What should a correctly cooked beef rib look like?

[Smoldering Flea]

Just cooked my first plate rib the other day and I wasn't sure if it turned out exactly as it should (there were some overnight cooking issues that aren't worth going into). In particular, when i've seen pictures online or on youtube, i see something that looks like:


by contrast, mine looked something like

Texture/taste seemed totally fine (wagyu-grade i'm sure didn't hurt) but the meat definitely seemed to have more of a stringy / shreddy texture which you can sort of see above. I realize part of this might just be whether the rib is cut truly across teh grain (i.e. when i cut a different rib it looked more like the first photo), but the meat definitely seemed to want to be separate along its fibers. Did i cook it incorrectly (i'm guessing too long?) because this seemed more like "pot roast" in final product than "brisket on a bone." Or maybe i'm just a lousy carver.

[RonB]

Maybe a tad bit overcooked, but what you have looks like a smoked chucky ready to shred - nothin' at all wrong with yours

[Smoldering Flea]

You described it better than i did. The final product seemed to want to be more pulled pork shreddy than i expected.

[Mr. Bones]

Squintin dang dang hard, here, (on accounta I'm OLD ), not cause yer pics, an I cain't rightly reckon that I cain see thing one in this world to make one think, even in th back of one's mind, that they might have done less than Superb, makin them Ribs...


That bein said, I only have some experience, not any Accreditations, so I brought along a Grain of salt, fer ya to ingest, 'long wit myself, Brother...

[Rod]

I've only done them about three times. The first time they turned out unbelievably good. The second time they were as was said, "ready to shred", but still super good. Both times they were prime from Costco.

[Dr. Pepper]

@Smoldering Flea Your rib looks pretty good to me.

[ComfortablyNumb]

And Dr. Pepper is doctor, if anyone knows how ribs should look it's him!

[FireMan]

First off there is one thing wrong in yer description cuz they are WIBS not what you called em. Second, picky, picky, picky, they look eatin fine ta me. Next.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

1. photo editing is prevalent, especially on food websites... sadly, many undercook meat for texture/size reasons and then post process to enhance smoke ring or bark darkness or even add a juiciness effect. Not saying that's what the difference is between the first pic and your pic, just something to think about 2. did it taste good? That's all that matters.

[tbob4]

My guess is that because they were Waygu you went a little over in temp BUT because they were Waygu every bite tasted as tender and as good as a lesser grade. I enjoy day 1 for ribs and I strive for photo 1. They really don’t look like photo 1 most of the time. Mine are usually darker and shorter from the end of the bone. Day 2 is where the magic happens with stews, tacos, hash etc - even strain reheats with potatoes. Your day 1 photo looks better than my day 2s and as good as most of my day 1s.

[Grapefarmer]

Right on ! Looks a little over cooked. Beef ribs are one of my favorites and #1 is what I strive for

[ComfortablyNumb]

What's with the "overcooked" comments? They look under-ate to me.

[bbqLuv]

I would pair them ribs with PBR any day. You done did good.

[texastweeter]

Was your cooker a stick burner per chance, and did you skip the crutch? Looks like your smoke ring goes all the way through it. Maybe some nitrates in your rub? Ring is just aesthetics. How did it taste?

[Smoldering Flea]

No crutch. 2 hour rest unwrapped in cooler.

[texastweeter]

Just looks a tad over cooked. Nobody would complain if you fed that to them. What temps and how long did you cook em? Did you pull when probe tender?

[Smoldering Flea]

Was an overnight cook; set alarm at 203 and was probe tender immediately. Next time will check earlier / more frequently. sounds like should have been pulled earlier. lesson learned!

[Mr. Bones]

Late to th query, but , in a Sincere attempt to answer yer question., posited, above:

A Correctly Cooked Beef Rib should look like Heaven, on a plate...


Reckon, ya done jus fine, from whereabouts I set....

[Smoldering Flea]

Beef Rib redemption
cooked another plate of beef ribs. Also SRF. This time relied more on probe test than hitting a set temperature (203). this resulted in pulling at 190 degrees. Despite the lower temperature it was a slightly longer cook at 6.5 hours partially, I believe, due to a larger cut adn partially due to average temperatures ~15 degrees lower. This seemed to be more of what i was expecting.

Full disclosure, this was cooked in a HB vs. a BGE, but i think the bigger difference vs. the original post was that this was pulled at a lower temp than the first example. A few takeaways:

i) rely on probe test over temperature
ii) It seems like fattier cuts might be "done" at a lower temperature?
iii) this was almost too fatty. While the appearance seemed to be in-line with what i was hoping for and the texture was more "spongey" than "shreddy", my wife preferred the "shreddy" texture. I believe this was because in that case, even though it was (i believe) overcooked, that helped render out some of the fat. It was so fatty to begin with that overcooking was not a big deal. However, tonight's example was just over-the-top unctuous. I've read that even in non-wagyu examples this cut can be a bit rich; this rib was over the top. would love to try a plate rib from a prime cow.

for those who are wondering, the pup seemed to enjoy both examples without preference nor prejudice

[Bkhuna]

Trust the pup.

[58limited]

This is what properly cooked beef ribs should look like:



But seriously, I didn't see anything wrong with either of the cooks you did.

[Smoldering Flea]

Still working on it. It’s so rich, a little bit goes a long way