Smoking beef ribs has never been so easy or delicious! Tender meat with a flavorful crust, these smoked beef short ribs are easy to prep and deliver fall-apart mouthwatering results every time!
Beef short ribs are a regular around here. These BBQ beef short ribs I make in the slow cooker have always been a favorite, but when I smoked beef short ribs for the first time, people raved about how tender and juicy they were. If you've never had smoked short ribs, they are incredibly flavorful and have a rich beefy taste. When you rub them down with a simple dry rub and smoke them low and slow, you'll get incredibly tender fall-apart beef that will melt in your mouth!
This is a simple "no-fuss" smoker recipe that is easy and quick to prep and these ribs have a delicious smoke flavor that sets them apart! They pair so well with my smoked baked beans with bacon, smoked mac n cheese, and these smoked green beans!
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Why This Recipe Works
- No brining necessary!
- Hardly any effort is required to make these ribs. Simply season and place the ribs on the smoker. Spray them a couple times with apple cider vinegar and let the smoker do all the work!
- Smoking creates an incredibly rich, flavorful crust on the outer layer of the ribs that locks in juiciness and enhances every bite!
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
- Beef Short Ribs: Choice or prime grade works well in this recipe. They are extremely meaty and nicely marbled but because these will be smoked low and slow, they will be nice and tender.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: when combined with water and sprayed onto the ribs during the smoking process, it will help tenderize the meat and bring a lot of richness to help form the crust.
- Light Brown Sugar: adds a touch of sweetness to balance the spices and helps create a caramelized crust.
- Smoked Paprika: infuses a deep, smoky flavor that enhances the beef’s natural flavors.
- Black Pepper: provides a warm, slightly spicy kick to round out the seasoning.
- Salt: a flavor enhancer that brings out all the flavors, as well as tenderizes the meat.
- Chili Powder: adds a mild heat and earthy depth, complementing the other smoky and savory ingredients.
- Garlic Powder: adds a garlic flavor and a savory depth to the rub.
- Onion Powder: brings a slightly sweet onion flavor that pairs well with beef.
- Ground Mustard: adds a subtle tang and slight sharpness to cut through the richness of the other ingredients.
- Cumin: gives the rub a warm, earthy, slightly nutty flavor for depth.
- Cayenne Pepper: provides an extra layer of mild heat for just enough spicy kick.
👩🏼🍳 See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements!
🔪 Step-By-Step Recipe Instruction
Step 1: Start by preheating the smoker to 250°F. Ensure you have prepped the smoker accordingly.
Step 2: In a spray bottle, combine the apple cider vinegar and water. Set aside. While the smoker is preheating, put all the dry rub ingredients in a medium size bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside.
For more information on what's involved with getting your smoker ready, check out Step 4 in this recipe post for how to prepare your smoker!
Step 3: Using a sharp paring knife, remove the white membrane from the top of each short rib. To do this, insert the tip of the knife under the membrane that lays on top of the meat and slightly lift until it becomes separated. Pull away the membrane, cutting where necessary.
Step 4: Add the dry rub onto each side of each beef short rib, pressing lightly so the rub can saturate the top layer of the meat. Set aside.
Step 5: When the smoker has preheated, place each short rib directly on the grill grates bone side down.
Step 6: Insert a digital meat thermometer into the middle of the thickest part of a beef short rib. Close the lid and allow to smoke. After 3 hours into the smoke, spray each rib with the apple cider vinegar and water mixture, about 2-3 squirts. Repeat this every hour until done. This will help form that flavorful bark that everyone loves!
Step 7: Remove each beef short rib from the smoker and allow to rest for 5-7 minutes. Using a sharp knife, slice the meat from the bone and serve.
Step 8: If desired, apply a layer of BBQ sauce to each rib.
BBQ sauce is not needed because these will have an incredibly flavorful seasoned crust. But you can lather it on if you want! Tender, juicy, and delicious, smoked short ribs will quickly become your favorite way to eat ribs!
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🙋🏼 Recipe FAQ'S
It depends on the thickness of the meat, but it will take anywhere between 6-8 hours to smoke from start to finish. This includes preheating the smoker, seasoning the ribs, consistently maintaining the heat in the smoker, and allowing them to rest.
As soon as the internal meat thermometer reaches 205°F, I start checking for doneness. Remove the probe and insert it in another short rib to check for doneness. The insertion of the probe should feel as smooth as if you were inserting it into a stick of room temperature butter. It should be extremely easy to insert and there should be no pull. If you don't get those results, allow the ribs to smoke until the internal temperature reaches 210°F.
Beef short ribs are the short sections of ribs taken from different parts of the cow including the plate, rib, brisket, or chuck. They are smaller ribs, typically about 3-5 inches in length. They are extremely meaty and nicely marbled. But even with a nice marbling, they tend to be a bit tough and chewy. But when cooked properly, they are extremely tender.
They tend to be more on the expensive side but they are well worth the price because they are low maintenance to cook and so incredibly flavorful. You can find both bone-in or boneless.
