First beef back ribs

[bwarbiany]

Defrosting a 3.5 lb slab of beef back ribs (4 ribs with decent amount of rib eye meat left on) for the smoker tomorrow.

I've never done beef back ribs. Any tips?

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 4, 2014

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 4, 2014

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 4, 2014

 

[dj mishima]

I have yet to try them myself.  I would try to treat them like pork ribs(3-2-1 method.)  Just make sure to remove membrane if there is any.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Those are good looking ribs , compared to the 'highly' trimmed one I see around here.

Have fun and . . .

 

[bwarbiany]

 
Those are good looking ribs , compared to the 'highly' trimmed one I see around here.

Have fun and . . .

When the local market was doing $4.88/lb bone-in rib eye roasts the week before Christmas, I picked up a big 11 lb roast. So I cut the slab myself and turned the rest of the roast into some very large rib eye steaks...

 

[guruatbol]

I am anxious to see what people say.  I got some from my butcher before Christmas that he cut from the rib roasts he sells.  I had to special order them and they have been in the freezer since I got them.

I did try some regular old trimmed ribs and just substituted the smoker time for my normal oven time.  My wife said they were in hte top two of ribs I have ever done.  Because these ribs are so special to me, I don't want to mess them up.

So, here to see what everyone comes up with.

Keep us posted,

Mel

 

[tbs63]

Yeah, eager to hear how this went.  Good luck!

 

[bwarbiany]

Rubbed:

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

And into foil at the 3 hour mark.

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

I tested with my instant-read, and the tough meat between bones was definitely still tough, and about 150-160 degrees.

1/2 hour to pulling them out of the foil now, to test and go for another hour unfoiled if necessary

 

[tbs63]

Good luck buddy!

 

[bwarbiany]

Out of the foil...

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

Temps in the 180-185 range most spots, and starting to pass the "toothpick test" in a few spots. Another 45 minutes unfoiled and I'll pull 'em.

I guess I might as well hang out on the back patio, in my shorts and t-shirt, and drink a homebrew Vienna Session IPA...

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Looks like they'll be tasty!!!

 

[bdskelly]

Out of the foil...

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

Temps in the 180-185 range most spots, and starting to pass the "toothpick test" in a few spots. Another 45 minutes unfoiled and I'll pull 'em.

I guess I might as well hang out on the back patio, in my shorts and t-shirt, and drink a homebrew Vienna Session IPA...

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

Oh great… While the rest of us are freezing our temp probes off. 

The ribs look great so far!  Keep it comming!

Brian

 

[bwarbiany]

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

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• bwarbiany
• Jan 5, 2014

Overall, I wouldn't say it was my best cook. I definitely over-seasoned them, as the surface area to meat ratio was lower than I thought. And they were fairly fatty, so there was even less available meat on them. For as large as the slab was, I thought the yield would be better.

That said, the flavor of the meat was superb. It was moist and well-cooked, and the meat was beefy and beautiful.

Done again, I'd obviously cut back on the rub, and I'd really look harder at the structure to see if there were any areas I should trim fat away. Or... just go for short ribs instead!

 

[bdskelly]

Great post. And good looking plate! b

 

[tbs63]

Bwarbiany, thanks for keeping this thread updated.  This is one of the things I love about this site - we get on, openly write about what went well, what we'd do different or better.  I've been on a few other forums where apparently everyone was an expert at everything. 

I like that we give one another tips here.  I have tried beef ribs twice in my life.  Both dismal failures, so I was very interested in learning how to do it right.

I like the tip about the rub and how you cut the meat and time/temp info.

Thanks for sharing the wisdom buddy!

Tom

 

[jay1340]

Remove membrane if there is one.

Don't trim unless more than 1/3" fat

Paint lightly with olive oil

Rub lightly in salt and pepper

Smoke with mesquite, or pe can at 225-250*, secret is consistent temp, not so much the temp.

Texas crutch at 150*, remove at 180*, take to 190/195*

Rest 30-45 minutes, if you can wait, if not well, have at em.

Or instead of Texas crutch, I throw em in an old blue metal roaster pan and foil tightly, saves the Ju and moistures better.

Should pull off the bone.

 

[jay1340]

Oh, I forgot, them's looks good. Little heavy on the seasonins, but good!!

 

[guruatbol]

I usually cut my ribs before I season them.  It makes them easy to serve and the meat in the middle isn't tough.

Those look awesome, I think I have the courage to get the ribs in the freezer out and give it a whirl!

I think I may try the foil thing.  I have never done it that way before.  I would assume that it would help keep them moist.

Mel

 

[jay1340]

That'd be like slicing a brisket before smoking. 

But as they say, to each his own.

My girlfriend worked in a Texas BBQ joint for over 10 years and still in the food industry and loves beef ribs! So NO WAY I can fail on them. It's more of a DEATH WISH in this house to mess up beef ribs than a brisket! 

 

[guruatbol]

My wife is a beef rib person too.   She refuses to eat ribs that I didn't cook, so I guess I am doing something right.  I like to cut mine first.  it allows the sauce to get on every side and I get nice glazing and crust with the gas grill after the smoker.  I get the idea of leaving them as a rack and I would guess that cooking them as a rack would allow the juices to redistribute better when resting.  Really, I have never done them as a rack, ever in 35 years of cooking them.  I get plenty of requests for my ribs..

Oh, don't take this wrong, I don't advocate that there is any one right way to do anything, there are just ways one person prefers better than others.  I am also not attempting to be defensive about my way.  Just stating why I do it this way.  I guess I will have to try the other way so I can make an educated decision on which way I prefer.  Maybe the next rack I do, I'll leave them together.

Mel

 

[smokingunny]

I'm glad I saw this since I'm smoking beef back ribs tomorrow. I got them on sale at the commissary for cheap so I figured why not? Except they aren't cut in a rack, it's almost like they are cut into the serving portion, kind of like the braised short ribs you'd get at Olive Garden.