If you’re looking for an easy and delicious BBQ Short Ribs Recipe that makes the best fall-off-the-bone tender bbq beef ribs, you’ve come to the right place.
Beef Short Ribs are often overlooked when it comes to barbecue, but they shouldn’t be. Packed with flavor, it’s easy to see why this cut of beef is prized by chefs and often used in creating delicious specials that almost melt in your mouth.
That’s exactly the type of tenderness and flavor you can expect from my bbq beef ribs recipe.
ingredients for Barbecue Short Ribs?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make BBQ Short Ribs. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Made with simple pantry ingredients
- bone-in beef short ribs
- olive oil
- sea salt
- black pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- chili powder
- paprika
- oregano
- brown sugar
- barbecue sauce
How do I make Tender BBQ Beef Ribs?
- Add the spices and brown sugar to a small bowl.
- Mix the seasonings together until well blended.
- Rinse the ribs with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
- Brush the ribs with olive oil.
- Rub the seasoning mixture (dry rub) into the beef ribs. Add additional olive oil if needed.
- Place the seasoned ribs in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil. Cover the ribs with another sheet of foil. Make sure to seal the edges of the foil, so steam does not escape while cooking.
Place the covered seasoned beef short ribs in the refrigerator to marinate for 2-4 hours.
When the oven temperature has reached 275° F., place the foil pouch of short ribs on the center rack of the oven. Cook the ribs for 3 ½- 4 hours, until you’ve reached an internal temperature of 205° F. or until the bone starts to separate from the meat.
How to cook bbq short ribs on the grill:
Follow the instructions above through the marinating process. To grill the ribs make completely sealed foil packets; instead of using the covered tray using double layers of foil.
- Preheat your grill to high heat. Once the grill has been heated, turn off the burners in the center of the grill. You will be cooking the short ribs over indirect heat.
- Divide the ribs into two and make two double-layered foil packets. Fold the top and ends to seal the packets, leaving room for heat circulation inside.
- Place the packets over indirect heat and lower the cover on the grill. Cook the short ribs for 2½ – 3 hours. Cooking time can vary so be sure to use a meat thermometer to check on the temperature of the beef short ribs. Internal temperature should be 200-205° F.
- When the ribs are fully cooked, carefully open the packets by cutting along the top folds of the packets with a sharp knife, allowing steam to escape.
- Then open the top of the foil packet.
- Brush the ribs with barbecue sauce and continue grilling over direct heat with the grill covered for 5 – 10 minutes, until browned and crisp.
Brush the bbq beef ribs generously with your favorite barbecue sauce.
*You can also finish the ribs without barbecue sauce.
Broil the BBQ short ribs on low for 3-4 minutes until the sauce gets bubbly and begins to caramelize.
*Make sure to keep an eye on the ribs. The barbecue sauce will burn quicker than you think.
My Easy BBQ Beef Ribs were incredibly flavorful thanks to the seasoning mixture used and were also very tender. And when I said this was an easy recipe, I wasn’t kidding.
Just a few minutes of prep work is all that’s needed to make the most tender fall-off-the-bone bbq beef ribs.
The meat just pulled off the bone using a fork to separate it. Adding some of the liquid from the pan after shredding the beef, will help keep the meat moist.
Pulled beef from short ribs makes delicious tacos and sandwiches and is an amazing addition to mac and cheese!
Recipe FAQ’s
Beef short ribs are the most tender when the internal temperature of the ribs reaches around 200 – 205° F. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the ribs have been cooked long enough.
I have found that cooking beef or pork ribs at 275° F is the perfect temperature for cooking ribs low and slow, making them fall off the bone tender.
At 275° F, beef short ribs will take 3 ½- 4 hours to fully cook. Increasing or lowering the oven temperature will affect the overall cooking time.
More Rib Recipes You’ll Love!
Easy BBQ Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef bone-in beef short ribs
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ⅓ cup bbq sauce
Instructions
- Rinse ribs in cold water then dry using paper towels. Make sure the ribs are well dried.
- Blend the spices and brown sugar together.
- Brush the ribs with oil.
- Rub the seasoning mixture into the beef ribs. Add additional olive oil if needed.
- Put the seasoned ribs into a sealed plastic bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 275F.
- Place the seasoned ribs in a single layer on the baking dish.
- Place the ribs on the center rack of a preheated oven.
- Cook the ribs for 3 ½- 4 hours, until you've reached an internal temperature of 205° F. or until bone starts to separate from the meat and meat is tender.
- Brush the ribs generously with your favorite barbecue sauce. *You can also finish the ribs without barbecue sauce.
- Broil the ribs on low for 3-4 minutes until the sauce gets bubbly and begins to caramelize. Don't let it burn!
Isabel
Great!! Easy my family loves this recipe. Better than any restaurant.
Krissy
I unfortunately do not have time to marinade, would the recipe still work even it’s only marinated for half an hour to an hour tops?
Chef Dennis Littley
Yes it will, letting sit longer lets the seasonings penetrate the meat. But they will still be delicious.
Joseph A Mitchell
Best recipe ever! Simple ingredients and easy method. I didn’t have to go to the supermarket and by several exotic ingredients everything was already on my shelf. The instructions are very clear and easy. Best beef ribs I’ve ever had. There’s only one problem with this recipe. While in the oven the house smells so good that it drives the family crazy!
Kathryn Smith
I’m marinating the short ribs now,could I smoke them on the bq?
Chef Dennis Littley
yes you can smoke them, but they wont get as much of a crust, because of the marinade.
Beatrice
I am so excited to try this, could I do it with full beef ribs?
Chef Dennis Littley
Yes you can use a rack of beef ribs instead of the short ribs. You may want to cut the rack in half to make it easier.
Laura Woodard
O! M! G!!!
Best and easiest recipe EVER!
Nikki B.
Do you remove the membrane from short ribs?
Chef Dennis Littley
If your ribs have one, yes, remove it. The short ribs I’ve purchased have it removed already.
Carolyn Faulkner
Made this Beef Short Rib Recipe very easy to make and turned out absolutely delicious was wondering if I could use this recipe with Country Pork Spareribs 🤔 Will definitely be making this recipe again and also sharing with my family and friends 😊
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the short ribs! You can definitely use this recipe for country-style pork ribs. I also have some delicious baby back rib recipes if you enjoy those.
Anju
Can I leave marinated in fridge over night?
Chef Dennis Littley
absolutely, that will make the ribs more flavorful.
Blair
First time cooking ribs, and these were so good!! Everyone got seconds or thirds. Served with roasted creamer potatoes and asparagus with lemon and Parmesan. Definitely a keeper!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the ribs and have found out how easy they are to make at home!
Carolyn Gorman
Uh oh. I just opened my 4 lb pack of short ribs from Costco and realize they are SLICED bone in short ribs. Each slice is around 1/4 inch thick, max, with bone. I was going to put them with the spice rub in the refrigerator overnight, but that is probably too long, given how thin they are. I will rub the spices on, but then I guess I should cook them for a lot less time? What do you suggest?
Chef Dennis Littley
1/4 of an inch is really thin and I don’t think I would try to cook them using my recipe. Those are made for more for grilling. YOu can do them in the oven but I don’t know how long they will take to cook having never worked with ribs that were cut that thin. Flanken cut ribs are usually about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. If that was the case you could use my recipe and just cut the time down by half.
JocQueline
Followed the receipe and my husband LOVED it. I didn’t get to let it marinate for 2 hrs but they were still fabulous. I marinated for about an hour