Smoked Beef Ribs (Dino Ribs)

Ingredients

When it comes to ribs, it's best to keep the seasoning simple and allow the great tasting meat to take center stage. Here's what you'll need to make these ribs.

• Beef short plate ribs
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper (freshly cracked/ground)
• Garlic powder
• Olive oil

Prepping the beef ribs

There is only a little bit of trimming to do on these ribs and then a real simple rub that won't overpower the amazing flavor of the ribs.

Trimming

The only trimming that needs to be done is on the top part of the rib plate. There is a lot of fat and this needs to be trimmed down.

Don't worry about trimming until all the fat is completely gone, but too much fat is not desirable. Trim some of the fat away, just like you would a smoked prime rib cut.

Seasoning ingredients

When starting with such a great flavored piece of meat, the last thing you want to do is overpower them with too many spices.

• Olive oil - rub a light amount over meat so spices will adhere to the ribs better
• Kosher salt - sea salt can also be used
• Black pepper - freshly cracked gives the best flavor
• Garlic powder - minced garlic can also be used

Season the ribs

Mix together or add the above spices separately onto the ribs after rubbing it down with a little bit of olive oil.

Make sure to get ALL sides and ends of the ribs a nice dusting of seasoning like the image above.

Smoking the beef ribs

Pre-heat your smoker or grill to 250°F and allow the temperature to level off staying consistent. Place the ribs on the smoker with the meat side of the ribs facing up and the bone side down.

Time

These smoked beef ribs are going to take a while to cook through and become nice and tender. These dino ribs took 8hrs and 10 minutes until they reached 203°F internal temperature and were tender enough to pull off the smoker.

The temperature will come up fast over the first couple hours, but don't panic. Much like a brisket, these will hit a stall and will take MUCH longer to finish off.

Spritzing

Many people like to spritz their short ribs with apple juice, apple cider vinegar, water, or beef broth. This will keep the ribs moist and help the smoke adhere to the ribs better. I used beef broth when spritzing.

To do this, simply fill a small spray bottle (often found in the grill section of your local store or the travel isle where small toothpaste and deodorants for vacations are found) with apple juice, apple cider vinegar. or beef broth. 

After smoking for 2 hours undisturbed, begin lightly spraying the smoked beef short ribs every 45-60 minutes while smoking to keep them nice and moist.

Looking for a really cool spritzing and marinade bottle? Oklahoma Joe's has a great 2in1 spray bottle that allows you to inject and spray your meat with flavor!

When are they finished?

Place a probe thermometer in the meatiest piece of the ribs or use an instant read thermometer after 6 hours to check the internal temperature. 

We are looking for a final internal temp of 203°F and the meat to be probe tender. You will also see the meat on these dinosaur ribs recede back exposing several inches of ribs.

Once you reach 203 degrees Fahrenheit and that meat thermometer probe just slides through the rib meat like butter, they are ready to take off the smoker.

Resting / Slicing / Serving

After pulling the finished ribs off the smoker, wrap them in butcher paper and allow them to rest in an insulated cooler for about 1 hour.

After they have finished resting, use a sharp knife to slice them into separate ribs. This will be either 3 or 4 depending on which ribs you chose to cook.

About 1 of these ribs is going to be 1-2 servings. They are VERY big and there is a lot of meat to eat! That's why they call them Dino Ribs, because they look like a dinosaurs rib straight out of The Flintstones.

Barbecue sauce?!

No need to serve with BBQ sauce, these ribs don't need ANYTHING to make them taste better. If you are a sauce type of person, you can put some on the side and dip it as needed.

However, with that said, I do not recommend slathering sauce all over these before eating. Would you put sauce on a smoked beef tenderloin? No the answer is no. Don't ruin perfection!

Are beef ribs better than pork?

There will be BBQ men and women on both sides of this argument, but I believe that Beef Ribs are better than pork. These melt in your mouth tender juicy ribs with the perfect smoky bark are absolute perfection!

