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Tender, fall-off-the-bone and juicy, these Smoked Beef Ribs are an absolute showstopper and might be my favourite bite in all of BBQ! They’re rubbed in a delicious, homemade spice blend, smoked to perfection using a fool-proof 3-2-1 Method, and finished with some sweet and sticky Uncle Ronny’s Barbecue sauce.
Why You’ll Love These Smoked Beef Ribs
- Unbeatable Flavour: The combination of tender beef, spice blend, and natural wood smoke creates incredible depth of flavour.
- Minimal ingredients: You need only a handful of ingredients, smoke, patience and my signature BBQ sauce to make restaurant quality BBQ at home.
- Easy: The 3-2-1 Method for smoking ribs is mostly hands-off and about as fool-proof as you can get. It works for beef ribs or pork ribs.
- Fall-Off-the-Bone: If you like your smoked beef ribs tender, juicy and falling off the bone, this is the recipe for you! Perfect results every time!
Ingredients You Need for Smoked Beef Ribs
- Beef Back Ribs: These are different than plate ribs or short ribs. They have longer bones, less meat on the bone, and cook more quickly. They are most often sold pre-sliced but can also be found as a whole rack.
- Spice Blend: I used a combination of whole coriander seeds, celery seed, paprika, salt and pepper here. It gives the meat an incredible and unique flavour profile that sets them apart from most store-bought spice blends.
- Yellow mustard: I like to yellow mustard as the binder. A binder refers to any liquid applied to the protein before the seasoning. The purpose is mostly to give the seasoning something to stick onto. I often use yellow mustard as a binder because it gives me a good visual indication of how evenly it has been applied. Some people like to use their favourite hot sauce or just some neutral flavoured oil. You can also skip the binder altogether and still get a great result. You just have to make sure you do a good job of seasoning the ribs and making sure it doesn’t fall off before you start your cook.
- Beef Tallow: This is optional but I like to brush the butcher paper with some melted beef tallow before wrapping. This helps moisten the paper so that it’s easier to fold over the ribs. It also imparts more beef flavour into the ribs as they cook. Another option is to lay down a few pats of butter and a drizzle of honey for extra sweetness.
- Side Dish x Uncle Ronny’s BBQ Sauce: NO SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED! Only kidding, use your favourite BBQ sauce or make my homemade version. But really, Uncle Ronny’s will take these Smoked Beef Ribs to another level.
Uncle Ronny’s Barbecue Sauce
BBQ sauce is the final frontier of healthy condiments and up until now there’s never been one quite like this. It’s the perfect balance of smoky, sweet, spicy, tangy and deliciously bold flavours without the refined sugars, preservatives or artificial colourings. It’s everything you expect and demand from your favourite BBQ sauce but sweetened with honey and made with all-natural ingredients that you can feel good about serving to your family and friends.
Uncle Ronny’s Barbecue Sauce is my love letter to a cuisine and tradition that has long captured my heart and I’m honoured to partner with Side Dish and my amazing friend Alex Snodgrass to bring it to life. I sincerely hope you love it as much as we do!
What is the 3-2-1 Method for Smoked Beef Ribs?
The 3-2-1 Method refers to the technique used to cook ribs low and slow so that they develop flavour without drying out. First, the ribs are smoked at a low temperature for 3 hours. They’re then wrapped in foil or butcher paper and steamed for 2 hours. Finally, they’re brushed with a sauce or glaze and grilled for 1 more hour. Each stage of the 3-2-1 method serves a different purpose.
I should also mention that the 3-2-1 Method only really applies to ribs cooked on a smoker or grill that is setup to be used as a smoker (i.e. indirect heat and wood chips packet). If you want to cook them in the oven, you can follow this recipe for tender, juicy, and fall-off-the-bone ribs.
For the first 3 hours, the seasoned ribs are cooked uncovered over a low heat with heavy smoke rolling. This initial phase is crucial and should not be rushed if you want to develop a deep, smokey flavour and a beautiful pink smoke ring.
Step 2 is when you introduce moisture into the ribs so that they don’t dry out while cooking. The goal is to slowly raise the internal temperature and break down the collagen and muscular fibres in the ribs. The most common (and easiest) way to do this is by wrapping the ribs in foil and allowing them to steam on the grill. I like to first wrap them in butcher paper or parchment paper before wrapping them in foil. This creates a barrier between the meat and foil, which can potentially leach into the food or tear open, releasing precious steam and liquid.
Finally, the smoked ribs are returned back onto the grill and lacquered in a sauce or glaze of choice for around 1 hour. Depending on how you like your ribs cooked and whether you prefer a lot of sauce or only a little, this final step can actually only take 15 to 30 minutes.
For Best Results!
- Choose the right ribs: You can use beef back ribs, beef plate ribs or even beef short ribs. It really depends on what’s available near you and what you like.
- Trim excess fat: While some fat is essential for flavour, removing large, hard fat deposits on the underside of the bones will help with even cooking and less greasy ribs.
