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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Boneless Beef Short Ribs the Old Fashioned Way

As luck would have it, I was shopping for a few things at Costco the other day.  As is the usual MO at Costco, I was drawn in by the meat case.  What's this?  Do I spy a package of beautiful looking beef short ribs winking at me?  Why, yes I do.  The sirens song made me pick up the package and deposit it in my cart.  Damn you Costco!  So, as I wondered through the store, picking up what I needed and a few more impulse buys, I kept intact my streak of not getting out of that terrible place for less than $100 and drove home.  During the drive home I mulled over how to cook those beautiful ribs.  I settled on a blast from the past, grilling.

Growing up, as a young, budding grill master, I had no idea when smoking meat low and slow was.  Ribs, both beef and pork, plus chicken, were par boiled (gasp!) by my mother.  Then, I took the plate of cooked meat and finished it up on the grill with a little sauce.  Oh my, how I have come a long way.  Occasionally though, I love the taste that a grill imparts to smoked meat.  So, with a few changes, off to the grill I went.


What you see above are two whole boneless beef ribs, cut in two.  Diet you know.  The marbling was beautiful.  I was going to go simple here.  Two of them I sprinkled with Oakridge Black Ops Brisket rub and the other two I seasoned the way I would a steak: sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and granulated garlic.


As I waited for the meat to come to room temperature, I fired up the grill, taking care to keep the coals off to one side.  When the coals were ready, I threw a chunk of pecan wood on top.  Once the pecan was burning nicely, I brought my ribs out and started cooking.


I placed them on indirect heat and closed the lid.  The temperature was about 350-400 F inside.  At this point, I walked away and came back after 30 minutes.  A quick check with the thermometer showed that these ribs were ready for step two: a hot sear.


When cooking beef ribs, there are two trains of thought.  Pull at 165 F, rest, then eat.  Or, push through to 195 F.  At the lower temperature, you get a chewier product.  At the higher temperature, you end up with something a little more tender.  Don't get to far past 195 F, or you will end up with pulled beef.  I like them either way, but I was in the mood for tender tonight.

At this point, I lightly sauced the BBQ rubbed ribs with Blues Hog Tennessee Red.  The steak seasoned ribs left naked.  I then moved the ribs to direct heat for a quick sear.


The Devil Dog Ellie Mae was waiting on any grilling mishaps.


The ribs were seared about two and a half minutes a side.  Just long enough to caramelize the sauce and put a nice char on the steak seasoned ribs.


This dinner took me back a bit in time.  Moist, tender, and juicy.  I need to try this method with some pork ribs sometime soon.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

2 comments:

  1. Tender short ribs in 35 minutes is remarkable. I assume you pulled them at 165. Short ribs are very flavorful. I am making a trip to costco for a 5 gallon bucket of mayonnaise and will look for short ribs. Hi Ellie Mae.

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    Replies
    1. Why would you ever need 5 gallons of mayo at one time?

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