Question on Beef Ribs


 
B

Bill Schultz

TVWBB Hall of Fame
What do you fellows recommend as far as the best tasting Beef Rib cut to use for your first time smoking beef ribs?
Every time I see a different meat counter they have all kinds of names shapes etc. Size, what cut and difference in flavor is what I really need to get a handle on.
 
Bill Schultz said:
What do you fellows recommend as far as the best tasting Beef Rib cut to use for your first time smoking beef ribs?
Every time I see a different meat counter they have all kinds of names shapes etc. Size, what cut and difference in flavor is what I really need to get a handle on.
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Bill,

All the names you see beef ribs under confuses the heck out of me too. I haven't figured all of it out, but at least in my area the term "short ribs" usually refers to single-bone chunks about 4" long with well-marbled meat and often a fairly generous fat cap on the non-bone side. Just to muck things up, at my local Restaurant Depot, a source I use from time to time, "short ribs" refers to these monsters, which I've cooked and enjoyed. I've seen the term "beef back ribs" used to describe a retail 7-bone cryo-pack of somewhat smaller ribs with less meat and fat on them. I finally got my butcher to carry the 7-bone "beef back ribs" variety. The packer he gets them from is National Beef, a huge nationwide packer, so if your butcher has a wholesale account with National he/she should be able to get you some. National has back ribs in their Hereford line and a couple others, IIRC.

I posted some pics of some of the ones I got from my butcher in this thread: http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?41780-Baby-Backs-and-Beef-Backs-today

Give the beef ribs a try. They're something out-of-the-ordinary, and are worth the trouble finding them. They give you a different "base" to work against as far as putting together a rub-smoke-sauce combination. I like serving both pork (usually BB's) and beef together so they contrast each other. I do my beef ribs over mesquite, like I do most of my beef. Beef will stand up to a little more spice, to my tastes, so I usually use a pretty spicy rub and a hot-ish sauce. The beef ribs I've been using lately have less meat on them than BB's, so they don't take as long to cook. I think I did them about an hour and 45 minutes at 275 degrees last time, but I'm not totally sure on that.

Good luck, and post pics! I'm sure you'll do your usual terrific job, and I'll be eager to see how you did them.

Dave
 
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Short ribs are good, since they are cut up individually you can get more suface area for smoke flavor than if sold as a rack.

In short, I like either short ribs or some meaty beef back ribs. Don't be alarmed when they shrink considerably.
 
Bill... Ive been searching for a while to find good beef ribs w/o going broke in the process. I smoked some on fathers day and loved my outcome.

In the past, I've had difficulty with them, as I was buying the wrong kind, and buying packs of short ribs that had some weak ones on there. The short ribs from whole foods are excellent. I don't think there's one out in hunterdon, but the wegmans near me usually has decent ones. I'm sure the one on 202 will.

Look for a nice high meaty short rib w a good amt of marbling. I like the whole foods ones, because I just pick and choose the ones I want and can see their marbling. I try to pick ones w at least an inch of meat in top.

Don't use beef back ribs that are usually connected. You're basically getting a bunch of shiners w a little bit of meat in between the rib. Most of the rib on top of the bone gets trimmed off for prime rib. The short ribs are higher up and are connected to the point of the brisket... Same meat, so cook them for a long time, and power through a stall.

While one of the prior posters here had success here with just an hr 45 smoke, for me I take them a lot longer. For a long time my ribs tasted great and juicy, but were super chewy. The missing ingredient was time. Don't rush them
 
Definitely get the short ribs. They're meaty and delicious, just require a good bit of cooking to get tender. But the bottom ribs off the short plate are what you want.
 
Dave/G said:
Of course, you could always spring for these from the Meat Men in New Jersey
http://www.lafrieda.com/USDA_Prime_Black_Angus_Short_Ribs_5_Single_Bone_p/bfspbsr5.htm
:)
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They are very, very expensive for what you get. In my opinion, there is very little difference in Prime -vs- Choice when it comes to short ribs. I would suggest seeking out a competent ethnic butcher or meat market and asking for a whole short rib plate. It will be four or five bones and should be around 4 pounds total. Cutting into individual ribs is not my MO as they cook too fast for me. I like the whole plate to cook and render over a long period of time. If you get adventurous and want to order in bulk, try some from these guys: http://www.marxfoods.com/Grass-fed-Beef-Bone-In-Short-Ribs?sc=2&category=19532

You have to buy in bulk, but the quality and free shipping make up for it IMHO. Even though they are grass fed, they come very full of fat and marbling that lend themselves to slow smoking.
 
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Will, that looks amazing, maybe someday when i don't have two in major Universities at the same time I'll get me some. Meanwhile going to find a local meat guy and take a shot.
 
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