Tips for Beef Short Ribs for anyone still learning.

 There aren't enough "secrets" being shared in this group so I thought I would give it a go with the hope others that are good at other cuts of meat will share their tips as well.

1) Do not take off the membrane on the bottom of beef ribs like you would with pork ribs. If you do the bones will fall out because the meat just sits on top of them.

2) Trim as much fat as you can off the top of the ribs. They are extremely fatty and marbled all the way through. This is the only cut of meat where I prefer Choice over Prime. Choice is almost too fatty even after trimming. Save some money for those prime briskets and ribeyes instead.

3) This is one meat that really never needs to be wrapped like a brisket, ribs or pork butt would. You will lose bark and beef ribs are so moist I promise they will not be dry if you don't wrap.

4) Even though it’s as thick as brisket for some reason it’s easy to overseason. Don’t go heavy like a brisket. If there was ever a meat to just do salt and pepper and garlic.... this is the one. I’ve even over seasoned using Montreal steak rub before putting on as much as I would on a 1.25 inch ribeye. The rub just doesn’t come off during the cook because you aren't wrapping and you are not searing it so go lighter than you think.

5) Beef Short Ribs are so well marbled you can cook high temp and it takes longer than you may think. I cook most foods at 225-250. Beef Ribs can easily take a higher heat so go 275-285 degrees for 7 hours unwrapped. Once bark is set turn smoke down to 1 on a pellet smoker. On my stick burner I can usually manage to use the coals I have left to finish the last couple hours but if you need to keep adding wood, then wrap if you must to avoid adding creosote on the outside after the bark is set. Angle the bones away from the heat source and towards the exhaust and angle meat towards the heat to shield the bones for an even cook. If you lay the bones facing you then it’s likely to not cook even if your smoker has a side to side heat flow like 90%+ of smokers do. I've never seen a smoker with the heat source on the back but that would be the only time the bones should be facing you.

6) The best results are not just probe tender but probe tender through the second membrane layer at the bottom of the ribs that sits on TOP of the bones. Should be about 203 IT when done.

7) If you haven't tried Beef Ribs and want to give it a go... these famous YouTuber's for BBQ have some great videos with tips

8.) Beef ribs can have a stall at 165 and another at 195. Don’t give up at 195. When you hit probe tender through second membrane it’s done and that is usually around 203. If you zoom in on the picture below the 2nd membrane is that thin straight line on each rib right on top of the bone. That is what you want to be probe tender through.

9 ) Let them cool down on counter for a few minutes until about 180 to stop the cooking process. Wrap when finished in butcher paper or towels and put in a cooler for 1 hr or longer. This last step is more important than anything else you do in the cook. If you have the patience when you are done it will still be steaming hot but that slow cool down makes the meat slice through like butter and so jiggly tender it’s like poking a finger on jello. Notice on the slices below there is zero meat tear because there are no dry spots. That only happens with a long rest.

I hope this helps someone! Beef Short Plate rib racks are awesome, easy to do and some would argue the real King of BBQ when done right!

10) You are looking for Beef Short Plate Ribs. Not back ribs. Not short ribs cut into individual bones so the butcher can sell more. These are usually cryovac'd in 3 or 4 bone racks. Sam's Club gets them and cuts them into thin Korean style flanken style that are cut across the bones. Grocery stores and butchers offer them in single bones. In either case if you see that, then ask them to go into their freezer and see if they can sell you a whole cryovac package. You should also be able to ask a butcher shop to order them for you if nothing else. If all else fails I've found a great online source from Wild Fork Foods that blast freezes them farm fresh after a 17 day aging process. I have no affiliation to them other than being a customer and seeing so many people can't find them locally. I've only had a couple of shipments from Wild Fork but so far the quality has been as good or better than what I get from a good butcher.