Beef ribs came out really mediocre. Chewy on outside, sort of gooey on the inside. Not even all that meaty.
5.4 lb prime 3-rib rack from wild fork foods.
Traeger timberline 225F with super smoke. Wrapped in butcher paper at 170 internal and then raised grill temp to 250F, pulled at 205 internal.
Rested about 20 minutes (should have been longer maybe? It was still pretty hot).
It was meh/10
by anon006622
30 Comments
damn they look fire
They taste like ass to me when you consider pulled pork, ribs, brisket or salmon are very flavorful. I’ve tried them several times from different places. Same problem. Yet I’ve been doing this hobby for 20 years.
I’d rather eat a salad than these forgettable rib turds.
Might not have been done? Did the probe slide in with no resistance? Any time you have ribs of any kind, the temperature can be misleading. Knowing they’re done by feel is really important with all ribs. If they’re not super tender, leave them on. The probe will lie to you because of the bones.
Resting is a big deal too.
How long was the cook? Also beef ribs are just really beefy in flavor. Less rib like imo.
Not a big fan myself but I did make some this weekend.
Rest time was way too short. Did you probe it to make sure it was tender?
Looks good. I’ve never had a bad set of beef ribs yet. Usually get the Snake River or local cut.
Were they probe tender when you pulled them? Beef ribs or brisket for example might not be done at a set temp point. Also need to rest longer.
I cut them into individual ribs before smoking them. You get more surface for the rub and more contact with the smoke.
sounds like you did mostly everything right. Were they probe tender?
The whole probe tender thing is no joke. Sometimes these things need to go a little higher in temp or longer (so the connective tissue can render) to really get the probe to go in with no resistance.
I over cook mine to fall apart. Yohr look good
Could it have been the cut of meat as opposed to your method? From the photos they look great
My opinion only, 225 temp is too low, and can leave beef ribs with a lot more unrendered fat than most people like. You also likely wrapped them too soon before the bark had a chance to set. Both of those things contributed to them coming out wet looking and chewy/gooey as you said – they were essentially steamed after the wrap.
And yes, probe tender over temperature is a thing, but I’ve never had beef ribs that needed to go over 205 to be done.
Looks.like you got the process right just not enough meat on the bone
They look great but likely need a much meatier cut ..you didn’t say cooktime but likely with the amount of ribs you have there the temp could have still been way too high and cooked your lean parts to quickly and rendered the fat to gooey-ness instead of buttery texture
Definitely next time try a bigger meatier cut of the rib from butcher and stay away from supermarket trims which are generally pretty savage and dont leave much excess
Beef ribs are great but they are very different than pork ribs. Let’s meat, more oil. It might just be a lack of time on cook and seasoning. But the meat is less in these types of ribs. It’s a very different experience. They look good though
No need to wrap so early, and cook the beef ribs at 270+ degrees. They can take the heat, you need to have it render. It should be about an 8 hour cook for most of them at that temp. I wrap around 190 with tallow to soften up the bark and let them finish a bit more, but you could just go no wrap and then rest in butcher paper and tallow for an hour +.
Definitely should have rested longer.
Did you check for probe tender or just pulled at 205?
Share a money shot so we can get a better idea of what it looks like to give a proper assessment.
Try lighting the fire, 🔥🥴
Looks like they are way overcooked.
I usually cook until 210 and don’t wrap. Never had a bad rack
With that much marbling? I think wrapping was the issue. They had so much fat you went from smoking to a slow confit. I used to wrap everything but I’ve moved away from it and added more cook time and the results are phenomenally better
Shrinkage? Normal i think
Temperature should only be a reference, not the trigger. At the point when it reaches the 200’s, your next move should checking for probe tenderness every 30 minutes. It sounds like it was nearly there and you removed them prematurely
275F is the need
Pull from smoker closer to 209F. Pork ribs only have one membrane on the back of the bones. Beef ribs have thick membranes on BOTH sides of the bones that taste like chewing on rubber bands if you don’t completely break them down into buttery collagen. It’s a very fine line between when the inside membrane breaks down and the whole thing falls apart like a pot roast – just a degree or two. So you have to probe it with your thermometer until it passes through both membranes butter smooth.On a pellet grill with heat coming from the bottom, I would definitely do the ribs bottom side down to use the bones and the membranes as shields. Time at elevated temperatures does more to breakdown collagen than just temperature, so a long hot hold works wonders on beef, ribs and beef brisket. I would say long hot holds are almost necessary for beef ribs to get that barbecue restaurant taste.
See here: https://youtu.be/nFVu_XwLrew?si=tB5YGQ9hJXvkdoSX
Why did you trim ALL of the fat off? You don’t need to leave brisket levels of fat, but a bit is nice. People get obsessive about removing all the fat … Fat is flavor.
I would eat it… 😒
How long did you cook them for?
I usually do mine without a wrap and use a drip tray to catch the melted fat, then rest and wrap with that fat poured back over top
Try cooking at 250 instead of 225 and don’t wrap. Spritz occasionally after a few hours if dry. Take closer to 208-210 to render more fat. You could have just had a bad rack as far as fat/marbling goes. These are typically my most rewarding cooks for the amount of effort required.
Do you have a shot of a the rack cut open?
Looks like the trim off the top was a bit too aggressive. Normally leave some fat on top. Generous black pepper all over and no binder to help with the bark. Then Lawry’s or just kosher salt, generous as well. Smoke at 200 for the first hour with heavy smoke. After that, bump up to 300 with light smoke for another 7 hours. I never wrap beef ribs, I like well formed bark. A lot of well respected Texas BBQ places never wrap beef ribs. Cook to probe tender, not a specific temperature. Pull it off the pit when done and pour over some rendered tallow. It needs to rest at least 60 to 90 minutes. Once back down to around 160 internal it should be ready to eat. The bark should be a peppery, salty, and a bit crispy. The meat should be moist and the fat should be rendered.
Internal temp? I still do mine based on grill temp and time. Always go for the tender side of things