Smoked Beef Short Ribs Recipe

These smoked beef short ribs are easy to prepare, making for a tender and melt in your mouth texture with just the right amount of smoke flavor.

smoked short ribs on wood cutting board with herbs in background

When it comes to the holidays, some of the first recipes that comes to mind revolve around beef - from Italian braciole to beef ragu to meat lasagna to smoked filet mignon to steak pizzaiola.

But my favorite cut of meet is short ribs. I love how tender they become when cooked. They have a beefy flavor with rich marbling, which leads to a melt in your mouth texture, making them ideal comfort food.

But until I got my pellet grill, I never thought to smoke them. I always just slow cooked them in some red wine and other ingredients. But this smoked beef short ribs recipe has changed my tune.

With a simple rub, you just let the smoker do all the work. And no it doesn't have to be the summer to fire up a smoker. It is the perfect type of dish where you prepare in the morning and have dinner ready in the evening without all the labor. Or if you're looking for another way to have short ribs, try these sous vide short ribs.

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Ingredient Notes
Step-by-Step Photos
FAQs
Side Dish Options
Equipment
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
Other Beef Recipes
Smoked Beef Short Ribs

overhead shot of smoked short ribs on cutting board

Ingredient Notes

Short ribs - use bone-in short ribs as they have more flavor. Make sure you remove the excess fat and silver skin before smoking.
Olive oil - the oil helps you rub in the spices. You can also use vegetable or canola oil.
Spices - by using the traditional combination of salt, pepper and garlic powder, you add some flavor but let the beef do the talking.
Apple cider vinegar - spritzing the short ribs improves the flavor, tenderness and color while keeping them from burning. You can also use beef broth.

Step-by-Step Photos

process shots of trimming fat off ribs and making spice rub

Trim fat cap and silver skin off the top of the short ribs. Then mix the rub ingredients in a bowl.

process shots of rubbing spice rub in short ribs and smoking

Rub the olive oil over the short ribs and rub the outside with the spice mixture. Place in the smoker at 225°F and smoke for 3 hours without opening the lid.

After 3 hours, start spritzing them with apple cider vinegar every hour until the internal temperature reaches 205°F.

FAQs

What are Short Ribs?

Short ribs are a cut of beef taken from the end of the ribs near the breastbone. Being the short portion of the rib bone, they are overlain by meat which varies in thickness.

Do I Need to Remove the Silverskin?

Yes. Silverskin becomes very chewy and tough when cooked. Luckily, most short ribs are pre-trimmed these days so you probably won't have to do it.

However it it isn't skinned, use a sharp knife and slip between the silver skin and the meat to slice away.

How Long Do I Smoke Short Ribs?

As with any type of smoked beef recipe, you cook to temperature and not to time. However, in general it should around 8-9 hours to have the short ribs fully cooked.

Do I Need to Wrap the Short Ribs in Foil?

I personally don't as I like to have that extra bark and don't need to rush cooking the ribs. However, you can wrap in aluminum foil around 160°F to push past that stall that typically happens.

At What Temperature are Short Ribs Done?

Short ribs are done when they reach an internal temperature between 205°F and 210°F.

If you don't have a thermometer, you'll know the smoked beef short ribs are done when you can slice through them like butter.

Side Dish Options

The beauty of these smoked short ribs is they go with pretty much everything. To me the perfect marriage is goat cheese polenta, however you can mix it up with sides like:

Equipment

The type of equipment you use can have a big impact on the flavor of the smoked short ribs. Since this is a smoked recipe, you need to impart some smoked flavor. You have a few different options, including:

Pellet grill - my favorite as I love the simplicity and flavor.
Charcoal grill - you can use indirect heat and add some wood chips to the charcoal to create that smoke flavor.
Smoker - whether it is electric, gas or charcoal, any of them will work to make a great dish.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

Use oak or cherry wood for smoking. You want a good hard wood for the smoke flavor.
If you don't want to make your own spice rub, just use store-bought.
Wrap in foil at 160°F if you want to speed up the cook time and get past the stall.
Let the short ribs rest for 30 minutes before serving which lets the juices stay inside.

slice cut of smoked short rib on cutting board with more in background

Other Beef Recipes

If you’ve tried this smoked beef short ribs recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. Another similar recipe is smoked pulled beef! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.