Smoked Beef Ribs
Cooked low and slow, these Smoked Beef Ribs are easy, tasty and absolutely delicious! Smoking is much easier than you may think. Let me show you how to make the most tender and flavorful beef ribs!
CREATE FLAVORFUL BEEF RIBS IN A SMOKER
I love grilling, but I love smoking meats just a bit more. Mostly men seem to comment on my grilling and smoker recipes; however, it’s really my goal to get more women excited about using these outdoor cooking appliances. Not that we don’t love you men who cook! Once you learn a couple of basic techniques, you can very easily master a smoker. A lot of people are nervous about smoking and I get it. I used to be too! With the invention of electric smokers, it has become a cinch to smoke any day of the week. Trust me, once you try it, you’ll be breaking out your smoker to make these beef ribs over and over again!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Low and slow is the best way to smoke meats. This really allows the flavor of the seasonings and the wood smoke to penetrate the meat. So give yourself enough time to make these. You can’t rush it or your meat will be tough. There is no shortcut here!
Silverskin is a membrane. It is a tough bit of connective tissue on the underside of beef and pork ribs. It can be very chewy if not removed since it doesn’t get soft and melt down like fat does.
Removing it also helps the seasoning to really get into the meat without having that barrier there. It can be stubborn to remove so make sure your hands and the ribs are dry or use a paper towel to get a good grip on it to pull it off.
If using a traditional wood smoker, always make sure to check the steam pot and fill with water as needed.
Also, you can use any kind of wood that you like for beef ribs. I used mesquite here but feel free to use your favorite kind. Applewood and Cherrywood are other favorites. Honestly, I know there are wood smoking purists out there that say to use a certain kind of wood for certain kind of meat. I honestly have not found a bad combination yet!
This is really a matter of taste preference. I prefer a smoky sweet flavor for beef. Here I used a Hickory Brown Sugar bottled sauce but try making your own HOMEMADE BARBECUE SAUCE for a real kick in flavor!
If you have any leftovers you can place them in an airtight container and into the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 3-5 days.
You can reheat these in an oven (covered) at 250F degrees until the internal temperature of the ribs reaches 165F degrees.
I do not recommend freezing cooked ribs.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- beef ribs
- salt and pepper
- garlic powder
- BBQ sauce
- optional rib rub (in recipe card – this is my tried-and-true recipe)
HOW TO MAKE SMOKED BEEF RIBS:
Remove the membrane (sometimes called “silverskin”) from the back of the ribs. You can usually take a knife and gently slice into it then pull it off. I give a more detailed instruction and photos on how to do this in my recipe for GRILLED PORK RIBS. Season both sides of the ribs generously with the salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder (or use my homemade rib seasoning rub shown in the recipe card below.)
If using a traditional smoker, fill the steam pot in the smoker with water and stock the smoker with wood (chunks, chips, pellets…whatever your smoker is designed for) Note: I have a Traeger smoker so it only requires wood pellets. Preheat the smoker to 250F degrees. Once preheated, add the ribs to the smoker and smoke the ribs for about 3-4 hours. Beef ribs can come in smaller sizes or huge brontosaurus Flintstone size ribs. So it could take longer for your ribs to smoke. Bottom line is you want the ribs to cook until they reach an internal temperature of 200F-205F degrees. Letting the ribs reach a higher temperature allows the connective tissue to break down and makes them fall-off-the-bone tender.
If you are using a traditional smoker, be sure to check the water level and wood every 45-60 minutes. During the last hour of smoking, baste both sides in the BBQ sauce every 20 minutes until they finish cooking.
You can serve the ribs without any BBQ sauce and allow everyone to dip their ribs into BBQ sauce or not. These ribs are delicious even without the BBQ sauce.
Carefully remove the ribs from the smoker
Allow the ribs to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving, applying another coat of BBQ sauce, if desired.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Smoked Beef Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 rack beef ribs
- 1 ½ Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
- ½ Tablespoon garlic powder
- 28 ounce bottle of Hickory and Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce or your favorite BBQ sauce
Optional Homemade Beef Rib Seasoning Rub: (can use instead of salt, pepper & garlic powder)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup smoked paprika
- 1 Tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon cayenne
Instructions
- Remove the membrane (sometimes called silver skin) from the back of the ribs. You can usually take a knife and gently slice into it then pull it off.
- Season both sides of the ribs generously with the salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder (or use my homemade rib seasoning rub above.)
- If using a traditional smoker, fill the steam pot in the smoker with water and stock the smoker with wood (chunks, chips, pellets…whatever your smoker is designed for) Note: I have a Traeger smoker so it only requires wood pellets.
- Preheat the smoker to 250F degrees. Place the seasoned ribs in the smoker and about 4 hours.
- The cooking time will depend on the size of your ribs (some racks are much larger than others.) So the bottom line is they will be fully cooked when the meat reaches a temperature between 200F and 205F degrees.
- If you are using a traditional smoker, be sure to check the water level and wood every 45-60 minutes.
- During the last hour of smoking, baste both sides in the BBQ sauce every 20 minutes until they finish cooking.
- Carefully remove the ribs from the smoker (they should be super tender by this point.)
- Allow the ribs to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving, applying another coat of BBQ sauce, if desired.
Notes
- Low and slow is the best way to smoke meats. This really allows the flavor of the seasonings and the wood smoke to penetrate the meat. So give yourself enough time to make these. You can’t rush it or your meat will be tough. There is no shortcut here!
- Do your best to remove the membrane (or silverskin) on the back of the ribs. It helps the seasoning to really get into the meat without having that barrier there.
- If using a traditional wood smoker, always make sure to check the steam pot and fill with water as needed.
- You can use any kind of wood that you like for beef ribs. I used mesquite here but feel free to use your favorite kind. Applewood and Cherrywood are other favorites. Honestly, I know there are wood smoking purists out there that say to use a certain kind of wood for certain kind of meat. I honestly have not found a bad combination yet!
- Use your favorite BBQ Sauce. I used Hickory Brown Sugar for a little smokiness and sweetness but any BBQ sauce will work or try your hand at making your own BBQ sauce if you really want to go all out!
- Just double or triple this recipe to make more racks of ribs.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I love you without sounding crazy I was just saying today that I wanted to make some but haven’t before an in my email I got this im so excited an thankful for you everytime I see something new love love your recipes you are truly awesome ♥ Thank You