Smoked Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Prepare Time	Marinate Time	Cook Time	Total Time
1 hour	1 hour	6 hours	8 hours

Beef short ribs have a lot of fat on the outside and inside, which makes them perfect for high-heat cooking to achieve tenderness. However, like most smoked meats, smoked beef short ribs require patience, taking around six hours to cook. So, make sure you set aside enough time for them to work their magic.

When smoked slowly at low temperatures, beef short ribs turn into a juicy, fall-off-the-bone masterpiece that’s full of smoky flavor. My recipe for smoked beef short ribs is sure to leave you and your guest craving more.

Ingredients:

3-4 bone-in beef short ribs per person
Smoking wood like hickory, mesquite, and oak
Black pepper
Brown sugar
Kosher salt
Garlic powder
Paprika
Onion powder
Worcestershire sauce
Mustard
Beef broth or apple cider vinegar

Equipment:

Smoker
Meat thermometer
Smoker fan controller
Grill grates
Smoker box or chunks
Spray bottle
Tongs and gloves
Butcher paper or aluminum foil

What Are Beef Short Ribs?

Beef short ribs are a flavorful and tender beef cut, typically measuring between 3 to 6 inches long, sourced from various parts of the cow like the torso, ribs, brisket, or shoulder. They come in four styles, namely English cut, flank, ribs and boneless ribs, but it’s hard to identify their origin just by looking at them.

Since beef short ribs come from the part of the cow that bears most of its weight, they have a rich marbling of muscle and fat, which can make them a bit chewy. But if cooked properly, they can turn out incredibly tender. For example, today’s recipe of smoked beef short ribs showcases their potential.

How Long to Smoke Beef Short Ribs?

Beef short ribs can be pretty tough, so the best way to cook them is low and slow. Generally speaking, it takes 6-8 hours to smoke beef short ribs at 225°F-250°F, but the cooking time can be vary based on the size and thickness of your ribs. Using a meat thermometer is still the most reliable way to determine if your beef short ribs are cooked by checking the internal temperature.

How to Smoke Beef Short Ribs?

Step 1: Prepare the ribs

Preparing the ribs is very simple and can be done in advance. Just use a sharp paring knife and take off the white membrane from the top of each beef short rib, along with any extra fat, but don’t go overboard since some fat is essential for flavor and moisture.

After that, coat the ribs with Worcestershire sauce and mustard, then generously apply the dry rub mixture. Don’t worry if it seems like a lot, the ribs are thick, so even a lot of rub won’t cover them.

Step 2: Prepare the smoker

It’s time to prepare your smoker. The ideal preheat temperature for your smoker is 250°F. While most pellet grills don’t need preheating, just double-check that your pellet hopper is stocked up. If you’re using a charcoal smoker, opt for some good wood chunks for smoking beef short ribs, such as hickory, mesquite, or oak. Don’t forget to place a water pan in the smoker to keep the ribs nice and juicy. If possible, use a smoker fan controller to stabilize the temperature of the smoker. Fortunately, the ISC-027BW is a handy smoker fan controller with four probes to monitor the meat and ambient temperatures at the same time. It also automatically adjusts fan speed according to the smoker’s temperature, eliminating the need of frequent checking.

Step 3: Smoke beef short ribs

Once the smoker is at a stable temperature, place the beef short ribs bone-side down. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, making sure the probe is in the meat and not just the fat. I use the wireless meat thermometer from INKBIRD, which has a dual sensor probe and I can monitor the temperature of my smoker and the ribs remotely.

Cover the lid up and let it smoke. Every hour for three hours, spray each rib with the mix of apple cider vinegar and beef broth, doing this twice or three times in total.

Step 4: Wrap in foil and continue smoking

When the crust forms and the smoked beef short ribs reach the target temperature of at least 175°F, remove them from the smoker. Then wrap the ribs in butcher paper or aluminum foil and spray the surface with a little mixture of the apple cider vinegar and beef broth to generate some steam. Don’t forget to leave the probe in the meat so you can tell when they are done.
Place the wrapped ribs back in the smoker and let them smoke for another 3 hours. When they are super tender, the internal temperature should be around 200°F, and they’ll be good to go.

Step 5: Rest and serve

Take the smoked beef short ribs out of the smoker while keeping the butcher or foil paper on, and let them rest for at least 30 minutes, which allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. You can either slice the meat off the bones before serving just serve them as is.

I would recommend trying the ribs without any sauce first, as they are already full of flavor after being smoked for so long. You can also drizzle on some barbecue sauce if you want to kick it up a notch. For sides, a zesty salad or an iced bubble drink would be great to balance out the richness of the ribs.