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On a cold winter day, there is nothing better than a good hearty meal. This Smoked Short Rib recipe will keep you warm and full. The smokiness on the ribs mixed with the broth from the wine and beef stock make these braised smoked short ribs an unforgettable dish.
If you’re looking for a recipe for a full rack, check out my Easy Smoked Beef Plate Ribs.
Table of Contents
What are beef short ribs?
Beef short ribs are a cut of beef taken from the brisket, chuck, plate or rib areas. Sometimes they are called a brisket on a stick, dino ribs or dino bones. They consist of a portion of the rib bone and the surrounding meat. They are available as a full rack, usually consisting of 3-4 bones, cut thin across the bones or cut thicker parallel with the bones.
The meat surrounding the bone is very well marbled, beefy in flavor and when cooked right, fall apart tender. That’s why beef ribs or short ribs are so popular. The most readily available cut is the short rib. Cut into cubes, they include the bone and the meat on top. That’s what I will be using today.
In order to get them super tender and delicious, we have to break down all the fat and connective tissue inside the meat. And the best way to do that on a smoker is by cooking them low and slow. Once they have a beautiful and flavorful bark on the outside, I will finish them in a delicious braise to really get them tender.
Short Rib Ingredients
- Beef Short Ribs: the star of the recipe. Cut into cubes, consisting of the bone and surrounding meat.
- Seasoning: I used an all purpose seasoning for the chuck roast and Italian blend for the braise ingredients
- Beef broth: adding additional moisture and flavor in the braise.
- Onion: savory crunch for the braise
- Garlic: rich and robust flavors for the braise.
- Red Wine: adds more flavor and mild fruit flavors to the braise.
- Worcestershire Sauce: adds a ton of umami flavor to the braise and final sauce.
Step 1: Prep the short ribs.
To start, remove the fat cap and silver skin that covers the meat side. Some might easily peal off, while others need a gentle slice with the knife. If you leave this on, the silver skin will be tough and chewy when they are done. Removing it also exposes the meat so we can apply our seasoning.
Next, season the beef short ribs with Dad’s All Purpose rub. It’s salty, peppery and just the right amount of spice to help enhance the naturally delicious flavor of beef.Let the seasoned short ribs sit in room temperature for a 20-30 minutes giving them time to sweat out a bit.
Dad’s Seasonings
Must have grillin seasonings!
Step 2: Time to smoke short ribs.
Pre-heat the grill to 250 degrees and set for indirect heat. Place the seasoned short ribs directly on the grates and smoke for 3-4 hours or until the outside bark is set. The internal temperature will be between 160-170 degrees internal. The times will vary depending on what smoker you are using and the size of your short ribs. The name of the game here is low and slow. Take your time and let the smoker work its magic on the beef. We want these packed full of that delicious smokey flavor.
When the short ribs hit our target internal temperature and the bark is set, we can move on the second stage of this cook. In a foil pan, add the diced onion, the smoked short ribs, beef broth, red wine, Worcestershire sauce and minced garlic. This will be our braising liquid and we’ll use it as a sauce when everything is done and cooked. Tightly wrap the foil pan with aluminum foil and place it back on the smoker. At this point you can also use your oven since we’re cooking these wrapped in a pan. But if your grill or smoker is going, might as well just finish it outside. You can also increase the temperature to 300 degrees to help speed up the process.
Short Rib Smoking Tips
- Remove the silver skin or fat cap to expose the meat for maximum flavor.
- Use temperature as the guide, but cook until the short ribs are fork tender to ensure a soft bite.
- I recommend going with a cheaper bottle of wine for this recipe. The main purpose of it is to add a savory richness to the broth while the alcohol content burns off. If you prefer to skip the wine, substitute it with more beef broth.
Cook the short ribs in the foil pan until they are fork tender. Meaning you can insert your fork or meat thermometer in the ribs without any resistance, like a hot knife in butter. I like to start checking tenderness around the 200 degree internal temperature mark. If they are still not tender, cover them back up and continue cooking for 30 minutes. And then repeat the process. Continue this until they become fork tender.
Remove the foil pan from the grill/smoker/oven and let it rest at room temperature, still covered for 30 minutes. This will allow them to cool down a bit, stop the cooking process and make for a much tastier final product.
Check out my Smoked Beef Rib Lollipop recipe for a fun twist.
Remove the short ribs from the foil pan and plate them up. You can use the sauce at the bottom as is or you can transfer it to a small sauce pan, bring it up a boil and simmer it for 5 minutes to let it thicken up.
I like to serve these over mashed potatoes, topped with the pan sauce. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Absolutely! Instead of smoking them short ribs in the smoker, you can sear them in a hot skillet or dutch oven. Then transfer them to a foil pan, add the braising ingredients and continue as listed in the recipe.
You can leave out the red wine and just use more beef broth. The short ribs will still be very tasty.
Similar Smoked Beef Recipes:
If you tried these Smoked Short Ribs or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments. I love hearing from you!
Smoked Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 Beef short ribs
- 4 tbsp Dad's All Purpose rub
- 1 Yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup Beef broth
- 1 cups Red wine
- 1 tbsp Minced garlic
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Remove the fat cap and silver skin from the meat side of the short ribs to fully expose the meat.
- Pre-heat the grill to 250 degrees and set for indirect heat. Place the seasoned short ribs directly on the grates and smoke for 3-4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 160-170 degrees.
- In a foil pan, add the diced onion, the smoked beef ribs, beef broth, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic. Tightly wrap in foil and place back on the smoker or inside the oven.
- Increase the temperature to 300 degree and cook until the short ribs are probe tender. This will take anywhere from 2-4 hours, depending on the size of the short ribs.
- When the short ribs are tender, remove the foil pan from the grill/smoker/oven and let it rest at room temperature, still covered for 30 minutes.
- Plate them up, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cook the short ribs in the foil pan until they are fork tender. Meaning you can insert your fork or meat thermometer in the ribs without any resistance, like a hot knife in butter. I like to start checking tenderness around the 200 degree internal temperature mark. If they are still not tender, cover them back up and continue cooking for 30 minutes. And then repeat the process. Continue this until they become fork tender.
- Use the sauce from the bottom of the foil pan as is or transfer it to a small sauce pan, bring it up a boil and simmer it for 5 minutes to let it thicken up.
Nutrition
Check out the Recipes Page for other tasty ideas!
One of my favorites! Tender and beefy, beef short ribs are a bbq staple. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!
I finally did these. I used boneless beef short ribs from Costco. They were great. I just wish they were a little more tended. Maybe cause after I finished cooking them, I put on some home made bbq sauce and cooked them about 30 minutes more. Then I cooked some potatoes and maybe the ribs rested too long before eating?
There could have been some silver skin on the meat which will make pieces tough. Also, always do a fork check. If it’s not soft enough, continue cooking.
Would these still work if I do not smoke them
I know you’d rather hear this from Maciek, but the smoke is just to add more flavor. So technically you don’t need the smoke.
Correct. The smokiness is just an added bonus, but this recipe can be make in the oven or stove top.
do you think it would be too much if I were to brush on some bbq sauce after step 5 and put them back on the grill for about 30 minutes of indirect heat?
You sure can, the sauce will caramelize and add a bit of sweetness to the ribs
Hi, roughly what internal temperature should the ribs be at after step 1?
They should be around 160-170. But feel free to leave them on longer if the bark isn’t fully set yet.
how should the bark feel when its set?
Bark should be firm and crispy