Beef back ribs (brontosaurus ribs)
- Thread starter mk1
- Start date
Those ribs look great, mk1. 
Have prepared plenty of pork ribs over the years, but one day I need to try my hand at beef ribs.
Have prepared plenty of pork ribs over the years, but one day I need to try my hand at beef ribs.
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
Any secrets to making good beef ribs like yours. I do great pork ribs, but had trouble with the beef ribs. I used the amazing ribs website recipe and smoked them for 5-6 hours on my egg kamado. They ended up being pretty tough. Probably comes down to the meat I started out with.
What temp were you cooking at? Tough is almost always undercooked...overcooked and they'll call apart just like pork. They do take longer than pork ribs in my experience.
I agree.....I cooked mine for 5 hours at 250 with a little drift up at the end....when the meat starts pulling back like in the pic they are getting done...
freqz
0
Melt In The Sun said:
Absolutely. Don't rush 'em...smoked as low as you're comfortable is better. You need plenty of time to break all that stuff down.
Beef *explosion* when they're right.
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
I might throw a rack on tomorrow morning while I work on my shed project. I have the Mavrick 732 that I can put on my hip to keep track of the 225 cook temp. I might try an actual butcher shop, since the ones I bought at the local Stator Bros supermarket didn't have much meat on them. I'll keep you guys updated!!
I'd also cook hotter than 225....I've found that 275-300 gives just as good results in half the time. Plus I can barely keep my cooker under 300 in the summer...since it's over 150 without a fire in it!
Seems like you could just eat it right of the cow thenMelt In The Sun said:
Low and slow mits, low and slow 
:lol:
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
My pork ribs and butts are done at 225-235... The ribs usually stay 3-1/2 hours on the top shelf... then I take them off, and wrap in foil to add some butter and honey.. and a coat of wet sauce... leaving them on about another 1 to 1-1/2 hours... when that is done, I flash grill them on high heat with a another splash of sauce. At least that is what I did last time and they turned out awesome. The butts usually stay in about 10 -12 hours... so I have to start them 2 or 3 in the morning. I have new neighbors, so next time I start that early they are in for it if they leave their bedroom window open. The sliding door to their room is about 15 feet from my smoker on the other side of the fence.
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
Melt In The Sun said:I should try that sometime...just throw in raw meat and leave all day!
They make temperature controllers with little blowers that stoke the fire that even have wifi. Then just add an IP camera like a Foscam and you could technically tend your smoker from anywhere with a wifi signal.
Yeah, those are a couple hundred bucks though...I can buy a lot of meat with that! I don't think even one of those would be able to keep the temp down...the fire is just so small that it goes out. Maybe if I packed the charcoal more carefully it might work.
Nothing wrong with cooking that low...it just takes longer than necessary, IMO. If you've never tried cooking hotter, give it a shot!
Nothing wrong with cooking that low...it just takes longer than necessary, IMO. If you've never tried cooking hotter, give it a shot!
I have spent a lot of time smoking meats at many temps with great successes and abject failuresMelt In The Sun said:
Here are some arguments to going low and slow on meats such as beef brisket, beef and pork ribs, pork butt, etc.:
- 1. Smoke flavor. The longer the meat stay cool the more moisture will be on the surface the more "smoke flavor" will be imparted (built up) on the meat surface. This is not to be confused with the "smoke ring" which is not caused by smoke at all (see next number).
2. Smoke ring. Deeper "Smoke rings" are produced the longer the meat surface is kept moist to allow chemicals such as nitrates to penetrate the surface. Rings look nice but the ring in itself means nothing but can be an indicator of the next point.
3. Salt penetration. Where rubs or brines are used to place salt on the surface, the longer the meat stays cooler while cooking the longer the salt that is on the surface or slightly below the surface from the rub/brine can move into the bulk of the meat.
4. Bark. This goes hand and hand with number 1 above...the longer the surface remains wet, the better and/or "thicker" the bark will be (assuming you are using a good smoking wood burnt at a proper temp).
5. Thick tough cuts and "Old animal" cuts. Some briskets and pork butt I have smoked come to mind here. Low and slow will not always fix extra tough meat, but higher and faster never will. Also, around here the some of the grocery stores call them "slow cook" pork spare ribs. What they really are is animals butchered after their prime and the "slow cook" cuts costing significantly less per pound here, with more risk of getting a positive memorable meal.
6. Safety factor. Going low and slow keeps you father away from the danger zone, where temp spikes might hit while you are away from the smoker causing all your moisture in that brisket to fly away and leave you with shoe leather.
Much I have learned from physicist's Greg Blonder's experiments: http://www.genuineideas.com/food.html
Also, as mentioned above, Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn's "Amazing Ribs" website is a plethora of myth busting articles coupled with great recipes: http://http://www.amazingribs.com/
Much of this I have anecdotally confirmed through trail and a lot of error...ymmv. One thing I can say about my experiences is, when it comes to for example great pork spare ribs (a favorite of mine), it is shades of gray between hotter/faster cooks and lower/slower cooks with the lower/slower cooks generally getting the node.
I too have experimented with different temps, and I think all the above comments are spot on.....
BTW, those ribs look awesomemk1 said:
You never did say how they tasted?
What did you use for smoke?
Thanks! they were great....
6 hours in a Worcestershire onion garlic vinegar marinade/brine(no salt)
A thick veal demiglace coating with a rub of Worcestershire powder sugar paprika garlic onion salt pepper
5 hours at 250 with 1 hour of coffee wood smoke at the beginning...as I said the temp drifted up a bit at the end, but the smoke was probably at 225
6 hours in a Worcestershire onion garlic vinegar marinade/brine(no salt)
A thick veal demiglace coating with a rub of Worcestershire powder sugar paprika garlic onion salt pepper
5 hours at 250 with 1 hour of coffee wood smoke at the beginning...as I said the temp drifted up a bit at the end, but the smoke was probably at 225
