at Terry Black's over in Deep Elum. Pecan Lodge has them as well BUT they run out, where Terry Blacks will NOT run out on you and both make world class beef ribs and brisket, though I think Pecan Lodge edges out Terry Blacks on flavor (they use some Mesquite in their wood smoking mix and it makes all the difference to me).
Just know they run about $47 a pound and one rib will be more than a pound so you will pay for it.

Here are pics of some beef plate ribs I have smoked in the past to show you what I mean:

 

[fxsales1959]

Are beef ribs better than brisket ? Or is there just a " cool " factor with having " brisket on a stick " ? Do beef ribs have the same caveman appeal of a tomahawk ribeye ?

I read in Texas Monthly a few years ago, that the barbecue joints really don't want to serve them, cuz they can't make a profit on them. They're cost is high and they have to be sold at cost to make them affordable to customers. They're generally just a special, one day a week thing.

I've smoked the four bone racks. I've found them to be mostly bone and not much meat. Yes, they're delicious but I like fatty brisket just as well. At half the cost. Last rack of beef ribs I bought was at $8 a pound. I can get prime brisket from Sams for half of that.

If cost wasn't a factor, and I could get good dino Plate ribs, I wouldn't care about brisket. Brisket for me usually entails a decent point, cooked and squared into a gob of burnt ends.
Down here they're getting $8.99/lb for "average" plate ribs. They look awesome in the display, but aa little less appealing with meat draw-back after the smoke ride.. still prefer them, if someone else is buying.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Down here they're getting $8.99/lb for "average" plate ribs. They look awesome in the display, but aa little less appealing with meat draw-back after the smoke ride.. still prefer them, if someone else is buying.

Exactly. After the meat pulls down on the bone, it reduces in size substantially.

The 4 bone chuck ribs I smoke will have two ribs, the end bones, that retain quite a bit of meat. But there's just not much to the two in the middle.

BTW, The Bearded Butchers say the 4 bone chuck ribs are their favorite ..

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

I've had the large 3 bone sections, but I'm not sure if they are technically plate or chuck ribs. I think they are plate ribs. They are very good but they can be very rich. You really have to render them really well and I find higher heat works best. I usually cook them completely unwrapped until they are super tender and a Thermopen probe gives almost no resistance. Then I find I've rendered the fat pretty well. When you get closer to the bone there's some connective tissue that I don't find that pleasant to eat.

The best single barbecue item I've ever had is the beef rib at Franklin Barbecue. In general I prefer brisket, though.

Here's the last beef ribs I cooked.

 

[Smokin Okie]

The 4 bone chuck rib. One of the ribs in the middle has a fat seam on top of it, if ya cut it out , the rack loses its integrity. And then when the fat renders , that rib is awfully thin.

But can't tell it in this pic of a 4 bone chuck rack.

Can see the idention in this pic

 

[Smokin Okie]

Thermoworks says hard to tell what ya gettin

What are short ribs?​

The first question to address is the question of short ribs themselves. “Short ribs” is butcher parlance for a partial cut of ribs from anywhere on the steer’s ribcage. They can come from the areas under the brisket, chuck, rib loin, or plate. Whereas baby back ribs and spare ribs both indicate a specific position on the hog, short ribs have more to do with how they are cut than where they are cut from the steer: they are short sections of rather long bones. Some butchers will give you the option of which kind of short ribs you prefer, but generally, it’s anyone’s guess whether your short ribs are plate, chuck, loin, or brisket. Each section will have a slightly different flavor of meat and fat. But regardless of which part they come from, they are all cooked the same—and they are all delicious.

 

[kelbro]

Butchering is definitely an acquired skill. I was fortunate to tag along with our daughter to watch a new USDA certified processor they were trying out to butcher their Wagyu cattle. Some of these cuts are literally hidden treasures in the side of the carcass. You have to know where and how to get at them without destroying them. Needless to say it takes talented individuals.

You are right and most folks have no idea. We had a butcher shop in our front yard that my grandmother and aunt ran. There are many cuts that will never be seen in a big box meat counter. They found tender cuts even on our 'rangey' S. Texas beef.

 

[forktender]

Butchering is definitely an acquired skill. I was fortunate to tag along with our daughter to watch a new USDA certified processor they were trying out to butcher their Wagyu cattle. Some of these cuts are literally hidden treasures in the side of the carcass. You have to know where and how to get at them without destroying them. Needless to say it takes talented individuals.

I bet that was cool to see.

By far, the best meat cutter's I've ever seen were the old Portagee cattle ranchers/ cowboys that owned the cattle ranches around my childhood home in CA.
They could also skin and butcher a buck or hog with lightening speed, and they butchered everything at home or on the road. I sure wish that I would have paid closer attention, I was too busy chasing their daughters or granddaughters at the time.

 

[texomakid]

I love 'em both! I do consider the point of a brisket and beef ribs to be very very similar in several ways. Brisket on a stick is hard to beat!

 

[Hijack73]

I find that when smoked both the plate and short ribs taste the same to me. Also cook the same and have the same texture. Beef back ribs can be delicious as well is there is enough meat in them to be worth doing. All the other beef ribs you see mentioned are just variations of cuts from the plate or chuck. The Kalbi cut are awesome for grilling, especially Asian and Mexican style flavors and the cross cut are also ok and take well to braising. I wouldn't turn any of them down

I agree.

Different meat cutters learned different lingo. The local Kroger affiliate sells little cryovacs of short ribs that are nothing more than a piece cut out of a chuck, but cost far north of $10/lb. I take a chuck, cut the Denver out and I have an indistinguishable piece of meat that even at todays prices runs $6/lb to that +$10 cut. I've got a chuck sitting on the stove right now thawing out that I'm going to pop in the oven for a pot roast. Huge Denver/short rib muscle in it. I could trim it out and eat it as as a steak or make a delicious pot roast out it - very versatile piece of meat. If I were to toss that chuck onto the smoker and smoke it to 195ish, cut a piece out of it and served it to someone blindfolded next to a piece of smoked plate meat or a piece of smoked spinalis (ribeye cap, which is 100% the absolute best cut on a cow as far as tenderness, texture and flavor in my opinion), I bet most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I'd probably be able to tell if I could see it, but slow smoked it's awfully hard to tell the difference just by taste.

When those shiner back ribs were dirt cheap 15-20 years ago I loved to make beef stew out of them. Put 5lb in a pot and braise them for a couple of hours with root veggies, remove the bones and eat like a king. Those bones don't have a ton of gelatin but they had enough to really make the stew top notch.

 

[TARM]

Love both..... a lot!! With that said I think beef ribs have become more popular increasing over the last 10yrs. We have been flooded with brisket focus for 20yrs now and people are looking for change. Personally, I love it all. Grill, smoker, pit all meat is good.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Well, the beef ribs are far more expensive than brisket.

I smoked some Creekstone chuck 4 bone ribs a couple weeks ago. The amount of meat that's left after they pull back on the bone, drives the price per pound way up.

I can't say its better than brisket fatty. Its just different. Since these are cut above the brisket and below the chuck, it truly is " brisket on a stick " .

 

[TARM]

That rib meat is my secret sauce when it comes to making premium burgers. Adds a richness and beefy flavor like no other cut2ithout graininess ¼-⅓ of the total.