The rich flavor of beef that has been slow cooked and smoked to a nice tender bite is hard to beat. If trying to impress with great looking ribs, it's hard to pick anything bigger and better looking than the beef dinosaur rib.

Don't get me wrong, I love pork ribs. Smoked baby back ribs or smoked 321 ribs are dang good. But the size and flavor of these beef ribs takes the cake.

What ribs to smoke?

There are two main cuts of beef ribs you want to purchase, plate ribs or chuck ribs. This recipe was made with beef plate ribs, but chuck ribs will turn out great as well!

• Beef Plate Ribs (Dino Ribs) - These are cut from the first 3 bones of the ribs lower on the cows rib cage. Will be sold as a 3 rib rack. These are thicker, meatier, and juicier than the 4-bone chuck rib option. Very large and guaranteed to impress your guests!
• Beef chuck ribs - These are a 4-bone rib rack from higher on the rib cage closer to the back ribs. Will be sold as a 4-rib section. These have a great amount of meat and are extremely tasty. They will be smaller than the plate ribs, but more easily found in super markets.
• Beef Back Ribs - Not what we are looking for. Meat is mainly between the bones. Don't buy these.

Where to buy?

Pork ribs are extremely easy to find in your local super market. Beef ribs sold together as one piece are a little harder to find. You might find short ribs already cut into 4"x2" pieces that are meant for a slow cooker.

Ask the butcher behind the counter on whether they can cut some ribs for you. More than likely they will be able to. If not, there are some great online options for ordering ribs.

My local store didn't have them when I was wanting to purchase these, so I purchased them online and had them shipped to my house. It was extremely easy and got a good price. I purchased these through Wild Fork Foods.

The smoker / grill

The best way to cook these beef short ribs is low and slow on a grill or smoker. The best one to use is the one you ALREADY HAVE at home.

Smokers

I cooked these smoked beef short ribs on my pellet smoker, just like the Camp Chef 36 smoker or Traeger 780. Pellet smokers are an easy and great way to impart fantastic smoke flavor on the beef, and other meats for that matter, without having to babysit a firebox all day.

A traditional offset smoker, like this Oklahoma Joe's Smoker is also a great choice when making smoke beef ribs. They run on charcoal and wood chips and impart FANTASTIC flavor onto the meat.

Gas & charcoal grills

A gas grill or charcoal grill can definitely be used when making beef ribs. A gas grill will be the easiest of the two to keep the temperature consistent and low.

Keeping the burners or even just one burner on low should maintain a 250°F temperature. This will vary by make and model of grill used.

When using a charcoal grill, such as this weber kettle, is a great choice. You will have to use a snake technique when loading the grill with charcoal to maintain a low temperature for several hours.

This is when you line up the charcoal along the inside of the grill and light one end. It will slowly burn through the 'snake' of charcoal keeping the temperature low.

Check out this great article on how to perform the snake method from the Perth BBQ School. It's a great instructional on how to cook 'low and slow' with your charcoal grill.

Best wood chips / wood pellets

My favorite wood chips to use when smoking beef is a hardwood such as oak or hickory. They impart a fantastic flavor onto the beef.

A competition or trophy blend of pellets can also be used. This is usually a mixture of several different types of hard wood which gives a nice smooth smoke flavor to the meat.

Perfect side dishes

The ribs are definitely the super star of this meal. But surrounding these huge beef ribs with mouth watering side dishes really rounds out this dish.

• Corn on the cob - Smoked and slathered with butter!
• Potato salad
• Cole slaw
• Baked beans - Smoked and full of bacon!

How to smoke beef ribs - Step by step Video

FAQ

Old Pro Tips

• Spritz with beef broth to help smoke adhere to the meat and keep it moist.
• Leave yourself plenty of time before wanting to eat when cooking these ribs. The internal temp is going to raise fast at the beginning and slow down after a couple of hours. Don't freak out and let the ribs do their thing.
• Use an Oak or Hickory hardwood for the best flavor smoke.

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