Found me some of those elusive beef ribs! Now what?

[JohnnyB]

So I stopped by the Market Basket on my way home. Thought I'd take a shot in the dark and ask the meat guy if they had any beef ribs. Says, "yep, just got a case in!" Awesome. He said they only get them in a few times a year, so I grabbed a couple double rack packages. They definitely took as much prime as they could, but there's still lots of good meat in between the ribs (Or am I wrong and I got hosed?).

Questions are, while the 275* range seems to be what people recommend, am I cooking these for temp or tender? About how long should I expect them to take? Wrap, or no? And is $4/lb a good buy?

Hit me up, please. Im so excited to do these up tomorrow. Thanks guys!

[JohnnyB]

These aren't the typical 3 or 4 bone racks, either. They're about a foot long, and 8 bones each.

[LMAJ]

Rub them with your favorite beef rub and cook them till probe tender. No need to wrap if you don't want to.
Here's a thread from the other day you may be interested in. Good luck with your cook!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218077

[deguerre]

Those are nice. At 275 probably 4 to 5 hours. I start checking for doneness at 3 though because I've been surprised before. Those are nice and meaty looking for back ribs. I usually only see them in select grade but they're often available.

[JohnnyB]

Rub them with your favorite beef rub and cook them till probe tender. No need to wrap if you don't want to.
Here's a thread from the other day you may be interested in. Good luck with your cook!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218077

Great, thanks. I didn't even think to do a search. I don't think you guys realize what it's like to see these things around these parts. Haha.

[JohnnyB]

Those are nice. At 275 probably 4 to 5 hours. I start checking for doneness at 3 though because I've been surprised before. Those are nice and meaty looking for back ribs. I usually only see them in select grade but they're often available.
One is ok, I would put it lower choice, not a ton of marbling. The other is definitely in the prime area, lots of good fat running through it. The meat guy got them for me, and wouldn't bring the box out to let me sort through it. Beggars can't be choosers. Literally.

[Diesel Dave]

Those look good, you're going to really enjoy them.

Yup a good slow 275 til tender is the way to go

[silverfinger]

They look amazing! Can't wait to see how they turn out. That is if you choose to post results of corse! Beef ribs are some of the most forgiving meats out there to smoke. Great advice given already! One thing I would add is don't over season them. Enjoy!

[morgan-que]

I am already drooling!!

[Decoy205]

Those are really nice back ribs! Nice marbling. Definitley post the cook! Don't pull em till they probe tender!

[landarc]

Those are some nice beef back ribs. They will cook up nice. The meat will shrink a lot, don't freak out.

[pga7602]

I did 275 till tender and it turned out perfect. Here is the thread.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218061

[Smoke on Badger Mountain]

About 5hrs. No need to wrap unless you would desire to use a wrap to add some other component. I think beef ribs are best unwrapped.

[martyleach]

One of my favorites. I do between 260-275 till done. Sometimes foiled, sometimes not. Awesome flavor. Salt, pepper, garlic. It's beef!

[coachop94]

My pooches would love the bones. They get REAL happy when they see me cooking beef anything on the grill. They nearly lose their mind when I cook their beef ribs.

[JohnnyB]

Bout 5 hours seems to be the norm. Im gonna do em unwrapped, simple rub. I'll post some pics (if I don't mess em up too much). Thanks for all the tips and thread links, guys. Great help as usual here!

[Diesel Dave]

You got this don't worry

[JohnnyB]

So here are the results. Sorry it took me until today, I had an incident yesterday involving my son and needing some X-rays to check for a swallowed soda can tab, and didn't get home until late. But all is well now.

All in all, they were very good for my first time. I did them unwrapped, goal temp of 275* (went as high as 325 for a while), and they were done at the 3 hour mark, which surprised me. Seems the going timeframe was 5 hours, but I was running a bit over my temp. Very tender, not fall off the bone, but bite off the bone. I'd say good enough. What kinda turned me off was the bark, it was a little too crunchy for me. So next time I am going to turn the temp down a bit, wrap at probably two hours, and see how that goes.

Lessons learned: Do NOT over season! I was told this, and I went lighter than usual, but the Montreal Steak Seasoning was a little over powering when the meat shrank to it's final state.

Thanks for all the help, it was appreciated. And im glad I can now see why these beef ribs are talked about so much.

[bigpernz]

Those are some pretty meaty back ribs there nicely done!

[Diesel Dave]

They look real good

I only salt and pepper them before cooking. You can always add flavor later, too much bark and you lose the great beef flavor

[JohnnyB]

Yeah, I'm gonna go simple S&P, or just a milder rub for the next rack. On the road for a couple days for work, I'm gonna try and grab a few more racks for the freezer when I get back.

[BIG ALAN]

Q:All in all, they were very good for my first time. I did them unwrapped, goal temp of 275* (went as high as 325 for a while), and they were done at the 3 hour mark, which surprised me. Seems the going timeframe was 5 hours, but I was running a bit over my temp. Very tender, not fall off the bone, but bite off the bone. I'd say good enough. What kinda turned me off was the bark, it was a little too crunchy for me. So next time I am going to turn the temp down a bit, wrap at probably two hours, and see how that goes.

On a whim I bought 2 pkg's like you did from Wally World a couple weeks ago. Had never considered it as the're most likely select. S&P on mustard slather, 275-300 degrees in the Klose and done in 3. Since we were 3 hr.out for dinner, I had to wrap in foil, a little Worcestershire and balsamic. Killed the fire so they went back in at sub 200 to rest. I was very surprised at 1)how quickly they smoked and 2) how delicious and tender they were. So short back ribs cut lengthwise at about $15 a pack worked well.
Your final pic's are awesome. Liked the bark. Montreal Steak plus crushed red pepper is my brisket rub, but not beef ribs. I guess you may have overseasoned, but hey! Scrape a little off. (Drool)...:clap2:

[Jason TQ]

Yeah they look solid :eusa_clap. All the beef backs I see in the stores don't have that much meat.

[dadsr4]

The thing about salt and pepper, I've learned, you can always add more at the table.

[Decoy205]

Nice back ribs man. Looks tasty!

[LMAJ]

Looks like you nailed it. For me, Montreal Steak seasoning is a little much - I like to put it in a spice grinder and make it a little finer and that helps.

[dadsr4]

Looks like you nailed it. For me, Montreal Steak seasoning is a little much - I like to put it in a spice grinder and make it a little finer and that helps.
I also think it's too salty. I believe there is a low salt version.

[JohnnyB]

Looks like you nailed it. For me, Montreal Steak seasoning is a little much - I like to put it in a spice grinder and make it a little finer and that helps.

I also think it's too salty. I believe there is a low salt version.

^^^Exactly. I use it on my brisket and thicker cut steaks, and it works good. But it is WAAAAAAAY too salty for things like this. As my tastes change with the more I experiment, I find myself getting away from the heavy sodium. It just doesn't do the same thing for me anymore.

[dadsr4]

^^^Exactly. I use it on my brisket and thicker cut steaks, and it works good. But it is WAAAAAAAY too salty for things like this. As my tastes change with the more I experiment, I find myself getting away from the heavy sodium. It just doesn't do the same thing for me anymore.
I mix my own rubs, but, if I didn't, I have a feeling I would be on the look out for salt-free rubs.
As a rough rule, I measure out the pepper in a new rub recipe, then weigh it and add, at most, the same weight of salt. But, for me, the salt usually still needs to be cut back further.