Smoked Beef Rib Roast

Smoked Beef Rib Roast weighing about 9 lbs.

The Best Beef Ribs

Surprisingly, Beef Ribs like these aren’t readily available at most grocery stores but, when they are, you should snatch them up. I picked up this 9+ pound Beef Rib Roast for about $42 USD, with tax, $4.58 per lbs. Beef Short Ribs are more common but usually expensive. A rack this size, rarely has much meat on the bones because Prime Rib and Ribeye steaks are cut from the bones so, the only meat that’s ever left is in-between. I show you how to prepare and cook delicious Beef Ribs like that, here. Another great option is Country Style Boneless Beef Ribs and I’ve got a great recipe for those as well. But, if you ask me, this is the way to go. Just a solid piece of meat still connected to the rib bones.

9.12 lbs Raw Beef Rib Roast on a white cutting board upon a butcher block counter top.

Preparing the Beef

Much like a Beef Brisket, there is a lot of trimming that needs to be done before a Beef Rib Roast is cooked. All the fat can be left on the roast if it’s preferred but, everyone should be concerned with the removal of the silver skin. It can be very unpleasant chewing on piece of meat that hasn’t had this removed because it doesn’t break down when it’s being eaten. The silver skin, on a portion of beef this size, runs the entire length of the beef and is approximately 4″ inches wide. I show you how to trim and remove it in the video tutorial. The membrane on the ribs can also be peeled off.

Beef Rib Roast after Smoking on the grill for only 3 hours.

Seasoning and Smoking

It’s fairly common practice to lube up the meat before seasoning with some sort of oil, mustard or hot sauce. I don’t use any of those. I just hit it, on all sides, with Kosher Salt & pepper, then place in the corner of my grill over indirect heat. I have a 3 burner gas grill and I only turn on the front burner with the heat set on low. With the lid down my heat levels out around 275° Fahrenheit throughout the duration of the cook(approximately 9 hours). I use a smoke tube filled with pellets to provide the smoke and it works great. The flavor it adds to the meat is amazing.

Fully Smoked Beef Ribs with 7 bones and a black bark.

Something you might want to consider, however, is wrapping the meat once the internal temperature reaches 165° F. My ribs were good but I think they would have been even better if I had done that. I think next time, just for fun, I might even pull the rack off the heat, once I hit 125° F internal temp, and slice up some medium rare ribs.

Smoked Beef Rib Roast video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.

Smoked Beef Rib Roast Ingredients:

10 lbs Beef Rib Roast, bone in
Olive oil or Louisiana Hot Sauce, optional
Kosher Salt and Pepper

5 cups Wood Pellets for smoking

Just follow the instructions in the video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this Smoked Beef Rib Roast.

Baby Back Ribs Tin Foil Dinner

Fun Baby Back Ribs Dinner

Tin foil dinners were a regular thing for me, growing up. I was a Boy Scout and without mommy and daddy around to cook for me, I had to throw something together that could just be cooked by campfire. I didn’t like hot dogs so hamburger and vegetables was the next alternative. Well, now that I’m full grown, I don’t want little burned bits of under seasoned hamburger. I want ribs and an assortment of vegetables that any gourmet chef would be proud of and this is what I came up with.

Raw Baby Back Ribs seasoned with Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin and Blackened Seasoning.

The Best Baby Back Ribs

If you want great Baby Back Ribs, they’ve got to be seasoned. We’ve all got our own specific tastes but the key is to lay it on there thick. In my opinion, the only way you can over season ribs is if you add too much salt. That’s why I use Kosher. It’s light, fluffy and a few pinches, spread evenly, seasons the meat perfectly. There’s a variety of different seasoning I use for different recipes but the key is to cook them slow and low, no matter what you decided to season your ribs with. Cook them over some hot coals, in a smoker, barbecue grill or in the oven like I do and the slow and low method will never do you wrong.

In this recipe I use Cumin and Blackened Seasoning. That means there is Smoked Paprika, Garlic and Onion Powder and a few earthy ingredients that really make pork pop. I posted a recipe for Blackened Seasoning a while back if you’d like to put together some for your self.

Waxy potatoes, sweet peppers, asparagus and carrots.

