Today I had my first smoking total fail. I had wanted to do beef ribs but it turns out they're nearly impossible to find around here. Next time I think I'm going to have to go to an actual butcher shop. I'd have done that this time but there aren't any nearby and I really wasn't expecting so much difficulty finding beef ribs. So at the fifth store on my search I decided to throw in the towel and picked up about eight pounds of the boneless short ribs they had on sale.
I've never done boneless short ribs before but after checking around they didn't look like they'd present any special difficulties. I trimmed off the big chunks of fat and sprinkled on a rub. I filled the charcoal ring on the WSM about half full, burying two chunks of hickory and two of oak, then dumped about 30 lit coals in the middle. Based on what I'd read I was figuring it would take about four hours. The WSM ran 250F-275F after it came up to temp. About two hours into the cook I thought I'd take a look. I had a WSM full of burnt ends. Most of the pieces I checked were 205F or higher. I pulled it all off and let it rest while I made the sides I'd figured I had plenty of time to work on. When it was time to eat the ribs were nearly inedible. Tough, dry, chewy. Generally awful.
After dinner I sliced all of what remained crosswise into fairly thin pieces. Then I made a simple sauce and poured it over the chopped up ribs and let it sit while I finished the dishes. Of course I had to give it a taste before I put it away. Not bad at all. Actually bordering on good. And a vast improvement over the plain ribs. I think after the sauce and meat meld a bit more it could be quite tasty.
I'm still disappointed with the results from the cook but at least I was able to make something halfway decent from that colossal fail.
I've never done boneless short ribs before but after checking around they didn't look like they'd present any special difficulties. I trimmed off the big chunks of fat and sprinkled on a rub. I filled the charcoal ring on the WSM about half full, burying two chunks of hickory and two of oak, then dumped about 30 lit coals in the middle. Based on what I'd read I was figuring it would take about four hours. The WSM ran 250F-275F after it came up to temp. About two hours into the cook I thought I'd take a look. I had a WSM full of burnt ends. Most of the pieces I checked were 205F or higher. I pulled it all off and let it rest while I made the sides I'd figured I had plenty of time to work on. When it was time to eat the ribs were nearly inedible. Tough, dry, chewy. Generally awful.
After dinner I sliced all of what remained crosswise into fairly thin pieces. Then I made a simple sauce and poured it over the chopped up ribs and let it sit while I finished the dishes. Of course I had to give it a taste before I put it away. Not bad at all. Actually bordering on good. And a vast improvement over the plain ribs. I think after the sauce and meat meld a bit more it could be quite tasty.
I'm still disappointed with the results from the cook but at least I was able to make something halfway decent from that colossal fail.