Whole Short Ribs - First Attempt

[scooper]

I got a nice 4 pack of Angus Short Ribs today.  I am cooking two, so I might try one with the 3-2-1, and one straight smoke till done.

After reading all the posts about keeping a beef rub simple, I went with:

1/4 Cup Kosher Salt

1/4 Cup Coarse B.P.

3 TBLS Garlic

2 TBLS Onion

2 TBSP Hot Smoked Paprika

1 tsp Mustard Powder

Got them rubbed tonight.  Will smoke them tomorrow.  Here are the before pics:

A lil' pricey, but worth it.  I have braised them before ala Julia Child's Beef Borguignon method.

Angus!

Top View:

Side view.  Lotsa meat!

Ready get happy in the fridge.

I will post the Q-View and follow up pics tomorrow.  And of course the money shot.

Still undecided whether to foil one or not.  Any suggestions?

 

[rbranstner]

Looking good. I still have not tried  Dino Bones.

 

[michael ark]

Foil,and miss out on all that bark.

No way.

 

[chef willie]

Hmmm, tough question. Since you have braised them before you know how liquid can be their friend. At that price, I'd hedge and at least foil some/most with liquid after some smoke & try some nonfoiled. I did beef shanks, very meaty, in a braise & loved them...soft & tender. I then thought....hmmmm, smoking low & slow would work. FAIL....

 

[scooper]

I hear ya, Michael.  I want that bark!  But like Chef Willie says, they love liquid. 

The last time I bought a pack of these, I separated and braised 2 racks of them like I said above.  I used to be a pro chef, so those came out wonderful.  I know how to cook in an indoor kitchen. 

The other two (previous to owning a smoker) I left whole, rubbed, grilled on the Weber to brown, then oven braised covered with foil. I probably did them too hot in the oven.  350 if I remember correct.  The meat pulled back way too much.  That's what I want to avoid. 

 

[beer-b-q]

Those look like they got some good meat on them... Should be some great eating...

 

[meateater]

Wow and those are choice, I would love to see prime. Looking forward to the end results. 

 

[scooper]

I'd love to see prime too.  I just wouldn't want to pay for it.  

I hope I get a good weather window.  60% chance of rain here today.  If it's a light rain I open the big patio umbrella and it covers the whole cooking area.  If it's storming, fuggedaboudit. 

 

[africanmeat]

It looks good and i will be here for the final Qview

 

[SmokinAl]

I got a nice 4 pack of Angus Short Ribs today.  I am cooking two, so I might try one with the 3-2-1, and one straight smoke till done.

After reading all the posts about keeping a beef rub simple, I went with:

1/4 Cup Kosher Salt

1/4 Cup Coarse B.P.

3 TBLS Garlic

2 TBLS Onion

2 TBSP Hot Smoked Paprika

1 tsp Mustard Powder

Got them rubbed tonight.  Will smoke them tomorrow.  Here are the before pics:

A lil' pricey, but worth it.  I have braised them before ala Julia Child's Beef Borguignon method.

Angus!

Top View:

Side view.  Lotsa meat!

Ready get happy in the fridge.

I will post the Q-View and follow up pics tomorrow.  And of course the money shot.

Still undecided whether to foil one or not.  Any suggestions? We usually smoke them 3-2-1 like spares

 

[raptor700]

I have side with AL "once again", 3-2-1 or a variation thereof.

Don't forget the Qview

 

[scooper]

Thanks to everyone for your replies.  I went with the 3-2-1.  It ended up being more like 3-2-1.75, though.  After the final hour it just wasn't barky enuff for me.

There ended up being a lot of fat inside the meat, but that only added flavor and moisture.  I was really pleased with the out come.  Loads of flavor, juices, smoke, and bark.  Not stringy.  Not dry.  Not mushy falling apart.  Firm to the point of needing a steak knife, but not chewy at all.

Masterbuilt 30" propane.

Steps: 

3 hours @ 240 with hickory and mesquite chips. 

Spraying after the first hour with 3 parts apple juice & 1 part Jim Beam.

Temp after 3 hours was 135.

Foiled for 2 hours.  Temp 170 and still very stiff.

No foil for one hour with more chips.  Still not tender and not enough bark,

but it's getting really late so I cranked up the heat to high and blasted them for 45 minutes until nice and crispy.

Out of the smoker and back into the pans covered with foil to rest for another hour.

I'm guessing I was losing a lot of heat the first 3 hours due to me cooking some bacon steaks.   The store I bought the ribs at cures and smokes their own ham and bacon.  The bacon is sold as slabs.  Good stuff, but needs more smoke.  I skinned it and cut it into 1/4" slices and put them in with the ribs.

After a night in the fridge:

TBS Q-view:

After 2 hours foil. I used a pan because the bones would have poked holes in foil.

After 1 hour more slow, then 45 minutes on 400, and an hour rest, they're done.:

After all that, even the outside slice is juicy:

Ready for nom nom!

Mac n cheese and collards complete it:

Oh.... some bacon shots:

After an hour. 

After 3 hours I decided to finish it in the oven.  I did not want to keep disturbing the ribs.

The bacon is melt in your mouth tender, and seriously good! 

 

[daveomak]

It's all money....... great job !!!!!! Those ribs are to die for......Dave

 

[i is a moose]

fine lookin' dinosaur bones!

 

[gros cochon]

Simply incredible. Those ribs have tons of meat to them, and they look sooooo delicious.

 

[SmokinAl]

Incredible looking ribs! I don't think I've ever seen them with that much meat on them. They look delicious.

 

[alelover]

Seriously meaty ribs. Looks great. I could eat that whole plate a bacon with a couple eggs. Awesome.

 

[venture]

Great job!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[ohm]

Thumbs Up

:Looks-Great:

53 buck!!! wow I bet those were some tasty ribs!

 

[scooper]

Thank you all for the kind words.  I was really happy with the way they came out.  I know short ribs like to be braised, but I like to raise the bar for myself when I'm cooking.  It paid off well this time.

At $54 for four racks, and one rack was enough for the wife and I for dinner, we got 2 nights out of 1/2 the package.  So $13.50 for dinner for two ain't bad when you break it down.  Now I gotta figure out what to do to the other two racks in the freezer.

alelover, I shoulda taken a pic of my English muffin this morn.  I broke 3 slices of that bacon in 1/2 and piled it on a toasted muffin with 2 thick slices of American cheese.  I love the smell of arteries clogging in the morning!