The Beef Short Rib

Bringing back an old favorite – beef ribs. I did these awhile ago when I first started smoking and I remember them being good, but not great. Redemption time.

Went to the local Sam’s Club on a Friday after work and toured the meat section to find something good for my latest post. It seems as if the COVID pricing has subsided a little bit, as even brisket was a manageable price. I was toying with either buying a full packer or these beef ribs. Obviously I went with the short ribs, but it got to reminding me that I haven’t done a brisket on here yet (it’s coming).

Full brisket disclosure: Last year was going to be my “summer of brisket”. COVID happened, sent prices through the roof. I’ve smoked probably a half a dozen briskets, but only one turned out PERFECT. The other ones I’d rate decent to good, but we’re looking for perfection when I post things. So my “Summer of Brisket” got cut short – this year was going to be using my RecTeq Matador more, frying things and such – but we’ll see where the wind takes us.

---

Recipe

---

The Prep Table

I was happy to have MrsForensicBBQ here to help me out with dusting these things. We have beef product, we’re going beef rub. MrsForensicBBQ and a Sharpie is a dangerous thing – see her labels for the Smoked Cheese post – and she labeled my beef rub the “Meaty Bits Beef Rub”. This has no doubt stuck, and I had to mix another batch so she was instrumental in helping me portion out the blend.

For those of you reading and not just looking at the pictures, we have some big changes coming to forensicbbq.com – we’ve gotten quite a following lately, so stay tuned! I’m looking for a June launch. But anyways…

So we needed to mix a new batch of the MBBR. When you’re talking about seasoning beef, it is, and should be, simple. I know all y’all down in Texas are saying S&P and let it be. I get it, and I do a majority of coarse black pepper and kosher salt. But I want a little more. I throw some Onion Powder and Garlic Powder in there, I do. It doesn’t take it over, but it’s there. But I don’t stop there – Cayenne. Heresy, Blasphemy – call it what you will. You should know by now I’m a graduate of the Scoville University. High Honors at that.

Cayenne isn’t going to make it spicy. It isn’t going to overpower the meat – but it’s there. Unapologetically, it’s there. Moving on.

Stepping off the beef rub soapbox, it’s time to get to prepping. I pulled these beef short ribs out ahead of time, and let them get to room temperature. This is when I mixed up the new MBBR, powered up the RecTeq Bull, and serenaded my vegetarian wife with the smoking philosophies: reasonings and seasonings.

If you’ve been following along at all, you know I’m not a seasoning binder kind of guy. For me it’s simple – sprinkle on the rub, and let it set for 5ish minutes. The salt gets to working, and your rub will stick. I don’t need to coat or slather the meat in anything, especially that demon seed y’all call mustard. Throw a coat of seasoning on, wait, and rotate. Do this until your meat nuggets have a beautiful blend on there.

MrsForensicBBQ was kind enough to lend me her time and while I was gloved up, she threw the dust on there. I’d press the granules into the meat, and she’d go back to wondering why this is taking so long. (As I’m writing this, she made a killer rhubarb almond muffin – I told her to take some pictures and post!)

I don’t know if I said this last post, or the one before – but the next post (probably a lie) will be a RecTeq cleaning post. I’ve put this thing through the snow and rain the last couple months, and it needs a little TLC. Since we moved to our new residence, I’ve had it up on the deck last year, and this year it’s been chilling in the garage and wheeled out when needed. The outdoor kitchen is coming, and it’ll be a griller’s paradise.

Meat has been seasoned, it’s been at room temperature – the grill is set to that usual 225 – it’s time to go. And hey, zoom in on that panel. When you set that grill to your temperature, you get that temperature. RecTeq for the win.

---

The Process

There isn’t a lot to the process at all. Set it and forget it. While I didn’t plan for a full 8+ hour smoke, I knew it was going to take a few hours. This took every bit of 8 hours for them little squares of meat. This is no doubt due to raising the meat temperature to 203 while in a box that’s only at 225. This is why you get that decadent melt-in-your-mouth beef product. Don’t rush a beautiful thing (unless it’s marriage – I had to get MrsForensicBBQ married to me ASAP before she bailed).

You get the luxury of a 40lb hopper with the RecTeq Bull, which when you’re going for a marathon smoke, it’s great. But for someone that likes to mix things up, you’re constantly tending to the hopper. I like to drain the hopper after every smoke, because I don’t know what’s coming next. My favorite wood to use is Hickory – or a fruit blend with it. I love the power and intensity of that hickory smoke flavor that comes with it. 