Choice grade beef short ribs can typically be found at a local grocery store while prime grade is often sold at a butcher shop. Bone-in come from the plate or the front belly and contain a bit more fat. The most common beef short ribs are English cut. They are cut between the ribs to separate them resulting in a thick piece of meat on top of the bones. This is my favorite cut and what we use in this recipe.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to remove the membrane off the top of the short rib. It's not fat. It's ok to leave it on the bone side. The membrane is really hard to chew and by removing it, the smoke has an opportunity to penetrate deeper into the meat of the rib.
- Tilt the knife up just slightly to ensure you don't remove any of the raw meat.
- Use a light flavored wood such as cherry, pecan, apple, or oak. Avoid hickory or mesquite wood with this recipe as it tends to be too overpowering.
- The key to success is smoking low and slow. Keep the smoker temperature between 225°F and 250°F for best results.
- For the first several hours, the internal temperature of the meat will rise relatively quickly. This is normal. The temperature will start to slow down about 3-4 hours into smoking the short ribs.
- For the most delectable crust, spray each rib with 2-3 light sprays of the apple cider vinegar and water mixture. Start this after the ribs have been smoking for 3 hours.
📖 More Smoker Recipes
If you tried these smoked beef short ribs or any other recipes on my website, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love hearing from you! And, please leave a 🌟 rating while you're there!
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Smoked Beef Smoked Ribs
Equipment
- Any Kind of Smoker
- Digital Meat Thermometer
- Tongs
Ingredients
For The Dry Rub
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 Tablespoon coarse black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dry ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For The Beef Short Ribs
- 8 beef short ribs, or 1 rack of beef short ribs
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- BBQ sauce, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 250°F.
- In a spray bottle, combine the apple cider vinegar and water. Set aside.
- Prep the smoker accordingly. If using a pellet smoker, ensure the hopper is full of pellets. If using a charcoal or propane gas smoker, ensure the water pan and wood whips/chunks are in place.
- While the smoker is preheating, put all the dry rub ingredients in a medium size bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a sharp paring knife, remove the white membrane from the top of each short rib. To do this, insert the tip of the knife under the membrane and the meat and slightly lift until it becomes separated. Pull away the membrane, cutting where necessary. Expert Tip: Tilt the knife up just slightly to ensure you don't remove any of the raw meat.
- Add the dry rub onto each side of each beef short rib, pressing lightly so the rub can saturate the top layer of the meat. Set aside.
- When the smoker is preheated, place each short rib directly on the grill grates bone side down.
- Insert a digital meat thermometer into the middle of the thickest part of a beef short rib. Close the lid and allow to smoke.
- After 3 hours into the smoke, spray each rib with the apple cider vinegar and water mixture. Repeat this every hour until done.
- The beef short ribs are done when the digital meat thermometer reaches at least 205°F. The probe of the thermometer should insert like you are putting it into room temperature butter. If the ribs are not that tender, continue to smoke until they reach 210°F.
- If desired, apply a layer of BBQ sauce to each rib.
- Remove each beef short rib from the smoker and allow to rest for 5-7 minutes. Serve.
Notes
- Make sure to remove the membrane off the top of the short rib. It's ok to leave it on the bone side. The membrane is really hard to chew and by removing it, the smoke has an opportunity to penetrate deeper into the meat of the rib.
- Use a light flavored wood such as cherry, pecan, apple, or oak. Avoid hickory or mesquite wood as it tends to be overpowering
- The key to success is smoking low and slow. Keep the smoker temperature between 225°F and 250°F for best results.
- For the first several hours, the internal temperature of the meat will rise relatively quickly. This is normal. The raising of the temperature will start to slow down about 3-4 hours of smoking these short ribs.
- For the most delectable crust, spray each rib with 2-3 light sprays of the apple cider vinegar and water mixture. Start this after the beef short ribs have been smoking for 3 hours.
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Betsy
Absolutely delicious!!! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe. We haven't used the smoker much and really appreciated all of your helpful information! These ribs turned out amazing. Love the rub!
Amanda Mason
Hi Betsy! So glad you loved the smoked short ribs!! Glad the instructions were easy to follow and helpful, too!! I can't wait to hear what other recipes of mine you try!!
Joel
Hello just curious: in your picture of the spices that go into the rub you have cumin shown. But it's not listed as an ingredient in the recipe. Do you include it?
Amanda Mason
Oh my goodness - thank you for calling that out! Yes, add 1 teaspoon of cumin. The recipe card had coriander and it should have been cumin. I fixed the recipe card.
Kelley Davis
My son picked beef ribs for his birthday dinner. Thanks so much for posting and helping with his special day. He loved them!
Amanda Mason
I'm so glad! This is my daughter's favorite recipe, too!
Jenny
Thanks for the tip for removing the membrane. Who knew (grin). Love the recipe and instructions.
Amanda Mason
So glad you love the recipe and that the tip was helpful!
Dustin
No need to take meat off bone pick it up and eat like a rib should be eaten
Amanda Mason
Couldn't agree more!!
Veronika
Made these ribs on our new smoker and they were definitely worth the wait! So delicious, this recipe is definitely a keeper!
Amanda Mason
I'm so glad they turned out to good for you!!!
Debbie
I have always been intimidated by short ribs . You make this sound so easy ! I will be making these this weekend , I can't wait .
Amanda Mason
Short ribs are pretty easy to make on the smoker. They are not very temperamental. Please let me know how they turn out for you!