I bought a weber master-touch and i wanted to try smoking short ribs, but it didn’t turn out as i was expecting.
I put brickets the snake method, some wood chips on it and i kept the temperature around 225 (this was read from the kettle thermometer above the fire)
I also put a pan filled with water in the middle.
After 7 hours smoking, i sprayed with some water and placed some salty butter on top the i wrapped in butcher paper and tinfoil.
After 2-3 hours i took it off the grill, put it in a warming box to let it rest for another 1 hour and the picture is the outcome.
It was not tender, i could pull out the bone, but it didn’t fall off. It was dry, didn’t have any flavor.
I didn’t have a thermometer keep track of the temperature of the meat.
by kurucz_arpad
25 Comments
What are you talking about? That looks juicy and well-browned to me.
225F or 225C
225C would be a short cook temp and would explain the dryness but not the penetrative
225F seems maybe a little low to me. But I’m no expert.
Does moisture need to have been introduced?
That looks great. And you don’t want “fall off the bone,” that’s just a sign the ribs are cooked like shit.
Looks good to me. I’d try it.
It’s hard to say what went wrong if you didn’t temp or probe. No bbq recipe worth following goes by time for finishing.
I think they were likely undercooked. Beef ribs can take a lot of heat, going up to 210F unrapped isnt crazy here (preferable to pulling at 195 for sure).
Beef ribs that are fully cooked should feel like sticking a hot knife into room temp butter.
10 hours!? That is wayyyyyyy too long
Your dog might eat it
If it wasn’t tender, then it was probably undercooked. If it was dry, you probably wrapped too far into the cook. Most likely, it stalled for a good portion of your cook, which both dried it out and kept it from reaching a good finishing temp.
Get a thermometer. The one built into the rig is wildly inaccurate. You also need to temp the meat to know when it is stalling and when it is done.
Had you posted “ribs came out perfect and delicious” I would’ve easily believed you.
That being said, my first brisket ever looked absolutely perfect. Perfect bark, nice smoke ring, glistened a bit, the fat even had that yellow tinge to it but it was terrible. Not pretty decent but I’m being hard on myself, it was bad.
To be fair, my wife had friends come over and it was rushed a bit but the flat was dry and the point was like chewing on a ball of rubber bands. This was 6 months ago and I still think about it all the time.
The short answer is that none of us know which temps you were cooking and that includes you.
The kettle thermometer is accurate to +-20f at best. You were temping 225 on the fire side, so probably cooking at super low, over the meat side. And of course no internal temp measurement.
My assumption is that you severely undecooked it.
My advice is to get a 2 probe digital thermometer.
Likely didn’t cook long enough and the collagens haven’t broken down. Go higher temp next time, around 250. Get a cheap instant probe thermometer or just a Bluetooth constant monitoring one. They’re like $20-$40. Make sure the prob is well away from the bone. Cook until internal is 200F.
As a comparison, we’ve just thrown them in the oven at 350 for 4 hrs. Comes out great. That’s how much heat it takes to break down the collagen.
Try 300 and wrap after your color is right
7 hours of smoking seems like a lot. Should do less time smoking on a lower temp and then wrap up and finish with slightly higher temp over time
Instead of smoking it try eating it! Ha ha! Just kidding. I have nothing to offer, this post was just recommended to me
What was the internal temp of the meat? Generally speaking you’re targeting about 205 with a “stew” meat.
My bet is it went too hot. The thermometer on the lid is further away from the cooking surface. Get a digital probe and put it 1” away from the grate, at meat level, and run your fire according to that.
I never had luck until I started smoking them and about 3/4 of way through I put them in a big skillet or dish of baked beans and cover it and let it finish with the beans. Since then they come out moist and taste great.
I go 285 for 3-4 hours and get stellar results.
You lost a friend.
Could just be a bad chunk of meat
Too hot, too long.
Beef. Too hot too long
Think of the short ribs as either chuck or ribeye. Would you cook either of them for that long?
And who gave you the water and salty butter spray? Haven’t heard of that for beef before.
No experience but you can always cook it more. Cook it too much and it’s too late