Salt-and-Pepper Beef Ribs
- Total Time
- 8½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 2racks beef ribs, 5 to 7 pounds total (see note)
- 3tablespoons kosher salt
- 2tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper
- 2tablespoons brown sugar
- 1tablespoon paprika
- Red-pepper flakes, to taste
- 2cups hickory chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
- Barbecue sauce (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
On one-half of a grill fitted with a cover, build a small charcoal fire, about the size of a loaf of commercial sandwich bread, making sure all the charcoal becomes engulfed in flame.
- Step 2
Place the ribs meat-side down on a baking sheet or cutting board and remove the papery membrane from the back of the rack by inserting a small knife beneath it and levering it up to give you enough to gain purchase with a dish towel. Peel off the membrane and discard.
- Step 3
Mix the salt, pepper, brown sugar, paprika and, if you choose, red-pepper flakes in a bowl, breaking up the brown sugar with a fork. Using your hands, cover the meat entirely in this rub.
- Step 4
When the flames begin to die down, leaving flickering coals, place the rib racks meat-side up on the half of the grill without the burning charcoal. Do not let the flames touch the meat at any time. Add a handful of the hickory chips to the fire. Cover the grill, vent slightly and cook, adding a handful of hickory chips every 30 minutes and a bit more fuel as necessary, until the meat is crusty, soft to the touch and well browned, about two and a half hours.
- Step 5
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Set the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for around 5 hours.
- Step 6
Cut into individual portions. Serve with extra napkins and, if you choose, barbecue sauce.
Tip
- Order ribs ahead of time from a butcher. Ask for 2 back-rib racks trimmed from the prime rib, keeping as much meat on the ribs as possible, each rack approximately 6 ribs wide.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Sam Sifton
Lynn, you can make it in an oven. It's not quite the same. But it's good. Here's the recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014236-indoor-smoked-salt-and-pepper....
Andee
Excellent easy summer recipe! My husband loved not having to be outside all day to make these delicious ribs. Two suggestions: ease back on the salt in the rub, and put a pan of water in the oven to contribute moisture.
LarryAt27N
Life is short and 7.5 hours is too long to cook beef ribs.
The much better way to cook 'em is to braise them like you would a pot roast or a brisket, simmering in water, say at 275, for 3 hours, or until very tender.
At that point, the ribs are completely cooked. Do whatever you need to do next to finish them off for before serving. You can also do this a day ahead of time. What remains in the pot is the basis for beef soup.
Clark
Use a butter knife to get under the silver skin at one end of the ribs where the silverskin is the widest. One you have a gap under the silverskin where you can get a finger under it, use a paper towel to grab it and pull it off. Usually it will all come off as one piece. If it doesn't repeat the process where the silver skin remains. It takes a little practice but once you get it it is quite simple.
Chris
Love these ribs! Have made them both on the grill and in the oven depending on the weather. I have never been successful pulling off the silverside (maybe not so easy on meat that has been frozen?) so I just score it and leave it on. I buy Cryopaks of these ribs at the local butcher; not as meaty as prime rib racks but inexpensive and meaty enough. Great recipe. I did cut the salt back a little.
Clark
What? Do this and they taste like pot roast. You can even boil them first? Would you cook a brisket like this? A good brisket takes 12-15 hours. You obviously don't understand the benefits of low and slow.
LarryAt27N
Here's a buying tip from a long-time beef rib cooker.
Packaged ribs are o.k. if the meat has not been trimmed away from them. It is obvious at first sight. Only buy when the meat is at least 3/4" thick.
If trying to choose among packages with the same number of bones, go with the heaviest. Braising beef ribs before finishing on the grill or under the broiler is recommended, and you can add liquid smoke prior to that last step when you season the ribs -- always include garlic salt.
ByPedal
These turned out really well, though I cooked them entirely on my Big Green Egg since it does a really good job of holding a temperature for extended periods of time. I ended up smoking them over indirect heat beginning at 300F and slowly dropping the temp to 220 after the first half hour. I removed the ribs when the meat between the bones was 197F (about 6.5 hours later). The meat was tender, juicy and delicious!
