Beef In the Streets: Dub Shack BBQ Presents Beef Back Ribs

 

Not everyone has money for prime rib or brisket and either one at these prices would have blown my meat budget to smithereens, so let’s do the next best thing and smoke beef back ribs. You know, I like the idea of MBCA (Make Barbecue Cheap Again) in large part to everyone and their daddy thinks they can smoke meat as they do it on pellet or electric smokers instead of the proper offset with wood with timers, probes, and stuff messing up the game but hey, everyone gotta get it how they live.

INGREDIENTS

One rack of beef back ribs

Barbecue rub (I used Meat Church’s Holy Cow) *

*Normally I plug local stuff such as Benton’s own Fire Dancer BBQ or the wares plied by the great folks at Fire and Smoke Society of Little Rock but as always, make it your own. No one is paying me to endorse their products. I’ve been on a Holy Cow kick lately and apparently Little Miss Sunshine loves the stuff, so let’s keep the party going.

STEP ONE. Take the ribs out of the cryovac packing and rinse off the extra coloring the meat department uses to make beef more appealing and dry them off with a paper towel. You don’t have to remove the membrane from beef ribs and more often than not, I will leave it on primarily for them to hold up throughout the cook. Apply the rub on both sides and set aside until your smoker reaches 250 degrees.

STEP TWO. Light your weapon of choice. I chose to use my Oklahoma Joe offset smoker, and as a result, I also did two racks of pork ribs (see Dad’s Stress Reliever from April 2016) and a more recent favorite, rib tips (see Tip Sharing from September 2021) due to the fact of all that unused real estate. Beef can come up to room temperature without any risk of salmonella unlike chicken; one would be wise not to leave meat out for more than an hour prior to cooking if it can be helped. Once at 250, lay the ribs down in a place where they will smoke properly. Remember, ribs cook the way they lay.

STEP THREE. This is a six-to-eight hour cook and you don’t necessarily need to mop beef ribs every hour. In this regard, treat them like brisket:  leave them alone until the bark sets. Once it is there – and in my case, four hours, pull the beef ribs off the smoker to wrap in either aluminum foil or butcher paper. I went with the standby aluminum foil, and as I type these words, I have two rolls of butcher paper that I really haven’t used in a while. I need to switch up and use it instead next time around. In the meantime, keep your smoker anywhere between 225 and 250 for the fat to render properly and to tenderize said ribs.

Sidebar Action: I used a mix of mesquite and cherry woods because that was in the shed. As I’ve done with brisket and beef short ribs, nothing says slow down and hang out with me like the smell of mesquite wood wafting from one backyard to the next and across our neighborhood. 2022 may introduce the meat list for said friends if I get the chance to cook more frequently and am able to sell some sauces.

When those beef ribs get wrapped, add just enough beef broth and two tablespoons of butter for the proteins to tenderize for that silky taste, and return to the smoker. At this point they have taken all of the smoke they can handle meaning the name of the game is to keep the temperatures up enough to further break down the collagens. Beef ribs are finished anywhere between 200 and 205 degrees; you can duck out and run a few errands but not so many that when you come back, the smoker needs serious help.

STEP FOUR. In the miracle of time, the beef ribs are finished. Unwrap them, let them rest for fifteen to twenty minutes to let the juices redistribute throughout, and get ready to slice and serve!

I don't make pretty charcuterie boards but damn if I can smoke some fire beef ribs! #DubShackBBQ🏚️ #everydayisaGREATdayforbbq #pitmasterlife #igotthesauces #beefribs #BeefInTheStreets #MerryChristmas pic.twitter.com/8MSMrOGD5G

— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) December 24, 2021

One thing I have learned on my barbecue journey from overcooking hamburgers to near-perfect tri-tips, ribs, and yes, lamb, is to not overthink the process. Of course, do the due diligence of research and development from people who have done what we are trying to present in an easy-to-follow and enjoy process with the things available to us. With so much information out there, it can be overwhelming, and this is why I chose to write down my methods for each recipe [Hint: I love you enough to give you the game for free .99] saving time, heartache, and bad barbecue for your families to suffer through. Thanks for reading this post and as always, tell everyone out there that every day is a GREAT day for Dub Shack BBQ! Be blessed, be safe, and be good to each other.