Smoked Beef Smoked Ribs

5 from 26 votes

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!

Prep Time20

Cook Time7

Total Time7 20

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 346kcal

Author: Amanda Mason

Equipment

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.

Nutrition