Can you believe football season is finally here?! Sure there were some college football and NFL preseason games last week, but this is the first week of the season where every single game matters. The best way to get ready for the big game is with a great tailgate party, fun games, and great food like smoked beef chuck ribs.
Some of my favorite tailgate meals include Pulled Pork Sliders, Crispy Chicken Wings, and Bacon Wrapped Meatballs. Another meal that is definitely handheld, and pairs perfectly with beer, is Smoked Beef Ribs.
Table of Contents
Smoked Beef Ribs - Selecting the Right Beef Ribs
Selecting the right beef ribs can be a challenge if you don't know what you're looking for.
There are three different cuts of beef ribs:
- Beef Back Ribs - Beef Back Ribs are what you will commonly see in a local grocery store. These ribs are the ribs that attach to prime rib. When a butcher removes these, very little meat is left for you to eat. They're typically very affordable, but not ideal for the low and slow style of cooking we prefer.
- Chuck Ribs - Chuck Ribs are much meatier, and a rack typically consists of 4 bones.
- Plate Ribs - Plate ribs are much bigger than chuck ribs and very difficult to find in stores. One day I'll get my hands on some, but until then, Chuck Ribs are the way to go! If you are smoking beef plate ribs, the method I'm outlining here will still work great!
How to Prepare Beef Ribs
Preparing beef ribs is simple. If you didn't get the ribs trimmed, you'll want to do that first. Beef Chuck Ribs will have a fat cap on top, and a layer of silverskin. You want to remove that silverskin. Otherwise, the rub won't penetrate down into the meat.
Leave the silverskin on the underside of the ribs. It will help keep the ribs from falling apart while they are cooking.
What Kind of Rub Should I Use on Beef Chuck Ribs?
You don't need anything extravagant for smoked beef chuck ribs. In fact, I use my own rub on beef ribs and the final result is always out of this world.
Rub the entire surface of the beef chuck ribs with a small amount of olive oil, and then generously apply my beef rub you just made to the entire surface of the meat.
How to Smoke Beef Ribs
I like cooking food low and slow, but I wanted to try something a little different this time and smoked these beef chuck ribs at 275 degrees. I probed them every hour after they had cooked for 4 hours, and they hit the magic number of 203 degrees after 6 hours on the smoker.
When the ribs hit 203 I wrapped them with foil and put them in the cooler to rest for one hour.
The end result was one of the best meals I've ever made on my smoker, and I can't wait to make these for the next tailgate party.
So there you have it, my favorite handheld meal that is perfect for a tailgate party. Are you going to make these for your next tailgate party? I love smoking beef ribs! Have you made beef chuck ribs before? What do you differently? Let me know in the comments.
Smoked Beef Chuck Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 rack Beef Chuck Ribs trimmed (approx 8 lbs)
- 1 Tbsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Garlic
- 1 tsp Fine Ground Espresso
- 1 tsp cayenne optional
Instructions
- Rub the ribs with olive oil, and then generously apply the rub to the surface of the meat
- Smoke the ribs at 275 degrees for 6 hours, or until the internal temperature hits 203 degrees
- Wrap the ribs in foil and let them rest for one hour in a well-insulated cooler
- Slice the ribs between each bone and serve!
Judith Jones says
First time smoking beef ribs and they were amazing, and so easy. I have also used your smoked tomahawk recipe so I knew this would be great. Thanks
Karen says
We LOVE this recipe, however... We were buying Beef Chuck Ribs at Walmart (please don't judge...), but they are no longer selling them there 🙁 In a search for a new source, no one seems to know what Chuck Ribs are. I used Short Ribs tonight, but they are definitely NOT what we were getting from WM. Please, can you provide a better description of Chuck Ribs so that we can check with a butcher? Thanks so much!