- Binder helps seasoning stick: A thin coat of mustard or oil will ensure the rub adheres well to the meat and doesn’t affect the taste.
- Maintain steady temperature: Aim for 250F throughout the cook for tender, juicy ribs that cook in 6 hours or less.
- Use a water pan: If you’re cooking on a conventional grill with a foil packet of soaked wood chips, I recommend adding a water pan to the indirect heat side of the grill. This will help create steam and prevent the ribs from drying out. If using a Traeger Grill, a water pan isn’t as necessary because the grill uses indirect heat and a less dry environment.
- Double Wrap: I like to wrap the ribs once in butcher paper or parchment paper and then a second time in foil. The butcher paper is to prevent the foil from making contact with the ribs and also to trap the rendered liquid in case the foil gets torn. This is important because the wrapping stage of the 3-2-1 method requires steam to break down the connective tissue and keep the meat juicy.
What Are Beef Back Ribs?
Beef back ribs are the ribs that come from the upper part of the cow’s ribcage, specifically from the section where prime rib or ribeye steaks are cut. When the butcher removes the ribeye or prime rib, what’s left behind are the back ribs.
Beef back ribs are different than plate ribs or short ribs, which have much more meat on the bone. They’re usually more affordable, generally thinner than plate ribs because most of the meat is carved off with the ribeye or prime rib, and tend to cook more quickly.
Beef back ribs also have much less meat on top of the bone than plate ribs. But as the meat smokes, it will shrink and converge towards the centre of the bone, making for very delicious and hearty bites of BBQ.
I personally love beef back ribs and think they’re an excellent alternative to pork ribs or plate ribs.
Ingredient Substitution Ideas
- Beef ribs: Can’t find beef back ribs? You can substitute beef short ribs, pork side ribs or pork back ribs.
- Binder: Instead of mustard, try olive oil or your favourite hot sauce.
- Rub: Feel free to use your favourite BBQ spice blend instead of the homemade rub.
What to Serve with Smoked Beef Ribs
- Serve with extra Uncle Ronny’s BBQ sauce for dipping.
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Dill Pickle Potato Salad
- Steamed Jasmine Rice
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Recipe FAQs
The 3-2-1 method used here takes a total of 6 hours at around 250F. The result is a very tender, fall-off-the-bone smoked beef rib.
With the 3-2-1 Method, you will need to wrap the ribs for the second part of the technique. I like to first wrap them in a sheet of butcher paper or parchment paper and then a second time in aluminum foil. The butcher paper is necessary to prevent the meat from coming into contact with the foil, which can potentially leach into the food, and will also prevent the meat from potentially scorching. The foil is to trap the steam and make the meat more tender.
I like hickory and mesquite wood pellets, which deliver stronger smoke flavour that compliments the richness of beef. Fruit wood pellets, such as apple or cherry, provide a milder, sweeter smoke.
You can let the ribs rest for 10 minutes before serving to allow for some of the juices to redistribute into the meat, but unlike a brisket, it’s not absolutely necessary. The 3-2-1 Method will deliver a very tender and juicy finished product.
Smoked Beef Ribs – 3-2-1 Method
Ingredients
- 5 pounds beef back ribs, or 2 full racks
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon celery seed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- ¼ cup beef tallow, melted
- 1 cup Uncle Ronny’s Barbecue Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger Grill to 250F. If using a conventional grill, setup a 2-zone fire for indirect heat.
- Pat the ribs dry with paper towel and trim off excess fat. Place the ribs meat-side down and use a spoon or paring knife to scrape off one edge of the membrane. Grab hold of the membrane with a piece of paper towel and slowly peel it back until it is all removed.
- Add the coriander seeds to a mortar and pestle and lightly crush them until coarsely ground. Add the paprika, celery seed, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Evenly massage both sides of the ribs with mustard and generously season with the spice rub. Transfer the ribs to the top rack of the Traeger, bone-side down. If using a conventional grill, place ribs over indirect heat and place a foil packet with soaked wood chips over direct heat. Close the grill door and smoke the ribs for 3 hours.
- Prepare two individual sheets of butcher paper and two individual sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil (large enough to individually wrap each rack of ribs). Brush each sheet of butcher paper with melted beef tallow. Lay each rack of ribs on top of each sheet of butcher paper, bone side-up, and wrap tightly. Wrap each packet again with aluminum foil. Return the wrapped ribs to the Traeger or conventional grill, bone-side up, and cook for 2 hours or until the thickest part of the ribs register between 203F and 205F and is probe-tender.
- Carefully unwrap the foil and tear open the tops of the butcher paper, reserving any liquid in the bottom of the packets, and expose the ribs, meat-side up. Crimp the edges of the foil to create a boat. Lightly brush the ribs with Uncle Ronny’s Barbecue sauce and return them to the Traeger or grill. Cook for one more hour, brushing with a thin coat of barbecue sauce every 20 minutes, until the ribs are tacky and turn mahogany in colour. Remove the ribs from the grill, brush with a final coat of barbecue sauce and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About the Author
Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
