MP\'s Root Rubbed 6 Hour Short Ribs

Short Ribs can be a tough nut to crack in order to get them to come out perfect, but I think I've come up with a method that works well. They are so full of flavor, but at the same time can be tough and to fatty. I decided to do a two part cook on these both smoking them to render out a lot of the fat and then baking them in my own BBQ recipe for a total cook time of 6 hours.

I did this cook with my own MP Root Rub that I made from scratch. I've come to the conclusion that nothing beats rub that you made yourself with fresh ingedients. So here is how I did it.

First you start with the raws. 1 white onion, 4 shallots, 1 bulb of garlic, and a nice chunk of ginger.


You slice all the raws very thin and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. This goes into a 200 degree oven for 4 to 5 hours to dehydrate.


This is what it looks like after about 4 1/2 hours in a 200 degree oven. Completely dried out and all the flavors are concentrated.


I grinded it all up in a spice grinder, added a 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tbs of kosher salt, and 1 tsp of rosemary. This will keep for about a month in an air tight container.


Now I made that rub last Thursday since I was home sick from work and wanted to keep myself occupied. The rub had a great flavor and smell so I wanted to try it out this weekend. Short ribs came to mine.

The short ribs were marinaded overnight in 1 1/2 cups of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of mirin, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup of sesame oil, 1 whole white onion, 2 tbs of sesame seeds.


On to the egg at 225 degrees over hickory. I covered them with root rub at this point.


After 4 hours on the egg at 225 degrees they were still a bit tough to the touch at this point. So I pulled them for the last step, which was cooking them in a covered pan with apple BBQ sauce.


Here is what you need for the apple BBQ sauce. 1 cup apple sauce, 1 cup ketchup, 1/4 soy suace, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 molassas, 1 tbs worcestecher sauce, 2 gloves garlic, 1 yellow onion, juice of 2 oranges, and 2 chipotle peppers.


I placed the short ribs on a bed of carrots and onions, then doused in the apple BBQ sauce. Back on the grill at 350 degrees for two more hours.


After 2 hours in the pan and 6 hours total on the egg this is what you get.


The short ribs were nice and tender, had almost no fat on them and were fall off the bone. The flavor itself is hard to describe, amazing to say the least and very complex at the same time. You could taste the rub, the smoke, the BBQ sauce, and the marinade. My Father came over to enjoy them since he is a short rib junky and they past the test. Easily one of the best short ribs he has ever had. Likewise, the carrots and onions were a nice addition to the meal. I served them over rice with the beef.

It was a pretty involved cook, but the marinade, root rub and the apple BBQ sauce just made the short ribs amazing. I'm going to pull some of them for short rib tacos tonight, can't wait.

MP