These smoked beef short ribs came out tender, juicy and full of amazing beef flavors. Smoked on the pellet grill, this 6 hour cook was worth the wait. These are very similar to a brisket but are much easier and quicker to cook. If you like smoked brisket, you have to give these a try.

What are beef short ribs?

Beef short ribs come from a rib section that contains three to four ribs. Depending on where it is cut from, it can be three to five inches thick. The meat has a strong beefy flavor from the fat and tendon.

The key difference between beef short ribs and back ribs is their shape. back ribs are shorter and flatter with less meat on them while the short ribs are meaty, long and curved.

Where to find beef short ribs?

Grocery stores will slice beef ribs into thin strips and sell them as short ribs. That is not what you want. You want the full rack! Call your local butcher shops and ask if they stock or if they can order beef plate ribs. I bought my ribs from Wild Fork which is a great specialty meat store near me.

Step 1: Prepare and season the ribs.

The rack will have a meaty side and bone side, similar to pork ribs with 4 bones in total. Start by removing ALL the fat from the meaty side to expose the meat. This not only removes excess fat that’s not needed, but it also exposes the meat where the BBQ bark will form during the smoking process. For those new to BBQ, bark is the outside crust that’s formed when cooking with smoke.

On the bone side, there is a thick membrane which also needs to be removed. Some like to leave it on, but I pull it off, to again, expose more meat and allow more of the seasoning to stick.

Since I had 2 racks, I decided on 2 different seasonings. One I seasoned with my Dad’s All Purpose rub for the traditional BBQ flavors of salt, pepper and paprika. The other rack, I seasoned with Rolling Bones BBQ beef seasoning for the peppery and garlic notes.

Before any of our rub hits the meet, I like to use a binder to help it stick to the meat. I used hot sauce. Don’t worry, you will not taste it once cooked. After they are coated, apply an even but generous coating of the seasoning over the ribs. Don’t be shy with the seasoning! The ribs can take it. Next, let them sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. This will help the seasoning penetrate into the meat.

Step 2: Time to smoke beef ribs.

These particular ribs were smoked on my Weber searwood pellet grill. Fire it up and bring the temperature up to between 250-275 degrees. That will be our cooking temperature range for the duration of the cook.

Place the ribs on the smoker meat side up. Cooking low and slow has one big downside….the slow part. Good bbq takes time and this will be no different. For an average 3 bone rack of smoked beef ribs, you’re looking at a cook time of anywhere between 6-8 hours. All you have to have to do during this time is just make sure the smoker temperature stays in the 250-275 range. We won’t be wrapping the ribs, we’ll cook them straight through until finished. Check on your ribs every hour or so and if the outside is looking dry, you can spritz them with apple cider vinegar.

And the ideal finished temperature for beef ribs is anywhere between 205-210 degrees. Once they hit 205, you can start checking for tenderness. What’s that mean? It means that when you take your temperature probe and insert it into the meat, it should go in without any resistance. Check a few different spots and make sure they are very tender.

Pull the smoked beef ribs from the smoker, wrap them in foil and let them rest in a room temperature cooler for about an hour. The meat needs the time to rest to stop the cooking process and to allow all the juices inside to redistribute.

After the rest, take the ribs out of the cooler, slice between the bones and enjoy!

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Smoked Beef Short Ribs

These smoked beef short ribs are tender, juicy and full of beefy flavors. Simple seasoning is all you need to enjoy this crowd pleaser.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Smoked beef short ribs, smoked ribs, beef ribs, short rib recipes, grill recipes, grilling recipes, beef recipes, rib recipes, grilling with dad recipes, grillin with dad recipes.

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Servings 4 People

Calories 59kcal

Author Maciek Zurawski

Ingredients

• 2 racks Beef short ribs
• 2 tbsp Hot sauce
• 4 tbsp Dad's All Purpose rub
• 4 tbsp Steak rub

Instructions

• Trim the fat from the meat side of the ribs.
• Remove the membrane from the bone side.
• Coat each rack with hot sauce to act as a binder and season thoroughly on all sides. Make sure to get the edges as well.
• Preheat your smoker to 250-275 degrees and place the ribs directly on the grate.
• Option step, spritz the outside with apple cider vinegar every hour or so if the ribs are looking dry.
• When the ribs hit 205 degrees internal temperature, start to check for tenderness. You should be able to insert your thermometer into the meat without any resistance, like a hot knife into butter. If there is resistance, continue smoking and check again in 20 minutes.
• When the ribs are probe tender, tightly wrap them in aluminum foil and let them rest at room temperature for an hour.
• Remove from the wrap, slice between each bone, serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 59kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 0.3mg | Sodium: 235mg | Potassium: 130mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 494IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 187mg | Iron: 7mg

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