My wife requested beef ribs for her birthday....didn't want to disappoint her. It was my first time cooking beef ribs at home. Hardest part was finding a place that sells plate ribs. After much looking, I was able to order them from Restaurant Depot. The only issue was they come in packs of 4 huge racks weighing 20lbs total. I smoked 2 racks and saved 2 for later this summer.
Overall, they turned out well. Tender with good smoke flavors. Total cook time was 6 hours. They were smoked for 4 hours and then foiled for 2 hours to get over the stall (I didnt want to make the birthday gal wait for dinner!). I would make some minor changes to the next cook:
1) I rubbed with Montreal Steak seasoning. I did it the night before and left in fridge so I can immediately start smoking next morning without any prep work needed since it's a long cook. The bark came out nice but it was a bit more salty than what we like. I am not sure if I was a bit heavy handed in my rub or leaving it overnight allowed the salt to seep into the meat too much like it was curing the meat overnight. I plan to do a lighter coat of seasoning on the same day and not leave overnight.
2) While the ribs were tender with good smoke flavors, I thought it wasn't as juicy as I expected. I had to change my cooking plan during the session. I was planning to cook unfoiled until internal temp hit 203 degrees. I panicked when I hit the stall with dinner time around the corner. I think I will start earlier in the morning and let it ride unfoiled. That's how Aaron Franklin did it in his video. It will probably take 8 to 10 hours instead of 6 hours.
Any advice on above? Thanks to Chris and everyone else that gave me insight for my first cook with beef ribs!
Overall, they turned out well. Tender with good smoke flavors. Total cook time was 6 hours. They were smoked for 4 hours and then foiled for 2 hours to get over the stall (I didnt want to make the birthday gal wait for dinner!). I would make some minor changes to the next cook:
1) I rubbed with Montreal Steak seasoning. I did it the night before and left in fridge so I can immediately start smoking next morning without any prep work needed since it's a long cook. The bark came out nice but it was a bit more salty than what we like. I am not sure if I was a bit heavy handed in my rub or leaving it overnight allowed the salt to seep into the meat too much like it was curing the meat overnight. I plan to do a lighter coat of seasoning on the same day and not leave overnight.
2) While the ribs were tender with good smoke flavors, I thought it wasn't as juicy as I expected. I had to change my cooking plan during the session. I was planning to cook unfoiled until internal temp hit 203 degrees. I panicked when I hit the stall with dinner time around the corner. I think I will start earlier in the morning and let it ride unfoiled. That's how Aaron Franklin did it in his video. It will probably take 8 to 10 hours instead of 6 hours.
Any advice on above? Thanks to Chris and everyone else that gave me insight for my first cook with beef ribs!
