Help! How to trim monster beef ribs?


 
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Have a look. I was annoyed at the ribs with the meat cut out of the middle and got the butcher to give me these. Yep, you're looking at 2 "slabs" of 4 ribs each weighing a total of 10 pounds. There's a good inch of beef on top of the ribs not to mention the meat between.

Do I trim the top meat off to make normal ribs for smoking and save the cutoffs for a roast or ground beef? That'd work, but seems like a shame. Alternately I could just trim the fat and membrane and smoke 'em until they're done then chow down, but they're Fred Flinstone ribs at that. I was thinking dusting 1 rack with Montreal Steak seasoning and cooking it more like a roast.

They're in the fridge awaiting advice from you fine folks. Help!

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The silence is deafening...

Anyway, I've never cooked ribs so thick, but I watched Jamie Oliver on Food TV cook spareribs that were as thick or thicker than these. He did them in the oven, so I suppose you could just do them a little hotter, maybe 250-275*F, until tender.

Let us know what you end up doing.

BTW, the battery is a nice touch for scale. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Regards,
Chris
 
Alert Fred Flinstone!!!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
Yabba Dabba Dooooooo! Best lookin Bronto ribs I have seen in a long time /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif ! I would rub them and treat them like a rib. Remove the membrane and trim excess outside fat. This might be the rare oppertunity to use a probe on ribs. My only question is what temp do you shoot for? Thay look like they have a good marbleing, maybe 190*? I suspect some foil might come in handy.....
Please let us know what you do and how they taste!
 
I believe I'll smoke them as-is. Something tells me ribs like this might be a rare opportunity. The butcher at Central Market (high-end mega grocery store) brought the Cryovac from the back with raised eyebrows and they were not labeled for sale at the time, he had to print a label for me.

I'm on the fence about temperatures and spices, but I'm leaning towards an approach somewhere between traditional 'cue and a rib roast.

I'm okay with reheated pork ribs but never cared as much for reheated beef so I might freeze the second rack and cook it another date. Regardless I'll post back here with results. I'm cooking the Flintstone Ribs tomorrow at about noon.
 
One reason I gave up on beef ribs years ago was because there wasn't any meat on them. They had always been stripped clean. If I ever find some like these I'll jump right on it.
 
WOW!!! Those are AWESOME BABY!!!

I would trim the outside fat cap, season the hell out of 'em and cook like a regular rib. May take as long as a brisket, but boy those look great.

I agree with Ted...I never cook these anymore because of the lack of meat and the long time to cook.

Looking forward to your results!
 
Can I print the pics and take 'em to my butcher? I'll tell him that this is how Ribs are s'posed to look! WOW those look good!

You shoulda asked if he had any more like that. Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing the results of how they turned out. Please post pics when they are done.

DWL
 
Feel free to use my pics as you see fit. At 6.5 hours into it they are pretty damn good but I'm going to smoke them longer. I sliced some meat out and currently they taste like a very good pot roast. I want a bit less fat in the meat so I'm cooking them at 225*F at the grate right now meat side down.

I'll be going back soon to try and buy more of these suckers for sure. $3.99/lb ain't cheap but they're damn tasty and the yield is impressive on these.
 
Uuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm Beef ribs....

--Homer Simpson


Wow, those are nice lookin' ribs. I'd pay $3.99 for those ANY DAY! I'm used to seeing the anemic, previously frozen ones here most of the time (CA is not known for beef ribs....too much tofu! /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif )

Looking forward to a finished pic of a sliced up rib, Jason.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,
Rich
 
Well, I was so disappointed I didn't take pictures. Tried some at about 7 hours and was greasy and tasted more like a pot roast with smoke and some big bones stuck in it. I let the rest smoke longer and at 11 hours still the same but less greasy and now falling apart so much it was like corned pulled pork-beef with bones. Good flavor, just not at all like I wanted beef ribs to taste.

I believe the top meat has to be cut off prior to smoking to make them be good ribs, otherwise you just end up with a mass of wet soft meat.
 
I am surprised you had such lousy results with these ribs. I got a set like that a few weeks ago, and they were fantastic. Granted, they were the first thing I ever cooked in the WSM, so my expectations might have been low, but I have been eating BBQ for years.

I cooked mine for about 6 hours on the top rack with a grate temp of around 240, with a spicy rub and apple juice sprayed at 3 hours, 4.5 hours, and 5.25 hours.

Since I am limited to kosher meat, my quest is to find new and interesting cuts of beef that I can use on the WSM, and this seemed to fit the bill for me. I will probably do another set in a few weeks, after I try a brisket.
 
Were those "standard" beef ribs, or perhaps beef flanken ribs? I think these are usually cut (with a bandsaw) through the bones and sold as "short ribs." I'm pretty sure that's the way these are typically prepared.

Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong...
 
Jason,

Were you dissapointed in the overall quality of the beef or because they just did not taste like ribs. Did you trim at all?
 
I did some last summer that were similar but not quite as meaty. If I remember they took a long time, shrank up a lot, and were extremely delicious. I used a chinese style rub. Foiled near the end, Then finished them with a honey soy glaze. Gone in 60 seconds. We served them as an appetiser and wished we had done twice as many. Let me know if anyone wants my recipes for the rub or glaze.
Bob
 
Chinese Style Rub
1 Tblsp 5 Spice Powder
2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Ground White Pepper
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Tsp Brown Sugar
3/4 Tsp Salt

Honey Soy Glaze
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Honey
1 Tblsp Rice Vinegar
2 Tsp Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
2 Tsp cornstarch dissolved in1 Tblsp cold water.
1 Tsp Asian Sesame Oil
1 Scallion sliced into thin rings

Mix first 6 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and whisk in sesame oil and scallion.

Hope you enjoy these. Let me know what ya'll think.
 
Jason is right, the package says "BEEF SHORT RIBS," which are not the same as the back ribs all of us are used to.
 
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