Smoked Beef Short Ribs

[boosterjuice]

Thanks to all who posted info on here about beef short ribs. I decided to give it go for our part this past weekend. My butcher recommended cutting the short ribs into chunks of approx 3". He recommended I get 16 pieces for 10 people. This ended up being a little light. Should have got more as we only had a couple leftover pieces.

8AM:Started by rubbing the short ribs early in the morning with Steven Raichlen's basic BBQ rub recipe. I let that sit in the fridge for a few hours.
12pm: I brought the meat out of the fridge and let warm up to room temp for 2 hrs.

1:45pm: I got the barrel smoker up to temp and it took a little longer than I expected. (colder day I guess).

2:45pm: Finally got the meat on the smoker. Temperature hovered between 220-260 degrees F.

5:45pm: Temperature nears 160 degrees. As I've read on here through other posts, it's good to foil and braise at this point.

Here's the ribs in the foil pan. I poured in a can of coke for the braising. I covered this foil pan with tin foil to keep moisture in.
6-9:30pm: The internal temp didn't seem to want to rise above 185. My guests were getting hungry so I took them off at 9:30 and let them sit for a bit.

10pm: Guests were extremely hungry and loved it. Hunger makes food taste better!

I finally got a few of these babys on my plate. Mmmmmm delicious.

Things I would do differently:
-I have a Bradley 4-tray electric smoker and should have used it for this. My barrel smoker was too difficult to keep temp consistent for this. It may have even tasted better!

 

[Geebs]

Those look pretty delicious!

 

[dcecil]

Looks good from my house, nicely done

 

[browneyesvictim]

Looks fantastic. Sorry dinner was late.

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Great Booster!!:)
I'm betting they tasted even better than they look!!!
Nice Job!
Like.

Question: Did Raichlen say to warm it up to room Temp for 2 hours first? I wouldn't.

Bear

 

[gmc2003]

Those look great booster. Dino's are a favorite around here - when we can find them.

Point for sure.

Chris

 

[nanuk]

Why would you need to cook above 160 IT?

 

[Ishi]

Awesome cook! I can see why you thought there weren’t enough for 10 people..... I could eat them all by myself :)

 

[GaryHibbert]

Looking real good!! I'd sure eat some of those.
POINT
Gary

 

[Mattyt7]

Why would you need to cook above 160 IT?

To get that melt in your mouth tenderness you need to take it up to around 200 IT where the tougher collagens break down and the meat loosens up.

 

[nanuk]

I was taught that Medium Rare (135F) was the most tender and starts to toughen after that to Medium (145F) where it is cooked through, and going higher dries the meat, and that has been my experience also.
collagen is broken down at 135F, and elastin is hard to break down and seldom does with normal cooking practices.
I have also read this on numerous sites quoting regulations...

I had always wondered why pork for shredding was brought up to 208F, but I realized that even though it is grossly overcooked, is shreds well, AND you put a sauce on it to rehydrate it. Otherwise you'd be eating straw.


looks like I need to do some experimenting... and eating the results!

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Those look top notch! Very nice smoke!

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

I was taught that Medium Rare (135F) was the most tender and starts to toughen after that to Medium (145F) where it is cooked through, and going higher dries the meat, and that has been my experience also.
collagen is broken down at 135F, and elastin is hard to break down and seldom does with normal cooking practices.
I have also read this on numerous sites quoting regulations...

I had always wondered why pork for shredding was brought up to 208F, but I realized that even though it is grossly overcooked, is shreds well, AND you put a sauce on it to rehydrate it. Otherwise you'd be eating straw.

looks like I need to do some experimenting... and eating the results!

In my opinion, your statement is correct for leaner cuts... Ribeye, tenderloin, etc. The leaner cuts which don't have any connective tissue to break down! I love my steaks rare or medium rare at the most. Now, ribeyes for example will have marbling... marbling is fat.. renders quick & has good flavor. Tenderloins, not really much fat to speak of... To each their own, I like both cuts... But they don't have connective tissue in them.

Beef short ribs are some ribs with a lot of the connective, fatty tissue inside them. If they are not taken to an IT round 190-205*, they are not going to be tender due to that connective tissue has not been broken down! That's why an hour or so braise is beneficial for beef ribs. I say 190-205* as an average as I don't go by IT on beef ribs, I go by the toothpick test! If a round toothpick slides in the rib like butter, they are done! This is just my opinion, hope it helps!

 

[SmokinAl]

Boy those ribs look fantastic!
Nice & meaty!
Al

 

[nanuk]

In my opinion, your statement is correct for leaner cuts... Ribeye, tenderloin, etc. The leaner cuts which don't have any connective tissue to break down! I love my steaks rare or medium rare at the most. Now, ribeyes for example will have marbling... marbling is fat.. renders quick & has good flavor. Tenderloins, not really much fat to speak of... To each their own, I like both cuts... But they don't have connective tissue in them.

Beef short ribs are some ribs with a lot of the connective, fatty tissue inside them. If they are not taken to an IT round 190-205*, they are not going to be tender due to that connective tissue has not been broken down! That's why an hour or so braise is beneficial for beef ribs. I say 190-205* as an average as I don't go by IT on beef ribs, I go by the toothpick test! If a round toothpick slides in the rib like butter, they are done! This is just my opinion, hope it helps!

Thanks for that clarification.

Once I get my temp mod up and running, I will certainly be making ribs! I LOVE beef ribs!
And I like to learn from others, so will be using these temps as an aiming point!
and I like the idea of the toothpick test! that proves that the higher temps are needed!

Thanks for the explanation! I appreciate it!

oh, and the best temp to hold the smoker?

 

[xray]

Nice looking beef ribs!!! I smoked some yesterday for the first time. Back in December I bought a pack of 4 on sale for like $3. I figured what the hell...

I smoked them all the way until tender at 201F, took me close to 11 hours. I was pleased with them. They had some nice heavy bark but I should have cut back on the pepper.

Next time I’m thinking I will braise or SV them and see how they turn out.

 

[nanuk]

I'm processing some beef ribs right now!

 

[801driver]

Looks good. I agree with the 200' range to start testing for beef ribs, and this type of meat will have a stall similar to a brisket or PB somewhere around 170. To me it is better to plan to have them ready earlier and have to let the fire burn down, they will still be warm enough to eat at 160-170 or so like "resting" in the cooler.

I had an unfortunate situation while smoking some baby backs a while back. had planned on 225 for 2-2-1 or 2-2-2 (5-6 hours.) Had to leave them just after I foiled them, had to be gone longer than expected, no choice. Got home and took them off about 9 hours total cook time later, prepared for the dogs to not even to be able to eat them like rawhides. They were so tender I had to eat them with a fork, no way to pick up the bone and get any thing to bite. Delicious, but way over tender.

You can always prepare early and fire the smoker up to reheat for the smell if it is time sensitive also. Every chunk of meat will be done when it is done, not before, never at exactly the same temp, different stall times, and every chunk is different.

Just have to keep practicing and eating your mistakes, Ha Ha Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Thanks for that clarification.

Once I get my temp mod up and running, I will certainly be making ribs! I LOVE beef ribs!
And I like to learn from others, so will be using these temps as an aiming point!
and I like the idea of the toothpick test! that proves that the higher temps are needed!

Thanks for the explanation! I appreciate it!

oh, and the best temp to hold the smoker?

No prob, happy to help out if I can.

I personally like 250* to smoke em!