My Smoked Beef Short Ribs are cooked low and slow to make each bite melt in your mouth deliciousness. Seasoned with a simple beef rub, your whole family is going to love the rich beefy flavor of these incredibly tender smoked short ribs.
My smoked beef short rib recipe couldn’t be easier to make. But, like most smoked meats, it takes time to create bone-tender, juicy beef short ribs that any pitmaster would love. The cooking process takes about six hours, so make sure to give yourself enough time to make the magic. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
If you love delicious smoked ribs, make sure to check out my Smoked St, Louis Style Ribs.
Ingredients to make Smoked Beef Short Ribs
Let’s start by gathering the necessary ingredients to prepare our Smoked Beef Short Ribs recipe. Culinary professionals call this the mise en Place, which means “everything in its Place.”
Setting up your ingredients not only helps speed up the cooking process but also ensures you have all the necessary ingredients on hand to make the recipe.
What are beef short ribs?
There are three types of beef ribs, each coming from three different primal muscle sections of the steer: the rib, chuck, and plate.
You can also find beef short ribs in four different styles: English cut, flanken ribs, rib fingers, and boneless ribs. English cut and Flanken style are the two most common types of beef ribs you’ll find in your local grocery store.
I prefer English cut for most of the recipes I prepare for my friends and family. English-cut short ribs can come from three different primal muscles: the plate, rib, and chuck. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell where they were cut from, looking at the end result.
Butchers cut beef short ribs into individual bones, typically halving them to make them about 4 inches long. The bones are flat and wide, and the meat is a rectangular chunk that sits on top of them.
Chuck short ribs are my first choice for smoking and grilling. Chuck comes from the shoulder of the steer; it has good marbling and magically turns into a tender, delicious, rich piece of meat when cooked low and slow.
How to make smoked beef Short Ribs
Follow along with my simple step-by-step instructions to learn how to make Smoked Beef Short Ribs like your favorite BBQ joint.
- In a small bowl, add the kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, black pepper, and smoked paprika.
- Mix the dry rub ingredients together until well blended.
Can I use other seasonings in my dry rub?
Yes, you can. The key to making delicious smoked meats that you and your family will love is to use seasonings that you enjoy eating. Changing up the spices in this simple dry rub is easy and definitely something you can do each time you prepare smoked beef, pork, or chicken.
Other seasonings you could add to your spice rub are cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, ground ginger, turmeric, and coriander. You can also use your favorite seasoning blend.
Instead of making your own dry rub, you can use Cajun seasoning, jerk seasoning, barbecue seasoning, or Old Bay seasoning.
You can also add brown sugar to the seasonings to make a sweet rub.
- Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F.
- Add the wood chips of your choice to the smoker. I used mesquite chips for the short ribs.
- Rub the short ribs with olive oil (the oil helps the dry rub penetrate the meat more fully). Then spread the dry rub generously on top of the meat and all the sides of the ribs for a well-balanced flavor.
*If time permits, let the ribs marinate for at least half an hour before placing them in the smoker. This gives the rub time to soak into the surface of the ribs. It also gives the meat time to enter room temperature before beginning the smoking process. This helps the meat cook more evenly. - Place the short ribs on a rack in the smoker and cook for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, remove the short ribs from the smoker and wrap them in aluminum foil (or use a foil pan covered with foil).
- Return them to the smoker for another 2 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the short ribs reaches an internal temperature of 200 -205 degrees.
*If the short ribs are rubbery or spongy, they‘re not quite cooked through, recheck the temperature and keep smoking until they reach 200 – 205 degrees.
*If you use a pan covered with foil, you can add a little bit of apple juice, red wine, or beef broth to the pan to help keep the short ribs moist.
Slather the short ribs with your favorite brand of barbecue sauce (or my semi-homemade bbq sauce) and return them to the smoker to cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Remove them from the smoker and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with your favorite sides and more barbecue sauce. My coleslaw recipe and Macaroni Salad are two of my favorite side dishes.
When it comes to barbecue, you can’t beat smoked meats, and an electric smoker takes all the work out of preparing your favorite smoked recipes. All you need is time and a few basic seasonings to make the best Smoked Beef Short Ribs you ever had! Be sure to also try my smoked beef brisket recipe.
Recipe FAQs
Beef short ribs are done when an instant-read thermometer reaches an internal temperature of 200 – 205 degrees F.
Smoking at this temperature will take 5.5 – 6 hours.
Smoking at 250 degrees F. will take 4.5 -5 hours.
The optimal smoker temperature for beef short ribs is generally between 225°F and 250°F. This low-and-slow approach helps to break down the collagen in the meat, making it tender and flavorful.
Heavier woods like hickory, mesquite, or oak work well for smoking beef because they can withstand the meat’s strong flavors.
For a slightly sweeter flavor profile, you can also use fruit woods like apple or cherry.
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Smoked Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 2-2½ lbs beef short ribs
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika or sweet paprika
Instructions
- Add the spices to a small bowl, and mix to fully combine the seasonings.
- Rub the short ribs with olive oil to give the dry rub something to attach to. Some people use other ingredients such as mustard to connect their rub to the protein. I prefer Olive oil as it doesn’t alter the meat taste as much.
- Spread Rub generously over ribs making sure to season all sides of the ribs for a well-balanced flavor.
- I like to let the seasoning marinate for at least a half hour while the meat comes to room temperature prior to putting on the smoker. This gives the rub time to soak into the skin and meat.
- Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees.
- Put your favorite wood chips in the smoker tube and insert it into the smoker. I used Mesquite for the short ribs.
- Place the short ribs on a rack in the smoker and cook for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, remove the short ribs from the smoker and wrap them in aluminum foil (or use a foil pan, covered with foil), and return them to the smoker for an additional 2 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the short ribs reaches an internal temperature of 200 -205 degrees. *If the short ribs are rubbery or spongy, they are not quite cooked through yet, recheck the temperature and keep smoking until they reach 200 – 205 degrees.
- Remove the short ribs from the smoker and slather them in your favorite barbecue sauce or my semi-homemade bbq sauce and return them to the smoker for an additional 30 minutes.
- Remove the short ribs and allow them to rest for 10 – 15 minutes.
Aggie says
Way too salty for mine and my husband’s taste, next time I’ll add only a teaspoon of salt. Otherwise, the meat was tender and tasty.
Keith says
Do you use a water pan in the smoker
Chef Dennis Littley says
I usually don’t but you can definitely add a water pan to the smoker if you like.
Matt M says
Followed the receipt to the letter, couldn’t ask for better
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed the short ribs! They are one of my favorites!
Dan says
I’m going to smoke these at my house and transport up to my parents for my bday dinner. Thoughts are cooking for 3 hours, then wrapping, transporting, and putting back on grill (gas) when I get to them. Would this be fine? What temp would I expect them to be at after first three hours.
Chef Dennis Littley says
That should work fine. You want them to be close to 195 degrees at the 3 hour mark.
Ron Porter says
This is a delicious recipe! Thank You!
Chef Dennis Littley says
You’re welcome. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the ribs.