Clark
Excuse me but this is a BBQ recipe. Braising gives a completely different texture and taste. I prefer real smoke versus liquid smoke. What is your hurry?
Clark
It depends on the temperature. If you keep the temp between 225 and 275 it will not be too long. You have to get the internal temp over 195 degrees for the connective tissue to melt. If you take them off before that you will have very tough tribs.
Cambro
Halved the recipe for my party of three. Cooked on my Traeger with hickory on 225. Everyone inhaled it. Great bark on the ribs. Don’t be intimidated by the picante spice, it will mellow.
Stefan
I looked at several NYTimes rib recipes and chose this because it’s simplicity. Yes, it’s 7 hrs, but in reality once you get the membrane off the ribs it’s just an hour for the ribs. I used cumin and chipotle instead of paprika. Serve with a tangy, not too creamy cole slaw to balance out the relative richness of the ribs. Cornbread cooked in the oven while the ribs smoked on the gas grill. Baked beans. Yum! 2 hours in total !
Barbmcwethy
Has anyone done this recipe completely on a smoker?
Sasha
(Continuing instructions for gas grill from the previous note). Then, I turned on two adjacent burners of my gas grill to the lowest possible setting. I put the pre-soaked hickory chips into a smoke box (you can just wrap them in foil and punch a few holes in lieu of a smoke box) and I put the box on top of these burners. Then I put the grill rack on top and put the ribs bone side down on top of the rack and just above the smoke box. (See continuation in the next note).
Sasha
(Continuing instructions for gas grill from the previous note). So I put the ribs on top of the grill just over the smoke box. The fire wasn’t touching them, because it was small and because my burners were covered with metal protectors (as common on most grills). The ribs became browned after 2 hours at which point I moved them to the 200 degree oven for 5 hours as instructed in the recipe. They came out succulent with meat falling off the bone!
Eric
Never soak your chips. This is an age OLD smoking myth. Water Boils at 212 and wood doesn't burn efficiently until about 600 degrees. If you think that woods going to do anything until the water is boiled out of it, think about the experiment of putting a paper cup on a gas burner and watching it boil away before the cup catches fire. All you've done by soaking your chips is decreased actual smoking time, and probably created acrid white smoke. Use a water pan if you feel you must add moisture.
Robert
It's an old wives tale to soak wood chips for a smoker.
Bruce Potterton
Great recipe. Amazing results. Soaking wood chips is unnecessary as wood does not absorb water. It just steams up for a bit then smolders as you first wanted.
Suzie
I followed this recipe exactly and the ribs were so overcooked by the time they hit the plate they were inedible and ended up in the garbage. Also the rub was too salty and I think, the sugar added to the overcooking of the meat.
Nan
I have some boneless beef ribs, any suggestions cooking times? Thinking it might be less, excited to try the recipe.
Sara
Can these be cooked in an instant pot?
Tim
can i griffon gas grill without chips? or just cook slow and low in oven?
ByPedal
These turned out really well, though I cooked them entirely on my Big Green Egg since it does a really good job of holding a temperature for extended periods of time. I ended up smoking them over indirect heat beginning at 300F and slowly dropping the temp to 220 after the first half hour. I removed the ribs when the meat between the bones was 197F (about 6.5 hours later). The meat was tender, juicy and delicious!
LarryAt27N
Life is short and 7.5 hours is too long to cook beef ribs.
The much better way to cook 'em is to braise them like you would a pot roast or a brisket, simmering in water, say at 275, for 3 hours, or until very tender.
At that point, the ribs are completely cooked. Do whatever you need to do next to finish them off for before serving. You can also do this a day ahead of time. What remains in the pot is the basis for beef soup.
Clark
What? Do this and they taste like pot roast. You can even boil them first? Would you cook a brisket like this? A good brisket takes 12-15 hours. You obviously don't understand the benefits of low and slow.
L Villa
Are these times correct? Two and a half hours smoking plus around 5 hours baking? Seems a bit too much.
Clark
It depends on the temperature. If you keep the temp between 225 and 275 it will not be too long. You have to get the internal temp over 195 degrees for the connective tissue to melt. If you take them off before that you will have very tough tribs.
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