First attempt at smoked shortribs, pretty good (with pics and questions)

Stormbringer · May 2017

Tried some smoked beef shortribs over the weekend. Cooked in the MM starting at 150C/265F. Setup was a raised platform over a water container. I mixed the hickory chunks in with the charcoal, lit it and let the white smoke dissipate until I had the thin blue line. The shortribs were rubbed with Red-Eye Express. I spritzed them occasionally whilst cooking to stop the rub drying out.

I monitored the IT of the shortribs, it seemed to be going up fast, from what I had read this should take a long time, but at this rate they would be done in 3 hours. Was the Egg too hot? I lowered the temperature to 130C/265F. The IT increase slowed ... and then completely stopped at 170F for some time, at least 30 minutes. Do short ribs "stall" like brisket does?

Once the temperature got going again, I basted with some Kansas City style BBQ sauce (the BGE branded one) and cooked until the IT was 190F. By this time we were around 5 hours in.

The end result was good, served with the sweetcorn and garlic mashed potato, Hitching Post Pinot Noir to wash it all down.

There was still some fat inside the shortribs, especially the one SWMBO had. When this was removed, there wasn't really that much meat on the rib. When shortribs are cooked low and slow properly, does all of the fat render out, or is there still some residual fat left in there? We may have been expecting too much meat from the shortribs, as this was our first cook.

I do wonder whether we should have gone 125C/250F from the outside, maybe that would have let more of the fat render out. But still, not much meat there, it's not like rendering out fat will make the meat grow in size. Unless it's magic of course.

Partway through with sweetcorn cooking in kitchen foil:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/hu/jmtge863wjsc.jpg

The thin blue line of smoke. This was the best shot possible, it was really windy:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/g4/8dgpbqay5nzu.jpg

Pouring some sauce on to baste:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/rp/hw6dv64p0mcr.jpg

Finished meal:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/5l/91acew3mr0ct.jpg

lousubcap · May 2017

For beef short ribs I run at around 250-260*F on the calibrated dome (no foil or braise steps) and figure anywhere from 5-7 hours, til they pass the toothpick test. Insert toothpick into the thick meat-no resistance and you are there. I have never measured a finish temp. Sounds like you may have declared victory a bit early. FWIW-

gdenby · May 2017

They look pretty good. But they were quite "short." Most of the places I can get them offer bones that are between 8 - 9 inches long, and 1 of those makes a pretty good meal.

There are 2 kinds of short ribs. The plate section, which is what you appear to have had, almost always have some residual internal fat, but the meat itself is more tender than the chuck ribs. They turn out fine up to around a temp of 205F, which does push out a little more fat.

Any thick meat will stall when cooked under 350F. Once the tissue begins breaking down, the water inside must evaporate before the temperature can rise to compensate the cooling effect of the vaporization.

FWIW, most contemporary research is indicating that fat consumption has very little to do w. either coronary disease or obesity. Sadly, for me, the mashed potatoes are probably a bigger hazard. Supposedly, they can cause weight gain as readily as sugar.

Stormbringer · May 2017

@lousubcap in hindsight I agree, pulled too soon and also cooked too high temp to begin with. Also, I've gotten so ingrained into raising into the dome when using the MM, when I looked partway through the top of the shortribs were close to burning ... they were very close to the dome. I think next time I will simply place the grid on top of the water container, maybe raised a little using shorter bolts. I'll also try the toothpick test, thanks.

@gdenby very useful, thanks. I wasn't aware that there were two variations of ribs, although it does explain why mine look smaller than those I see pictured in this forum. I also wasn't aware about meat stalling when cooking low and slow. I've never seen thick rib-eye cooked at 250F do that, I track it on my digital thermometer => iPad gadget and it's pretty much a straight line with linear increase. Maybe that's special though, as until now it's the only large piece of meat I've cooked at that low temp. More research, i.e. cooks, required.

lousubcap · May 2017

@Stormbringer - actually the stall is more a function of hunks of protein with a lot of fat and connective tissue.
Here's a link to an article that will shed more insight:
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/the_stall.html Just keep at it and have fun.

