Saturday, September 25, 2010

Beef Back Ribs (aka dino bones)

I've done beef back ribs several times now and I've learned something the past two times.

Consider this a partial retraction. There is a difference between "done" and "ready".

The first two times I smoked them and at two hours the were "done". "Done" as in safe to eat. They tasted good and we enjoyed them.

But recently I decided to smoke them for the 4+ hours that others did. I committed to cooking them that long and if they sucked, then oh well. (pic of my 11 y/o basting the ribs)


To my surprise, they didn't dry out, they kept their taste and damn, they were tender as could be. So while our beef ribs before had been "done" they weren't "ready".

Today I tried making them using Adam Perry Lang's higher temp method in his recent book, BBQ 25. Tons of thanks to WhiteTrashBBQ for hosting the giveaway that put this book in my paws.

Even though it was a higher temp cook than traditional low and slow, I still sported wood. I buried a nice chunk of cherry wood at the bottom of the coals and set one on top. Fruit woods like cherry and apple give more color to your meat.

Of course, I made my alterations to the rubs and seasonings but his process produced the best beef ribs we have had so far.

Here's how they turned out.


We served them with garlic mashed potatoes and yeast rolls that Alexis made on her Egg.

What do you mean "No vegetables?"......don't you see the chives sprinkled on the mashed potatoes?

Alexis and I both agreed that this is THE technique we will use for beef back ribs from now on.

This is my submission to Tailgating Time over at Martha's Seaside Simplicity. If you have a tailgate type food posted, get over there and link up.