BBQ Short Ribs

ht01us

ht01us

New member
So far my smoking has been limited to pork: Boston butt, baby back ribs, St. Louis cut ribs. But a couple of weeks ago I saw Cowgirl's post of beef ribs and figured I need to expand my horizons. Add that to the fact that I've been looking for a good short rib recipe for a year or two, and this weekend's cook was born.

Picked up 4.5 pounds of absolutely beautiful short ribs at my local New Season's market. They look great.
P1000001.JPG


Not having bacon drippings on hand, I rubbed them with vegetable oil and then applied some of Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn's Big Bad Beef Rub.

Rubbed and ready for the refrigerator overnight.
P1000009.JPG


Tomorrow morning after church on they go.
 
Last edited:
gmaines

gmaines

New member
did the same ribs last weekend. smoked them to 180 as I was told, thought they would be tough and dry, but they were the best ribs I ever did
 
ht01us

ht01us

New member
gmaines said:
did the same ribs last weekend. smoked them to 180 as I was told, thought they would be tough and dry, but they were the best ribs I ever did
Click to expand...

That's good to hear; it give me confidence! I'm following the MAK cookbook:
  • 2.5 hours at 250
  • 60 minutes on "smoke"
  • Back to 250 until the internal temp gets to 180
 
ht01us

ht01us

New member
The ribs are on the MAK with BBQ Delight Oak pellets. I've set up a user program for the first time (I'm hopeful I did it right) and I'm using frog mats for the first time. The user program is set to do the following:
  • 250 degrees for 2:30
  • Down to "Smoke" for an hour
  • Back up to 250 until the meat probe comes to 180

A couple of pics at the start up
P1000010.JPG


P1000012.JPG


They went on at 10:45; ambient temperature is 42 with the rain holding off for now.

P1000015.JPG
 
ht01us

ht01us

New member
Here they are after 2 hours @ 250. They are starting to shrink from the bone.
P1000016.JPG


Then after 2.5 hours @ 250 and 1 hour on smoke they really start to take on some color:
P1000019.JPG


P1000022.JPG


Back around the 2 hours mark I moved the probe to the meatiest rib. It was up to 154 degrees when the temp was at 250. Once the smoker went down to "smoke" the probe dipped to 149, then 141. It will be interesting to watch it rise again.

I'm keeping a cooking log based on the one found at amazingribs.com. My version is updated for the Mak grill. Updated as of 2:45 PST is here.
 
Last edited:
ht01us

ht01us

New member
The rain held off most of the day, but a steady drizzle started in around 2:45. I checked at 3:20; the biggest rib, with the probe in it was at 167, but the others were done. So I pulled the finished ones.
P1000023.JPG


I couldn't wait 'til dinner; after they rested a bit, I grabbed the smallest one and took a taste. Very nice.

I'll keep an eye on the last one until the Pellet Boss user program terminates.
 
Last edited:
ht01us

ht01us

New member
Dinner is served
P1000027.jpg


P1000029.JPG


Nice smoke ring (IMHO)
P1000030.JPG


The complete cooking log can be found here.

Overall I was pleased with my 2nd cook on the MAK. Programming was a bit of a challenge; I had to go through the setup a few times to figure out when to hit "Select"; when to hit "Set" and when to hit "Up"or "Down". Guess I'm too used to building Oracle forms :eek: A big help for that will be a Remote Pellet Boss so I can program from the house instead of sitting out in the drizzle trying to push the right buttuns. The Pellet Boss didn't shut down automatically when the probe hit 180 like I thought I programmed it. So, that will be something to review.

Most of the ribs were pretty good if I do say so myself. The monster rib that had the probe was too lean I think and ended up tough. Also, I had a lean piece with no bone that was very tough. It tasted like I imagine my first brisket will be :D

The take away for this is to get similar sized pieces.

My wife would like some pulled pork soon; so, that will be in the works.

Thanks for looking
 
Big Poppa

Big Poppa

Administrator
With all due respect to the MAK cookbook as Bruce did an excellent job...I think that you should smoke first for about a half hour and the cook anywhere from 225-275 until you get to temp...You had a lot of hot air blowing on the food which can tend to dry it out.
 
ht01us

ht01us

New member
Big Poppa said:
With all due respect to the MAK cookbook as Bruce did an excellent job...I think that you should smoke first for about a half hour and the cook anywhere from 225-275 until you get to temp...You had a lot of hot air blowing on the food which can tend to dry it out.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. The lean pieces were definitely pretty dry. I'll try the smoke first on the next one.

I'm planning on pulled pork next; my plan is to start at 225. Should I maybe start on smoke with that for a bit first?

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and kind words. I had a great time Sunday! It was SOOOO much easier than cooking on the Weber Kettle where I had to constantly adjust water, wood chunks, coals, and vents. I had to break myself from the habit of running out and fiddling with things.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom