Beef ribs are not an easy smoke, they’re an all day commitment but worth it if you nail them! Since my first attempt I have also experimented by sous vide the ribs for 24 hours then smoking them – I couldn’t really tell you they came out much softer – hard to know if the smoking process toughened them up again.
Take the day, crack some beers, craft some meaty goodness..
For the Beef...
For the Smoke...
Smoke Goals...
This is a long, low smoke that requires precise temperature control. My understanding is that this cut does not respond well to higher temps and accidentally allowing the smoker to get to 300f for long is not advisable. Also, you absolutely must use a quality briquette you can get 6+ hours out of (like Heat Beads) or you’ll have to faff around adding new coals during the cook.SMOKING 101: The basic equipment and fundamentals
Method
- Trim any excessive fat from the outside of the ribs
- Smear a bit of mustard over them (American or English) and dust liberally with the salt/pepper/garlic mix
- Get the smoker to around 225f and put in the ribs – I like to put them on a cake rack over a roasting tin
- Smoke for 1 hour with oak, then 1 hour with cherry, after which you probably don’t need any more smoke
- After 3 hours wrap in peach paper or foil (see notes below)
- Cook for a total of 6-8 hours
- For the last hour, unwrap and paint on some sauce, leave unwrapped and allow to caramelise.
To Wrap or Not to Wrap...
After about 3 hours you have the choice as to whether to wrap them or leave them uncovered. The internet is rife with opinion on this but my view is… to wrap.I think if you have a top quality, expensive American built offset smoker then fine, probably leave try them unwrapped, but for most people cooking these on the household Weber, wrapping them in either a bit of peach paper or some tin foil will help you hit and hold an internal temp that will render the fat, softening the meat and generally result in the ribs drying out less.