Stormbringer · May 2017

lousubcap said:

@Stormbringer - actually the stall is more a function of hunks of protein with a lot of fat and connective tissue.
Here's a link to an article that will shed more insight:
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/the_stall.html Just keep at it and have fun.

Thanks, that is a fascinating article. Interesting that the stall I saw in the shortribs was at exactly the same temperature that the article states.

Foghorn · May 2017

Great cook. Advice above is spot on.

You shouldn't see a stall in a rib-eye because you shouldn't get anywhere near 160-170 F.

I have also seen very variable amounts of fat in short ribs. The shorter the rib the more prone you are to occasional bad luck and finding one of your ribs to be nearly all fat due to sampling error. If you can find a source of longer ribs as mentioned above you can have more consistent expectations on how much meat will be on each rib.

Stormbringer · May 2017

Foghorn said:

Great cook. Advice above is spot on.

You shouldn't see a stall in a rib-eye because you shouldn't get anywhere near 160-170 F.

I have also seen very variable amounts of fat in short ribs. The shorter the rib the more prone you are to occasional bad luck and finding one of your ribs to be nearly all fat due to sampling error. If you can find a source of longer ribs as mentioned above you can have more consistent expectations on how much meat will be on each rib.

Yeah when I read that I was like "ah yeah of course, that's why I don't see it in rib-eye".

Nice pic of your rib cook, and it shows that there are larger cuts to be had. I haven't seen them here, however our local butcher is really good, he used to work on a US military base, so knows what to get. I'll enquire.

charliebatutis · May 2017

They look delicious if that counts for anything!

jlsm · May 2017

Looks to me that you have two half ribs there. I always ask the butcher to cut mine in half. Rib fat varies greatly depending on where the rib is on the rack.

TideEggHead · May 2017

Looks delicious.

bhedges1987 · May 2017

FWIW, most contemporary research is indicating that fat consumption has very little to do w. either coronary disease or obesity. Sadly, for me, the mashed potatoes are probably a bigger hazard. Supposedly, they can cause weight gain as readily as sugar.

I can make cauliflower mashed taste very similar to regular mashed potatoes. I eat them like it's my job.

Stormbringer · May 2017

charliebatutis said:

They look delicious if that counts for anything!

It does.

Shiff · May 2017

Your ribs look very good. When you next get some, see if you can talk to the butcher and not have him cut the ribs - just get the whole slab. If you buy them from Restaurant Depot, that is how you will get them. You can also buy them boneless at Restaurant Depot and that removes a lot of the extra fat.

Stormbringer · May 2017

I went to the butchers today and explained what I had cooked and the advice in this thread, specifically from @gdenby . He was very helpful, he got some cuts of meat on the counter end to end and explained which parts of the animal they came from, with the help of a picture on the wall. So now I understand plate and chuck ribs. Should have taken my camera with me.

They had some plate ribs that were already cut (they could do chuck ribs but would have needed time to cut them). The plate ribs were much longer than the first ones I tried (the butcher I spoke to today concurred with @jlsm that they I had were a single rib that had been cut in half). The ones I pictured below, total weight is 2.8kg/6.2lb. The butcher reckoned on 8-9 hours at 125C for this size.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/80/yeuxlr9ieajh.jpg

So here's hoping.

Hntnhrd · May 2017

Here is what I get from my local butcher shop

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/xu/nmdieje4tq1d.jpg

Sometimes 3 sometimes 4 bones.

I have only cooked these these a few times on the egg and by no means an expert but dang they we were good.

NPHuskerFL · May 2017

Shiff said:

Your ribs look very good. When you next get some, see if you can talk to the butcher and not have him cut the ribs - just get the whole slab. If you buy them from Restaurant Depot, that is how you will get them. You can also buy them boneless at Restaurant Depot and that removes a lot of the extra fat.

Just curious on your reasoning behind this suggestion?
I've done them both ways. 6 and one half dozen the other. Already portioned yields more bark surface area. Whole allows for longer time in the pit. Each way has other +/-'s

GrateEggspectations · May 2017

A nice first attempt, friend. Excellent photos.

First attempt at smoked shortribs, pretty good (with pics and questions)

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