My beef ribs always turn out tough.. what gives

[cow]

I usually cook beef ribs the same general way I would pork ribs. 225, wrap in foil after some time, pull, rest.



The meat always, without fail, comes out really tough. Is there a trick to melt-in-your-mouth beef ribs or is the cut just naturally tough? Maybe I just got unlucky with the batches of ribs I've bought?


I've basically quit trying because they never come out good. Tips?

 

[smoke ninja]

What kind of beef ribs? Beef back, short ribs?

My guess is your coming up short on cook time. The answer to stuff bbq is almost always to cook longer

 

[cow]

I've been buying back ribs. You're probably right, I'm likely pulling too soon and should use tenderness as a gauge instead of temp. It's been a while, but I think I've been pulling them once I hit a certain temp.

 

[Moose]

I've been buying back ribs. You're probably right, I'm likely pulling too soon and should use tenderness as a gauge instead of temp. It's been a while, but I think I've been pulling them once I hit a certain temp.

AC, using temp as a measure of when to pull is a must for grilling, but not for smoking/slow cooking meats that are inherently tough. When you're smoking, temp will tell you when you're in the ballpark, but the right "feel" will tell you when it's done.


I see you became a subscriber to our forum, that's awesome!

 

[Bob C Cue]

Probe tenderness is your friend. And of course the Thermapen in blue is the best one to use.

 

[cow]

AC, using temp as a measure of when to pull is a must for grilling, but not for smoking/slow cooking meats that are inherently tough. When you're smoking, temp will tell you when you're in the ballpark, but the right "feel" will tell you when it's done.


I see you became a subscriber to our forum, that's awesome!

In general, I tend to pull my smoked meats at a specific temperature that's worked for me in the past, and have always had great results doing it that way. My pork butts, for example, always come off at 203 and they always come out consistently incredible .. but it would seem that some meats don't like this calculated approach.. so I will heed that advice

Heck yeah, I loved this place as soon as I started posting here. Everyone gave me such a warm welcome. Great and unique community. I originally only came here to ask why my Kingsford smelled like poop, but I'm going to stick around.

 

[sudsandswine]

Dry and tough = undercooked, dry and fall apart = overcooked. Pulling at an arbitrary temp and it turning out well is just dumb luck IMO. Different animals, different quality, different brands, different environmental conditions while cooking, etc all impact when things render.

 

[cow]

Dry and tough = undercooked, dry and fall apart = overcooked. Pulling at an arbitrary temp and it turning out well is just dumb luck IMO. Different animals, different quality, different brands, different environmental conditions, etc all impact when things render.

Noted. I've done it this way because I'm usually trying to time dinner and having a target temperature gives me a decent estimate on time. But instead, I will just start earlier and keep the meat resting in a cooler longer if it comes off early.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

For beef back ribs I don't go by temp or probe tenderness. The 2 biggest things I'm looking for are the amount of pull back on the bones and the amount of "meat sweat" coming from the meaty end.

I find 275 for 5-6 hours gets them there. Sometimes I will wrap in butch paper or foil and rest them for an hour or more in a warm oven.

 

[smoke ninja]

Noted. I've done it this way because I'm usually trying to time dinner and having a target temperature gives me a decent estimate on time. But instead, I will just start earlier and keep the meat resting in a cooler longer if it comes off early.

learn to build a hold into your long cooks. it makes timing a breeze and takes stress off the cook. I always aim a fee hours early. if your behind food is still on time and large meats can hold for hours so if it finishes early your still good

 

[4ever3]

Do yourself a favor.

Forget time and temperature! It only adds unnecessary stress to the cook, and that ain’t what smoking meat is about.

So, buy yourself a roaster oven. Cook your meats early to probe done, rest for a few minutes then straight into the roaster oven set at 170°.

Fix the sides.

Take a shower.

Wait for guests.

Enjoy!

 

[SmittyJonz]

Back ribs ain’t worth buying……..

 

[airedale]

Another way to reach this conclusion is to realize that no two pieces of meat are the same and no two smokers are exactly the same, hence why would you expect finishing temperatures to be the same for all pieces of meat?

 

[Itsdone]

Probe tenderness is your friend. And of course the Thermapen in blue is the best one to use.

Ive always used the index finger knuckle test.

 

[Smoking Piney]

I like to cook beef ribs to 160 and then braise them for a few hours covered with a shallow bath of beef broth.

They pick up the smoke in the initial smoke, and tenderize while they braise.

 

[bbqwizard]

AC, nice to have you around.
Here is a thread I posted a while back on some back ribs that I smoked on my Klose offset.
(Smoker temp was 275-300ish)
https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=297892

I hope it helps. If not for anything other than another tasty trial run. Keep at it, you’ll figure it out.

 

[Learning to BBQ]

AC, welcome to the forum! The folks here will help answer any cooking questions you can think of. I've learned so much here, it's crazy. Glad to have ya!