I was very excited to cook my first short ribs on my smoker and was let down the minute I sunk my teeth into the first bite. It was a complete failure. Dry and Tough.....not sure what went wrong.
I have a modified Oklahoma Joe smoker. It was a 5 hr smoke. Kept the temp from 210 - 240 the entire time and pulled the meat off the smoker at 205 degrees. Any help understanding where I went wrong is greatly appreciated.I made a nice demi-glace that was wasted on the dry ribs.
You may have gone to high for the finished temp. Did you probe for tenderness, or just cook to 205? You want a probe to slid into the meat like a knife into soft butter. That could happen as low as 195*, but probably a bit higher.
No I just cooked to 205 thinking that was the sweet spot for short ribs. I am going to try again this weekend and wanted to make sure I correct whatever I did wrong. They were so tough and dry you couldn't even eat them. I am surprised they were that bad.
If you want to braise them in the demi-glaze try tosssing them in the dutch oven after they hit about 170 on the smoker, that will definitely help your issue.
As Ron said, you should always check probe tenderness- tough and dry at 205 seems a bit off- but did you cook a slab of them or individual ribs? and did you use select, choice, or prime grade shorties? a 5 hour smoke seems a little low for short ribs especially for those lower temps, although single cut ribs do generally cook faster. May be a stupid question, but did you check them all to make sure they were 205 or in that region? sometimes smaller ribs cook faster than the larger guys etc.
These were select single ribs. most were the same size and 2 were a lot smaller which I pulled off earlier. All were dry as a bone and tough as nails. I will try again using probe test and try to get them uncut. They were all out of uncut but I asked them if they could do it and butcher said NP.
I would say that you should try to find the highest grade that you can. This will help dramatically. Like others have said, I would not take it over 200 F. 195 to 200 F is the sweet spot I would think for Beef Ribs. Of course probe tender is the ultimate goal.
And those bones can throw off your thermo. Try to place the TIP of the thermo into the center of the meat. Any closer to those bones and you risk an inaccurate reading because those bones are transferring the heat more effectively than the meat is.
And another step that is, I think, helpful ; is to dry brine. This will help the ribs retain moisture once you start cooking.
Lastly, don't beat yourself up over this one. It's one cook in a huge line of cooks your gonna do. It maybe possible that you just got a bad batch of ribs. As Meathead says, "Meats are not widgets" (or something like that) Point being, sometimes you get a shitty deal, most of the time you don't. This could just be an outlier and you did nothing wrong. Take the pointers here and try try try again.
Good Luck man. Let us know how it goes. Pictures are a huge help as well. Then we can see what your working with!!
ok, that helps! If select is the best grade you can get in your area, another thing to do is to try to get the ribs in a 3 bone plate, like you mentioned. That way, you're cooking a larger hunk of meat rather than 3 smaller ones. Trust me, once you get them nailed down you will not regret it! Shorties are the best!
Select grade beef has very little intra-muscular fat. Intra-muscular fat helps keep meat moist and contributes to flavor, so you want the highest grade you can find to get the most fat in the meat.
I was very excited to cook my first short ribs on my smoker and was let down the minute I sunk my teeth into the first bite. It was a complete failure. Dry and Tough.....not sure what went wrong.
Sorry that your cook went awry. It happens, don't feel bad. It looks like you're already getting plenty of good advice, with likely more to come.
I have a modified Oklahoma Joe smoker. It was a 5 hr smoke. Kept the temp from 210 - 240 the entire time and pulled the meat off the smoker at 205 degrees. Any help understanding where I went wrong is greatly appreciated.I made a nice demi-glace that was wasted on the dry ribs.
Please tell me more about your OK Joe's... Highland, or Longhorn?
What mods? I have the baffle/tuning plate in my Highland, seems to keep chamber temps pretty neck-n-neck, within a small margin. Also, I have door gaskets, and relocated thermos.
Where in the cooker did you do your ribs? Just wonderin', I'm learning mine, as well.
Did you use a water pan? We might as well learn what works well (or not) on these pits together...
I generally get these in a 4-rib plate and treat them like a brisket for the most part. Dry-brine overnight, cook until probe tender. I wrap but late in the cook, around 175F or so. I would start checking for probe tender at about 190F or so. Taking single ribs to 205F sounds like a recipe for dry and tough. And yes, Choice or better for ribs. You can get away with Select for brisket, but I would hate to try that for ribs.
I also one of the newer OK Joe smokers, and it is still in the COS category IMO. Nothing wrong with that, just gotta know and accept that. I always cook almost as far from the firebox as I can get. There can be a substantial range in the temp from right to left. A waterpan close to the firebox can have a dramatic effect on the cook temp.
Don't despair. I have had the same luck with short ribs from time to time. Same recipe, same temp, same grade. It can just happen. When they turn out the way you like they are fantastic. The problem is that you have spent a long time getting them there and all of the sudden you have a dry piece of meat. You can reconstitute them in a crock pot but it's not the same. I will say that my cooks for beef ribs at the same cooking temps take longer to get the meat up to your temps. Part of the fun when you get it right is telling the stories about the times you got it wrong. The advice folks gave above is all good.
I was very excited to cook my first short ribs on my smoker and was let down the minute I sunk my teeth into the first bite. It was a complete failure. Dry and Tough.....not sure what went wrong.
I have a modified Oklahoma Joe smoker. It was a 5 hr smoke. Kept the temp from 210 - 240 the entire time and pulled the meat off the smoker at 205 degrees. Any help understanding where I went wrong is greatly appreciated.I made a nice demi-glace that was wasted on the dry ribs.
How are you measuring temps and what was the weather like? What are the mods you're running and how much meat did you have on the smoker?
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
I agree with boftx. I'd recommend wrapping them during the stall or immediately after. Although I do take mine up to 205ish and then do a cambro hold. I think wrapping them in foil, double layer and tightly, stops the formation of bark and concentrates on delishifying the interior, which it sounds to me like your bark just overtook your meat.
Thanks for all the feedback. It was a tough blow for sure but ready to try again this weekend with a full slab. To give some more info I ended up reviving them last night by braising for 3 hrs and they were tender however my goal is to get them this way on the smoker. My temp stalled at about 165 so I put them in a tin and covered with foil. I had a water pan right next to the smoke box the whole cook. It was a little windy out and I live on the water. Temps was about 70 degrees out and I dry brined for about 4 hrs and used the Big Bad Beef Rub and served with a demi.
The mods I did to my Oklahoma Joe Highland is full baffle plate, heat temp caulk on all seams and high temp gaskets on the doors. I also added a second dial thermometer. I have an instant read thermo pop thermometer as well as a digital two probe maverick. With these mods, my temps are very consistent across the grate. I cooked in the middle of the smoker with about 2lbs of ribs single cut. I have about a 5-8 degree difference across the grate and about the same above.
This weekend I will work on finding a full slab of better quality meat and shoot for lower temps. Going to also pull them again at the stall and put in a tin covered with foil and check for probe tenderness. Also going to dry brine overnight this time.
I really appreciate the feedback and will report back this weekend with the results and pics.
Comment