But, because I’ve been pellet smoking for years now, you don’t get that charcoal bite that is iconic. And truthfully, you still don’t with this blend. But it’s potent, it’s still powerful – and for the part-time smoker that I am, it does the job that I’m looking for. Check out Lumberjack’s Char-Hickory… you’re welcome.

 took a lot of pictures during this smoke. Instagram loves pictures, I know you do too. But during a long smoke, there’s not much to say – especially for a simple cook as “dust meat, heat meat.”. I want you to see the process, what I’ve done and why I did it. So continuing on – still rolling that 225 we see this starting to happen:

So at this point, I went and checked them out and they look phenomenal. I love seeing that meat pull and constrict, and you know some serious cooking is happening. The bone starting to show with the blackened ends – this is why I love smoking food. I love the process, the prep, the result (which is why I break this blog into those sections). It’s a beautiful science (forensic?). 

But they’re a little dry. The fat hasn’t rendered yet – a quick squeeze test is saying it needs a little moisture. I’ve studied what the others have done – a spritzing, a basting – but nah, I wanted to keep the exposure. Enter the magic blue bottle.

If y’all don’t have that Parkay at the ready, you don’t know what you’re missing. Fake ass butter flavored oily product. I use it more than I’d like to admit, but it accomplishes what you need at the cheap. You see I didn’t add much, that fat was ready to render – I just wanted to help it along a bit. Throw a little squeeze so that oil melts down and covers it and keep on going.

This is for those visually-intrigued folk, like myself. So much complexity is shown with this one. Starting from the bottom, you can see the exposed bone with the burnt edge. We know that meat is cooking and is pulling as it as heats up. The smoke has given the meat the red tint, and that coarse blend of seasonings gives the crust the texture you’re used to. This is a beautiful photo, love sharing this with you.

As you see I’ve moved these around, given them the squeeze test, introduced that Thermapen to each meat block, I know they’re ready. I’ve learned when doing a brisket when you hit 203 it isn’t 203 everywhere – give it another degree. Poke and prod until you’re ready. I want a heavy 203, when you’re sure it’s done – not a fresh 203 when you’re impatient. Truth be told, I was getting impatient, as my hunger was aggressive.

---

The Result

Showtime – I’m pretty sure these all hit 203+, the bark was a beautiful dark black – as that pepper leading the show. (Spoiler alert – I’m probably going to add a red pepper to the Meaty Bits Beef Rub (MBBR) – but I’m researching some pretty specific blends of peppercorns to enhance the flavor – kampot anyone?)

Eight hours later, the pellet hopper about drained, my BAC a little heavier than I planned for – it was time to get these off the smoker and let them relax a bit. I’ve done my fair share of burnt ends before, and I asked my wife: “You think a BBQ sauce or broth would help these out?”. Her response brought a tear to my eye, an extra jolt of love to my heart. Her reply:

“If you seasoned them right, do you need sauce?”

Sorry y’all, she’s mine. Not only does she listen to me – my gripes, my failed smokes, the pressure I put on myself on making great flavorful BBQ – but she gets it. She may not taste anything that I make, but she understands what goes into it. I looked at her with a single tear falling from eye (lie) and said “you’re right”. Resting period done – Removed the beefy block from its bone, and put them on a plate.

What a delicious conclusion this was. The fat beautifully rendered and made for a literal “melt-in-your-mouth” moment with each bite. I placed three of those nugs on the plate and shredded them up. You can see that beautiful crust meet the deep red, followed by the pink meat that brings the best of BBQ. My Meaty Bits Beef Rub doesn’t come with a lot of salt (personal choice) but just enough to where you get it, but won’t dry you out. The pepper shines as you take that bite and the char-hickory smoke that permeated the meat steals the show.

Kinda killed the beef short rib game. Made 6, ate 3 – gave me enough for leftovers. As I reheated them in the following days at work – my colleagues who have grown accustomed to walking into the lunch room post-reheat – jealousy and drool ensued. 

Beef short ribs were a success, and one that very well could show up at the 2021 season of SmokeFest (Only 3 months out!).

On a side note – the new site is in the works. The overwhelming response here and on Instagram is so very much appreciated. I love learning from each of you and seeing what new creations you all come up with. I’ve just recently hit 500 followers and seeing what you all create is inspiring. I’ll give an early shoutout to Kyle over at Gateway Graphix who’s helping grow this thing – so let’s keep that smoke rolling.

Update (2021-05-01): Due to the overall forensicbbq.com update, this recipe got lost from its previous post. Added recipe card.

---

The Recipe