BBQ short ribs, feedback please!

[HorseDoctor]

A few thoughts on what happened:
Grass fed beef is very often quite lean. May taste good in some uses but often does not lend itself well to low & slow BBQ. Much similar to how venison (also very lean) does not lend itself to L&S BBQ. It just does not have the fat/marbling that keeps it from getting dry. Think brisket flat... tends to be dry.

I cook beef short ribs at 275F. so it's a quicker cook than 225 for sure (and shorter stall). I also cook to "probe tender" rather than to a temperature, but finish temp is usually in the 200 ballpark. Not "fall off the bone" but should pull free with a gentle bite. Twelve 2 rib sections that weighed only 7.5# must have been very short pieces. Seems like the 4 rib slabs of chuck short ribs that I favor weigh 4-5 #per slab??? Shorter chunks have more surface area for bark but I would think also more surface to dry out???

Overall, the type of beef, time, and size will all play a part in your dry result... Change something(s) and try again! Good luck!

[wssrstrm]

Hi All,

Cooked up a mountain of beef short ribs over the weekend (mostly) following Meathead's recipe (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...ef-ribs-recipe) and would love some feedback. [EDIT: pre-cook photo added!]

THE MEAT:
12x 2-rib sections (about 7.5lbs total) organic grassfed short ribs from local farm, delivered frozen (don't know how marbling maps to USDA grades, but this meat is always high quality and delicious)

THE RIG:
Was using 22" Weber Kettle Performer, with Slow 'N' Sear Plus, ThermoWorks Smoke thermometer, Javelin Pro instant read thermometer, Kingsford Original charcoal briquettes, mesquite wood chunks

THE GOOD:
- Beautiful black bark
- Thick, gorgeous smoke ring
- Perfect flavor
- Didn't have any problem keeping indriect zone temp at around 225 for the length of the cook

THE BAD:
- Most were pretty dry! These are supposed to be fall-off-the-bone tender?
- Had to really *rip* these bad boys off the bone
- Hit a very long stall at around 180. Eventually, most of the 2-rib sections pulled thru it, but three which were not even the biggest did not and i had to finish them in the oven
- ThermoWorks smoke meat probe was too long for the shortribs! Much of the metal probe was exposed to the ambient air, resulting in that probe chronically overreporting the temperature of the meat for the length of the cook. I had to rely on a javelin pro instant read to actually take the temp of the meat.
- The stall was really long, and because of the thermometer issues, I was hovering and pulling everything off the grill the second it hit 203. Even so, I feel like they were overcooked.