Veggies and Baby Back Ribs

One pairing that is as sure as death and taxes is vegetables in tin foil dinners and this Baby Back Ribs recipe is no exception. Vegetables that are hard and take longer to cook are the best to use because it takes a few hours for the pork to cook. I chose some small waxy potatoes, carrots, sweet peppers and asparagus. Why I didn’t think to put onion in there, until this exact moment, I’ll never know. Truthfully I was trying to film 2 videos at the same time. 2 hours of cooking time gave me nothing to do so I must have racked my brain trying to get a second video done. Anyway, where was I… oh yeah, the vegetables. They will turn out perfectly with just a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

Baby Back Ribs Tin foil Dinner Ingredients:

1 rack Baby Back Ribs
Carrots
Asparagus
Small Waxy Potatoes
Small Sweet Peppers
Cumin
Blackened Seasoning
Kosher Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Cook at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours and then expose the ribs and kick up the heat 50 degrees. Bake a second time, with barbecue sauce if you’d like, for 20 minutes.

I’m not listing all of the exact amounts because it’s not necessary. I just bought a small bag of each item and just eye balled the seasoning and I’m confident that you can do the same thing and be proud of your self. Just follow the instructions in the Baby Back Ribs Tin Foil Dinner video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this.

Country Style Barbecue Ribs

Braised and Baked Country Style Barbecue Ribs.

The Best Barbecue Country Style Ribs

If you love ribs, you’re going to love this Country Style recipe because it’s got it all. These ribs can easily be cooked outdoors on a grill or inside on a stove and in the oven. I season the ribs with my Blackened Seasoning recipe, then braise them in barbecue sauce and pineapple juice. These ribs are finished off in the oven to caramelize the sauce and firm up the out side of the rib. The results are a fall of the bone tender barbecue rib that, literally, melts in your mouth.

Store bought Country Style pork ribs.

What are Country Style Ribs

Wikipedia describes Country Style Ribs as the blade end of the loin close to the pork shoulder and they’re considered more of a chop than a rib because the bones aren’t rib bones at all. They’re the Shoulder Blade or “Scapula” bones behind the shoulder. The result is a loin cut portion that is more than 3/4 meat vs. bone. The benefit to this, if it isn’t obvious, is more bang for your buck. An average rack of baby back ribs weighs 3 to 4 pounds and so does a package of Country Style ribs but the baby backs cost twice as much. So, by purchasing these ribs instead, not only are you cutting the cost in half, you’re getting twice the eats because there’s a lot more meat.

Blackened seasoned Country Style ribs just marinating.

Seasoning Country Style Ribs

One of the secrets to any good rib recipe rings true for these Country Style ribs, as well. You’ve got to have a good rub or seasoning. For this recipe, I use my Blackened Seasoning and I showed you how to make that in the last YouTube video and blog post. There’s other substitutions that can be used like Old Bay or a Crawfish Boil Seasoning. Zatarain’s and Slap Your Mama are both good choices. Even my Brisket Rub recipe would be excellent for these ribs because all of these have the same basic ingredients with small twists and variations is all but will have very similar results.

Braising Country Style Ribs in Barbecue Sauce and Pineapple Juice.

Braised Country Style Ribs

Essentially, this Country Style Ribs recipe is braised and baked but many avid grill masters do the exact same thing on the grill. So everything you learn here can be applied to your barbecue if you want to grill this recipe instead. These ribs are braised in a mixture of barbecue sauce and Pineapple juice. You can replace the pineapple juice with beer instead, if you want to go that rout. It’s a real common practice with just as good results, just slightly different taste. Season and sear your ribs, then braise in the sauce for 1 1/2 hours and grill for 5 to 10 minutes to caramelize.

Baked Country Style Barbecue Ribs.
Oven Baked Country Style Ribs

Now that you know that you can take this Country Style Ribs recipe to the grill let’s talk about how easy it is to bake in the oven. 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, after the braising. That’s it and that’s all. So, if you don’t think you can handle cooking these ribs after you watch my video tutorial, I’ve done something terribly wrong. Good luck!

Country Style Barbecue Ribs Ingredients:

1 pkg Country Style Ribs
2 cups Barbecue Sauce, I use Baby Ray’s
1/2 cup Pineapple Juice
1 tbsp Kosher Salt, approximately
2 tbsp Blackened Seasoning, approximately