First time beef Dino ribs. What to purchase?

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indynick

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 3, 2017
14
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Plan on doing some beef ribs this weekend. Looking at other places especially Texas bbq joints it seems the cut I want is the 123A. That’s the plate rib portion and not the chuck portion. I spoke with 3 local butchers today and they had no clue what I was talking about. They asked if I could give them actual rib numbers rather than the cut number. Does anyone know which ribs I would want if I’m trying to go for the Texas style ribs I see? Thanks
 
 
Plan on doing some beef ribs this weekend. Looking at other places especially Texas bbq joints it seems the cut I want is the 123A. That’s the plate rib portion and not the chuck portion. I spoke with 3 local butchers today and they had no clue what I was talking about. They asked if I could give them actual rib numbers rather than the cut number. Does anyone know which ribs I would want if I’m trying to go for the Texas style ribs I see? Thanks
123A beef plate short ribs, trimmed originate from the mid-section of ribs 6 through 8. For barbecue, these would typically be referred to as “3-bone beef ribs” and the ribs are 8-12 inches long.

jcam222, Using "meaty" loosely, I think back ribs are the most meaty but have the highest bone to meat ratio. The other rib cuts have a lesser bone to meat ratio but also have more fat. As far as finding meaty plate ribs or short ribs it really has to do with the animal and how it was raised. I have seen some really lean short ribs but have also seen some real fatty ones which I passed on.
 
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I went looking for beef ribs this past week as well, and the butcher I found didn't seem to know what I was talking about when saying 123A or plate ribs. What they did give me was a 4 bone segment that was 8-12 inches long as mentioned above with quite a bit of meat on them. Haven't tried them in the smoker yet, but I imagine they will be fantastic.

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Thinking I'm going to have to cut them in half length wise, then might slice into 2 bone segments. Not sure yet, though I know the whole thing as is won't fit in the MES.

Hope you find what you're looking for!
 
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Those look exactly like the beef ribs I get from my butcher when I request “123A short ribs”. The butcher always says he can cut the 4th bone off but I never request it.
 

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Those look exactly like the beef ribs I get from my butcher when I request “123A short ribs”. The butcher always says he can cut the 4th bone off but I never request it.

Good to know I'm on the right track then. Those babies are massive lol
 
I just went to the meat market and asked for bone in short ribs and ended up with these. I'm a little concerned that these might be really fatty but there's only one way to learn. Unfortunately there wasn't anything else to compare with.

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  • Wow
Reactions: negolien
Added a few photos of my 123A short ribs to my original post. Not sure why there are a few that posted upside down.
 
I tried another butcher and picked these up.
Definitely different from the first ones I got. Also a way better experience at the second butcher shop. Well see how they come out.

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I've just been doing chuck shorties, but this thread has me craving a fat rack to do. Wow. Cant wait to see what your guys'finished products look like.
 
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