It’s been a long search for a butcher that sells bone-in beef ribs, but I finally got my hands on them. Out of all my favourite cuts of meat out there, beef ribs is high up on my list.
While briskets are tricky to get right, beef ribs are much more forgiving: their fat cap and marbling helps preserve moisture. And it's just so catchy to call huge beef ribs dino ribs. I spent an enjoyable weekend smoking these. A day with no greater stakes than having a couple of kilos of meat going low and slow on the grill is always a good day.
Everybody I know is keeping a close eye on rising grocery prices, myself included. Beef ribs are pricey at $35/kg, and a 4-rib cut runs close to about $80. They’re definitely not an everyday cut of meat. But they're intensely heavy and flavourful, so you don’t need to eat a lot of it to sate yourself. You'll probably feel ill if you try! This is one of those cuts where a few hearty bites is all you need, and excellent when paired with other meats like pork and chicken.
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| Meat shrinkage from cooking |
This photo looks scarily burnt, but it's not: the smoke, the black pepper and the chile rub all turn the exterior of the meat dark, and this is called the 'bark'. While a burnt piece of meat would be all dried up and crunchy, the exterior of a properly-smoked meat is soft and tender, and juices would pool around your finger if you lightly press onto it.
Smoked Dino Beef Ribs
Snake Method, explained from American Test Kitchen. It's an incredibly charcoal-efficient method for sustained low and slow cooking.
Dino Beef Ribs Recipe adapted from The Dawgfatha's BBQ, with additional information from Meathead (BBQ Hall of Famer)
Ingredients
3-4 Beef ribs, bone-in (around 2kg)
Salt and Pepper*
Chile rub (optional)
BBQ sauce, for serving (optional)
STEPS
1. Season the beef ribs with salt and pepper and then with a light coating of chile rub (optional). Leave uncovered in a fridge overnight. There’s no need to trim the fat cap.
Charcoal Arrangement: Briquettes, Snake Method:
2. Arrange charcoal briquettes in a 2x2 snake along the circumference of the Weber grill. Set 3-4 wood chips directly on the charcoal at regular intervals. The top and bottom vents should left entirely open. You are aiming for a grill temperature of 250-300 F.
When ready to begin:
3. Pour 10 lit charcoals over one end of the snake. (I use a chimney starter for this).
4. Add a disposable aluminium pan over the centre of the grill pit. Fill it up with ~2cm of boiling water for a gentle moist cooking. It'll also collect any meat drippings.
5. Set the grill over the charcoal, and oil the grates lightly. Place the beef ribs in the centre of the grill over the water pan, bone-side down. Cover the grill with the lid, making sure the top vents are positioned on the other side of the grill away from the burning charcoal, so the hot smoke flows over the meat on its way out.
6. Review the beef ribs at 1.5-2 hour mark. If any parts of the meat appears to be starting to burn (turning black and drying out), brush or spritz that area with water.
7. Check in again at 3-3.5H. Using a sharp end of a thermometer probe or a skewer, check for tenderness of the meat. It should be done when the probe can slide in and out of the meat with minimal resistance. The internal temperature of the ribs should read about 200-205F.
8. If ready, you can pull the meat off the grill. Otherwise, check the ribs every 20-30 minutes or so, until desired texture of the ribs is reached. When done, wrap in butcher paper and rest in a cooler box for about 1-2 hours.
9. Cut and slice when ready to serve. You may like to serve it with BBQ sauce (controversial!)
Smoked Dino Beef Ribs
Snake Method, explained from American Test Kitchen. It's an incredibly charcoal-efficient method for sustained low and slow cooking.
Dino Beef Ribs Recipe adapted from The Dawgfatha's BBQ, with additional information from Meathead (BBQ Hall of Famer)
Ingredients
3-4 Beef ribs, bone-in (around 2kg)
Salt and Pepper*
Chile rub (optional)
BBQ sauce, for serving (optional)
STEPS
1. Season the beef ribs with salt and pepper and then with a light coating of chile rub (optional). Leave uncovered in a fridge overnight. There’s no need to trim the fat cap.
*Salt: the rule of thumb for the amount of salt to use is 1-1.5% by weight of the meat. For bone-in cuts like these, I use the lower end of the range (1%), as part of the weight would be just bones.
*Pepper: The rule of thumb is to use the same volume (not weight) of pepper as kosher salt, or twice the volume of pepper as table salt. But pepper is a spice, and like other spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg, you can use as much or as little as you like.
*Pepper: The rule of thumb is to use the same volume (not weight) of pepper as kosher salt, or twice the volume of pepper as table salt. But pepper is a spice, and like other spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg, you can use as much or as little as you like.
Charcoal Arrangement: Briquettes, Snake Method:
2. Arrange charcoal briquettes in a 2x2 snake along the circumference of the Weber grill. Set 3-4 wood chips directly on the charcoal at regular intervals. The top and bottom vents should left entirely open. You are aiming for a grill temperature of 250-300 F.
When ready to begin:
3. Pour 10 lit charcoals over one end of the snake. (I use a chimney starter for this).
4. Add a disposable aluminium pan over the centre of the grill pit. Fill it up with ~2cm of boiling water for a gentle moist cooking. It'll also collect any meat drippings.
5. Set the grill over the charcoal, and oil the grates lightly. Place the beef ribs in the centre of the grill over the water pan, bone-side down. Cover the grill with the lid, making sure the top vents are positioned on the other side of the grill away from the burning charcoal, so the hot smoke flows over the meat on its way out.
6. Review the beef ribs at 1.5-2 hour mark. If any parts of the meat appears to be starting to burn (turning black and drying out), brush or spritz that area with water.
7. Check in again at 3-3.5H. Using a sharp end of a thermometer probe or a skewer, check for tenderness of the meat. It should be done when the probe can slide in and out of the meat with minimal resistance. The internal temperature of the ribs should read about 200-205F.
8. If ready, you can pull the meat off the grill. Otherwise, check the ribs every 20-30 minutes or so, until desired texture of the ribs is reached. When done, wrap in butcher paper and rest in a cooler box for about 1-2 hours.
9. Cut and slice when ready to serve. You may like to serve it with BBQ sauce (controversial!)
