Beef ribs are yummy! Steak on a stick, as they say. Several approaches exist for fixing them but I think the old tried and true 3-2-1 approach is one of the best. Just remember that the numbers are not exact times, just relative indicators. Big, meaty "dinosaur bones" will take longer than smaller ribs.
Peel the skin off the back if you can. Sometimes it can be very hard to get off. If it won't come off, you can peel it after the cook. On most beef ribs it is tough and thick.
Rub very lightly with your favorite beef rub. I like plain old McCormick Montreal Steak. It doesn't take much because you don't want to squelch that wonderful beefy flavor! They'll also taste great with just a little salt and fresh ground black pepper.
Smoke 'em low and slow for at least two hours -- 250 degrees works. They won't cook a whole lot during this phase but they do absorb smoke well. Mesquite is my favorite but hickory is mighty good, too. Oak is a little sweeter and milder.
Double wrap them in heavy foil, adding just a little moisture (it doesn't take much). I mix beer and Worchestershire sauce 50/50 and add maybe two or three tablespoons to each rack. Back into cooker at 250 for an hour.
Unwrap and test for doneness. Like pork ribs, they are best if not mushy and falling off the bone. The "toothpick" method of testing works well -- push a toothpick into the center of the meat between bones. If it goes in easy, they're pretty much done. If it takes effort to poke it in, cook them a little bit longer. If you want the bones to fall out of the meat, keep on cooking in the foil until they do. If not . . .
Apply a light coat of a bold and flavorful sauce like Head Country, Sweet Baby Ray's, or KC Masterpiece Original and return them to heat (no foil) just long enough to set the sauce. About ten minutes will usually do it, but if your heat isn't too high you can go thirty without charring.
The resulting ribs will be beefy, smoky, tangy and fairly tender chewing, but they won't be pretty. Beef rib meat shrinks a lot as it cooks -- lots of fat and connective tissue contributing to moisture.
Afterthought: Some folks like their beef ribs grilled style without the smoke and foil phase. This makes a "steakier" rib but the meat texture will be tougher. I sometimes do them grilled only, too. Makes for great gnawing. When I grill them I don't sauce them. Instead I serve cups of sauce for "dipping".
This is a very general kind of recipe/approach but beef ribs vary greatly in size, tenderness and cooking results so there is no "universal" method that will produce exactly the same results each time. No matter, as long as you don't absolutely burn them up you'll have some tasty food and you'll develop a feel for how you like to cook them. Let us know how they turn out
Hub
