Beef Short Ribs
Beef short ribs are a staple of the barbecue scene. Everyone wants to cook them as the meat is very rich, very similar to brisket, and cooks really well on a BBQ or grill, such as the Big Green Egg. They cook much faster than brisket too, so they are a superb place to start your grilling career.Â
A rack of short ribs is also known as a Jacob’s Ladder, when they are all still as one piece, and this is how you should try and buy them, rather than getting individual ribs. A whole rack will cook better than individuals.Â
Cooking short ribs is a low and slow cook, where you cook the ribs at 110°C (225°F), smoking them as you go.Â
Cooking surfaces
BBQ Temperature
Ingredients
- 1 rack of beef short ribs
- 1 tbsp Maldon salt
- 1 tbsp crushed black pepper
- Frenches American mustard
- Cherry or sweet chesnut smoking chunks
Equipement
- A probe thermometer such as the Thermapen.Â
Method
- Setup your Big Green Egg for an indirect cook with the stainless steel grid on top of your ConvEGGtor. Set your Egg to 110°C. Make sure it is steady before you start to cook.
- Prep your ribs by coating in a thin layer of Frenches American mustard. This will be a binder for the salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle your ribs with salt and pepper, and don’t go too overboard if you want to taste the meat.
- Add a couple of wood chunks to the burning part of the coals, and then replace your ConvEGGtor and grid. You need to smoke your ribs when they are cold and wet for the smoke particles to stick to them and flavour them. A little spritz with some apple juice can help this process.Â
- Place your ribs onto the stanless grid and cook until they hit an internal temperature of around 95°C. This will take about 12 hours for a standard sized Jacobs Ladder. The ribs are cooked when the meat probes tender with a probe thermometer.
- Once cooked, let the meat rest for 30 minutes, wrapped in foil, and if possible in a cool box.
Notes
These beef short ribs will take around 12 hours to cook in a large Big Green Egg. They may cook a little faster in a XL Big Green Egg as there is a higher rate of airflow through the Egg and this will dry the meat faster, pushing through the stall faster. For more on this please read about low and slow cooking.
The flavour of short ribs is very similar to brisket as it comes from the same area of the animal. They’re much easier to cook. so make a great choice for your first low and slow beef cook.
Left over meat can be shredded and added to a chilli.
Short ribs can be cut length ways, across the bones, and then cooked hot and fast, normally with a Korean BBQ sauce. Korean Short Ribs are totally different.Â