Beef plate short ribs are big, meaty bones that taste like brisket on a stick. A simple salt-and-pepper rub and a long, slow smoke turn them tender and juicy. They take most of a day, but the work is easy.
The recipe
Ingredients
- 1 rack beef plate short ribs, 3 bones, about 4–6 lb (sometimes called dino ribs)
- 1/4 cup Texas-style brisket rub, or 2 tbsp coarse black pepper plus 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard or hot sauce, as a binder (optional)
- 1 cup water or beef broth mixed with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, for spritzing
Steps
- Set your smoker to 275°F. Use post oak, hickory or a mix of oak and cherry.
- Trim the hard fat and the shiny silver skin from the top of the rack. Leave the membrane on the bone side; it helps hold the meat together.
- Rub the meat with the binder if using, then coat all sides evenly with the rub.
- Place the rack bone-side down on the smoker. Smoke for about 3 hours without opening the lid.
- After 3 hours, spritz the ribs every 45–60 minutes if the surface looks dry.
- Keep smoking until the internal temperature reaches about 165–175°F and the bark is dark and set. You can wrap the rack in butcher paper at this point to speed things up, or leave it unwrapped for a thicker bark.
- Continue cooking until the meat between the bones reaches 200–205°F and a probe slides in like it's going into soft butter, about 8–10 hours total.
- Rest the ribs, loosely wrapped in butcher paper, for at least 1 hour in a warm spot or a dry cooler.
- Slice between the bones and serve.
Why this works
Short ribs are full of fat and collagen. Beef is safe at 145°F, but at that point short ribs are still tough. Cooking them low and slow to about 200–205°F melts the collagen, which makes the meat soft and juicy. The long rest lets the juices settle so they stay in the meat when you slice it.
The rub
Texas style keeps it simple. Salt and coarse pepper let the beef and smoke shine. Our Texas-style brisket rub works perfectly here. For a deeper, richer crust, try the coffee and chile rub.
Best wood
Post oak is the Texas classic. It burns clean and gives steady, medium smoke. Hickory is a bit stronger. Adding a little cherry gives the bark a darker color. Check the wood pairing chart for other good matches with beef.
How to tell it's done
Temperature gets you close, but feel tells you it's ready. Probe the meat between the bones in a few spots. It should slide in with almost no resistance. If any spot feels tight, give it another 30 minutes and check again. A leave-in probe and an instant-read meat thermometer make this much easier.
Make ahead / storage
Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3–4 days. Reheat them wrapped in foil with a splash of broth in a 250°F oven until warm. You can also freeze the cooked meat off the bone for up to 3 months.
Variations
Sauced: brush with a thin BBQ sauce in the last 15 minutes.
Garlic-heavy: add 1 tbsp granulated garlic to the rub.
Chuck short ribs: smaller chuck ribs work too. Start checking for tenderness after about 6 hours.
Gear for this recipe
- A smoker big enough for a long rack
- Pink butcher paper
- A leave-in probe thermometer
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