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Smoked Beef Dino Ribs

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I got this huge rack of dino ribs (beef plate ribs) from Porter Road this week and they were just screaming to be smoked! These are just loaded with flavor and there was a ton of fat marbling within the meat so I kept the preparation real simple. I trimmed off most of the surface fat on top and then used my Texas rub pretty liberally on the top side only. We're gonna let that natural beef flavor really shine through on these!

Helpful Information
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5-6 hours
  • Smoker Temp: 225°F/275°F
  • Meat Finish Temp: 201-203°F
  • Recommended Wood: Oak, maple, cherry mix
What You'll Need
Step 1: Trim Fat

This is not something you have to do but it makes for a better finish in my opinion. There was plenty of fat marbling within the meat and that's what really keeps the meat moist while it cooks.

If you decide to remove the fat, just use a very sharp knife and go at it taking off small bits at a time until it's down to where you want it.

Here's the BEFORE:

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and the AFTER:

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Step 2: Season

I decided to keep these simple and just use my Texas style rub  on the top.

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After applying the rub, I let it sit for about 20 minutes. During this time, the rub mixed with some of the juices in the meat and became a sort of paste.

You can see the difference it made in the image below:

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The beef ribs are now ready to cook.. I placed it on a pan with a rack to not only reduce cleaning time on the smoker but also to allow quick and easy transport to and from the smoker. The rack is about ¾ inch above the bottom of the pan and allows full smoke access on all sides of the meat.

Step 3: Smoke

Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225°F with indirect heat.

Note: most smokers are already designed to work this way. If yours has a plate, water pan, etc between the heat and the meat, then it's set up for indirect cooking.

If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.

I used the Camp Chef Woodwind Wifi with Pit Boss Competition Blend pellets for this cook. I get great results with the PB pellets and they are very inexpensive and can be found in several local stores.

For the first 4 hours, I ran the CC on High Smoke which maintains an average of 220°F and it never veered more than 10 degrees from 220°F during this time.

Step 4: Wrap

After 4 hours of cooking, the beef ribs reached 160°F in the thickest part of the meat between the bones.

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At this point I poured 8 ounces of beef broth into a foil pan:

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Then I placed the meat into the pan:

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It was covered tightly with foil and placed back onto the smoker grate. The heat was cranked up to 275°F to braise the meat and make it super tender.

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Every rack of ribs is different so be sure and check them at about 1 hour covered and see where they are temperature wise.

When I checked mine with my ThermoWorks Thermapen at 1 hour, they were at 191°F and needed another 25-30 minutes to get up to 201-203°F.. my goal temperature.

At 1.5 hours my smoked beef ribs had reached 201°F and when I pushed a probe into them, there was absolutely no resistance and I decided to call them done.

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Step 5: Rest

After removing them from the smoker, place the entire pan into a cooler for at least an hour. 2 to 3 hours would not be a bad thing if you get them done way ahead of dinner time.

Step 6: Serve

Slice the ribs right between the bones and serve 'em up to your guests.

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4.8 from 4 votes

Smoked Beef Dino Ribs

I got this huge rack of dino ribs (beef plate ribs) from Porter Road this week and they were just screaming to be smoked!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time6 hours
Total Time6 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

Step 1: Trim Fat

  • Trim the fat cap from the top side of the beef ribs.

Step 2: Season

  • Apply a generous coat of Jeff's Texas style rub to the top side of the beef ribs.
  • After applying the rub, I let it sit for about 20 minutes while you go get the smoker ready.

Step 3: Smoke

  • Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225°F with indirect heat.
  • If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.
  • Leave them alone while they cook for the first 4 hours or until the ribs reach about 160 degrees in the thickest part between the bones.

Step 4: Wrap

  • After 4 hours of cooking or when they reach 160°F in the thickest part of the meat between the bones, wrap the meat in foil or place them in a disposable foil pan with about 8 ounces of beef broth. If you use a pan, cover the top tightly with foil.
  • Place the wrapped, covered ribs back into the smoker and crank up the heat to 275°F.
  • The goal temperature is 201-203°F which will take about 1 to 1.5 hours to reach after they are covered while cooking at 275 degrees.
  • Also check them with a probe to ensure they are very tender and there is no resistance.

Step 5: Rest

  • After removing them from the smoker, place the entire pan into a cooler for at least an hour. 2 to 3 hours would not be a bad thing if you get them done way ahead of dinner time.

Step 6: Serve

  • Slice the ribs right between the bones and serve 'em up to your guests.

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Recipe Rating




9 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Today, smoked a 3-rib Dino. Used Jeff’s Original instead of the Texas, and used maple syrup for the binder. 7.5 hours on HS on the CC Woodwind to 160F, then in a covered aluminum pan for 1.5 hours to 201F, and a rest of 1.5 hours. The result was a very tender, tasty treat. There was so much meat that it was stripped from the bone and cut into 1.5″ medallions. With Jeff’s BBQ sauce, it was a special treat.

  2. Jeff, after using a few of your other recipes with great success, I was wondering if you could prepare these ribs the night before using the dry brine method, then follow the “smoked beef dino ribs” recipe?

  3. 5 stars
    What is the purpose of putting it in a cooler? And do you mean just an empty plastic beer cooler?

    1. Letting big pieces of meat rest for some time after it’s cooked and before you slice into it can aid in tenderness and juiciness. Just use an empty beer cooler to sort of hold in the heat.

  4. Jeff, my new Oklahoma Joe’s DLX pellet smoker works real well but the internal temperature runs about 30 degrees higher than the digital led. Any ideas?

    1. That has to do with the placement of the probe that reads the LED temperature.. you might check several temperature readings and see if that 30 degree different is consistent whether you’re cooking at 180 or at 225 or 300 and then you can just set the smoker 25-30 degrees lower than what you actually want.

      This is a pretty common problem with all smokers. My wood smoker is always 25 °F warmer than what the guage reads so I run it at 200°F when I want 225°F.

      I don’t think it’s anything you can actually correct on the controller.