For the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend, I decided to do something different a do a special recipe just for you all this weekend.
I decided to hop on board the party rib trend that is going around right now, but I decided to switch it up and use a rack of beef plate ribs I had in the freezer. The idea behind party ribs is to cut them up into individual ribs prior to cooking them, and then cooking the individual ribs. The upside to doing it like this is that you get to rub all 4 sides of the ribs rather than just seasoning the entire rack. Also, in theory, it should cook quicker too because each rib is coming to temp rather than the entire rack.
I had a 10-pound rack of beef plate ribs from the summer in the freezer and I had been trying to think of when to use them, I finally came up with the idea to do them party rib style. They are also called short ribs, and they usually come from the bottom part of the ribs and can come from the chuck, plate, or rib areas. I got mine from Wilsons Farm Meats in Elkhorn, WI via special order. Typically beef ribs aren’t something that a lot of butchers/ meat markets actually stock, so if you did want some, you would more than likely have to special order like I did.
To prep these ribs, I took my boning knife cut down the middle of each bone, and separated the rack into 7 individual ribs. I then sprayed them all with duck fat and heavily coated them with the Lovely Jubbly BBQ The Everything rub on all sides of each rib. I then let the ribs sit on the cutting board to absorb that rub while I fired up the smoker. I decided to use my Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco drum smoker for this cook because nothing cooks like a drum, and they also give great smoke and flavor from the meat dripping onto the coals. I used Kingsford charcoal and after about an hour, it was tuned in to 250 and ready to go. I put some hickory wood chunks on the coals, and I put the ribs on.
Maintaining the smoker throughout the cook was very easy because the drums hold temp very well with minor adjustments once it is dialed in. Once the ribs hit about 170 internal and I was happy with the color on the outside, I wrapped the ribs in butcher paper. Butcher paper helps to increase tenderness by creating steam within the wrap, but is also breathable so the bark can be preserved. I prefer using butcher paper with beef only, but I’m not opposed to using it with other cuts of meat as well. What I looked for with these ribs was probe tenderness over anything else, and some of the meatier ribs took longer, but that probe tenderness usually came after they hit 190 degrees.
Once the ribs were all done, I wrapped them in foil to let them rest and gave them at least 30 minutes. Since they were the individual ribs being cooked, they didn’t need as long of a rest, although there is no real limit as long as they stay above 140 degrees for food safety. After my pictures were done, I just couldn’t wait anymore and I had to have a bite. They were juicy, tender, had good smoke flavor, and the flavor from the rub made for an awesome bite. The nice thing about these ribs is that they are so big that usually, only one rib is enough per person, but I’m not here to judge.
Ingredients:
- 1 Rack of Beef Plate Ribs
- Duck Fat Spray
- Lovely Jubbly BBQ’s The Everything all-purpose rub
- Pink Butcher Paper
Recipe:
- Separate the rack of ribs into individual bones
- Spray on the duck fat to use as a binder
- Heavily coat all sides of the ribs with The Everything rub, let sit
- Fire up your smoker and dial into 250 degrees with hickory wood
- Place ribs on the smoker and let cook until about 160-170 internal, then wrap in butcher paper
- Start checking for probe tenderness after 190 degrees
- Let rest for at least 30 minutes
- Enjoy!
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As always, keep cookin’ and Lovely Jubbly!
Lovely Jubbly BBQ 