Beef Back Ribs - wrap or not (and other questions)


 
Steve-G

Steve-G

TVWBB Super Fan
I'm thawing a package of these to cook later this week on my pellet grill. Yeah, it's not the best looking pack because I've got some shiners, but it was slim pickings the day I went.

1692653597213.png

I'm super excited about this. I've never done beef ribs before, so I've done a ton of reading on this forum and elsewhere as to some guidance. One thing that there doesn't seem to be a consensus on is whether to wrap or not. Seems like both methods provide great results. I was wondering why people prefer one way or the other. I'm not worried about timing, so if the wrapping is just to speed things up, I'm not too concerned. But if it provides another advantage, I'd love to hear about it.

Whether people wrap or not, it seems like I should plan on about 4-5 hours on the grill. Here's my next question. Should I let them rest for quite a while after they are cooked, or just the normal shorter rest period (5-15 minutes) before serving them.

Finally, is there a benefit to which temperature I cook them at? I've seen some cook them closer to 275-300, and others closer to 225. Is there a difference on how the fat renders and/or the tenderness?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm planning to roll with a simple SPG rub and I'm not planning to sauce them at the end. Maybe just a little spritzing along the way if they look dry.
 
Did a rack of beef back ribs a couple months ago on my WSM at temp of 245 degrees. Wrapped in butcher paper after 3 hours, pulled 2 hours later for total 5 hour cook. Very tender and developed a nice bark. Rack was 4.7 lbs.

good luck and enjoy
 
Brett-EDH said:
no wrap: https://tvwbb.com/threads/sunday-beef-back-ribs.93785/

mind you i cooked on the WSK. the ribs were super tender and juicy. and quite filling. two ribs were plenty for each adult.

what cooker are you using?

View attachment 77551
Click to expand...
I'm using a Pit Boss Austin XL (horizontal) with an upgraded PID controller.

Yeah, that was one of the threads that I read a couple of times when I was looking for inspiration, and I'm always a big fan of your cooks. Have you ever wrapped your beef ribs? How did you decide to go with the no-wrap method?
 
thank you for your kind words. that does mean a lot to me. i never wrapped beef ribs as my cook temp was always below 300F. like cooking a prime rib roast, low and slow and the beef remains juicy and moist. these ribs were very rich with lots of fat and marbling. i only wrap a brisket and that's because the flat is a different piece of meat than the point. and the wrap helps accelerate the collagen break down. the beef ribs had zero issue getting the collagen to break down.

i did wrap pork back ribs yesterday but they didn't have nearly the marbling as the beef back ribs do. so that wrap, in HD aluminum helped push that final collagen render to perfect juiciness (i had bbq sauce and ACV inside the wrapped ribs to aid in moisture).

my decision to not wrap was made as i was cooking these. the temps were low enough that they ribs weren't drying out and temps were sub 300F. that generated enough heat over time to get to the finish line.

i would recco keeping your seasoning to simple SP and or SPG and maybe a little rosemary dust. the beef back ribs are very flavorful, rich and filling.

lmk if you have additional questions. i'll try my best to answer them. i think you'll be fine with your grill setup and controller. 250/275 all day long is great on these and they take smoke well too.
 
Keith P said:
Did a rack of beef back ribs a couple months ago on my WSM at temp of 245 degrees. Wrapped in butcher paper after 3 hours, pulled 2 hours later for total 5 hour cook. Very tender and developed a nice bark. Rack was 4.7 lbs.

good luck and enjoy
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply Keith. Out of curiosity, why did you decide to wrap?
 
I am a 275-300 guy. The times I have done beef ribs I did not wrap. By the time I had the color I wanted they were getting close so I let it ride. I think Brett is right on the money about the game time decision as that's how I remember mine. I was prepared to wrap but in the end I did not. Good luck.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys for all of your help. I'm feeling better about attacking these. I will plan to go no-wrap unless I'm seeing something that tells me to wrap them up to get to the finish line. I'm sure I will post my progress and results when I do these.
 
I'm no expert on Beef Ribs but you asked about rest time. I would rest for about an hour. They can rest longer if necessary.
 
Away we go. Put them on at noon today. Used a little worcestershire sauce as a binder and put on some SPG. I will cook them on smoke mode for an hour and then bump it up to 250 until they are done.

Kirkland pellets in the hopper and cherry pellets and wood chips in the tube.

PXL_20230826_171000838.jpg
 
So they ended up...okay. I over seasoned them a bit. I didn't take into account that there really wasn't a ton of meat on these ribs.

I cooked them unwrapped for 5 hours, and then wrapped them in butcher paper and kept them warm for an hour. They had a nice smoke ring and were pretty moist (I could have wrapped them a little sooner), but it was hard to taste the beef with the extra seasoning.

PXL_20230826_213414722.jpg
PXL_20230826_220609646.jpg
PXL_20230826_230116547.jpg

I think if these ribs had a bit more meat on them and I would have tempered the seasoning, it could have been a really good cook. But at least I have a better idea of what to do next time. The journey is a lot of fun.

Hope you all are having a good weekend.
 
Those actually look pretty meaty compared to most back ribs that I've seen in the Supermarket. They really look good ! ! !





BD
 
Just did a large slab of beef ribs. Shiners actually.
My usual is 275 for five hours. Salt and pepper only. Wrap halfway in or so.
Saturday's were not cooperating.
Plain, no spice. All shiners. Large. 295 at the lowest, 360 at the high end. Had to wrap to get them done. Almost eight hours. Temp finally got to 200.
No idea why. They were a large set but all shine.
 
Not back ribs, but I saw these for the first time at my Costco. They jumped into my cart and now are in my freezer for another shot at beef ribs some day.
PXL_20230912_172427057.jpg

These look quite meaty, and I'm looking forward to them.
PXL_20230912_172440889.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top