Go Back
Two slabs of bone-in smoked beef ribs.
Print Recipe
4.89 / 9 votes

Smoked Beef Ribs

You can smoke the ribs as individual ribs, or you can have your butcher leave them as one large rack that you carve when done. These are sometimes called dinosaur ribs, like what Fred Flintstone eats at the drive-in.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time7 hours 30 minutes
Total Time8 hours
Course: Mains
Cuisine: American
Servings: 3 to 4 servings
Calories: 1024

Equipment

  • Smoker, wood chips, chunks, or pellets (depending on your smoker), spray bottle

Ingredients

For the beef barbecue rub

  • 1/2 cup fine sea salt
  • 1/2 cup ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons sweet paprika
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

For the smoked beef ribs

  • 1 (5-pound) three-bone rack of beef plate short ribs
  • Water, cider vinegar, or a combination
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the beef barbecue rub

  • In an airtight container, mix the rub ingredients together. Cover and store it in a cool, dry place for up to several months.

Make the smoked beef ribs

  • About an hour before smoking, sprinkle 1/4 cup of the rub on the ribs and use your hands to spread it evenly. Reserve the remaining rub for other uses.
  • Prepare a smoker per manufacturer’s directions for a temperature between 225° and 275°F (110° and 135°C). Toss the wood chips, chunks, or pellets in the smokebox or use them per manufacturer’s directions.
  • Place your ribs, fat side up, in the smoker. Place a pan of water below or near the ribs to help keep some moisture in the environment and fill a spray bottle with water, cider vinegar, or a combination of both.
  • Smoke the ribs, being certain to maintain the smoker temperature and add wood as needed and occasionally spritz the ribs with the spray bottle, until the ribs are a very deep brown and reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), 2 to 6 hours, depending on the exact temperature of your smoker and the thickness of the ribs.
  • Remove the ribs from the smoker and wrap in heavy-duty aluminum foil or pink butcher’s paper (not freezer paper, which is often coated with chemicals).
  • Return the ribs to the smoker and continue cooking until they reach an internal temperature of 200°F (95°C) and the meat is exceptionally tender, 2 to 3 hours more.
  • Keep the ribs wrapped and let them rest for 1 hour before serving with napkins aplenty.

Nutrition

Serving: 1rib | Calories: 1024kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 108g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 326mg | Sodium: 1042mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 1g