Learn how to smoke a beef ribs on a Pit Boss pellet grill following our detailed instructions and recipe below!
Smoked Beef Short Ribs are amazingly fun and delicious BBQ and especially easy to cook on a Pit Boss pellet grill.
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Purchasing Beef Ribs
Make sure to go to a real butcher shop, not your local chain store, and buy an uncut, thick, meaty, square looking slab of beef short ribs, sometimes called plate short ribs.
You DO NOT want Crosscut, Korean-style, or Flanken Cut, as this style of butchering cuts across the bones leaving you with tiny segments of bone surrounded by meat.
Great for braising and Korean style grilling, and while you CAN smoke them if they are butchered this way, they are harder to deal with and not as fun to eat or present as a full size beef rib.
You also DO NOT want Beef BACK ribs. These come from the upper "back" of the cow and are leaner and longer and don't hold up as well to low and slow smoking. They are exactly where your ribeye steaks and prime rib roasts attach.
Beef Short Ribs, what we want, are well...shorter...and have the meat primarily ON TOP of the bone vs. beef back ribs that have the meat in between the bones.
What you want ideally is an uncut 3 bone slab of beef short ribs that weighs about 5-7 lbs uncooked.
This is perfect for smoking on the Pit Boss pellet grill.
Trim the Ribs
A rack of beef short ribs is likely not going to have a thick fat cap like you would find on a beef brisket or pork butt.
So, you don't have to do too much trimming other than to remove the small layer of silverskin you'll see running over the top. Make sure to remove this so your seasoning can actually make contact with the meat below it.
Use a good sharp boning knife like our favorite from iMarku.
- Made of high-carbon German stainless steel to provide maximum sharpness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance. Properly balanced to allow precise close-to-bone slicing
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Also, make sure to leave the membrane on the bottom of beef short ribs INTACT.
Unlike our pork ribs where we remove the bottom membrane, on beef ribs we need to leave this membrane in place.
If you remove the bottom membrane the beef ribs can fall apart from each other and then the beef can separate from the rib bones as well.
This will leave you with an unpresentable mess rather than a nice intact rack of smoked beef ribs.
Seasoning
Unlike our Pit Boss Pork Ribs, which pair well with sugary BBQ rubs, beef and beef ribs are usually better suited for more straightforward salt and pepper style seasoning.
You can add a little cayenne for extra heat or garlic and onion powder for additional flavor, but go easy on the rubs that are heavy in sugar content.
We are big fans of Bad Byron's Butt Rub Seasoning on smoked beef, especially brisket and chuck roast because it is heavy on flavor, and has no sugar.
We use it exclusively on our Hot and Fast Version of our Brisket, because we don't want any sugar to burn.
- Try Bad Byron Butt Rub on fish, vegetables, potatoes, potatoes, eggs, popcorn and much more!
- All natural and gluten-free
Use only a small amount of cooking oil to help the rub adhere, if any at all.
There is a LOT of fat in these smoked beef ribs that will melt out and help form the beautiful bark we are looking for without the need for additional fats and oils.
Be generous with the amount of rub you put on. Then you can wrap the beef ribs in plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator until you are ready to smoke them.
This can even be done the night before to save some time the next day and to let the salt in the rub fully penetrate the beef ribs.
Best Wood Pellets
Mesquite and hickory will give a very aggressive smoke flavor and should not be used on long smokes like this. Save them for your quick cooks like with seafood and steaks.
Alternatively, you can also go for a milder smoke flavor by choosing oak or fruitwood pellets. Pecan, apple, beech, alder, and cherry all give great results on beef ribs.
Don't forget you can mix them up too to create your own custom blend.
That's one of the great things about a Pit Boss pellet grill!
For a straightforward smoke right out of the bag, we are big fans of Bear Mountain Gourmet Blend Pellets.
- GOURMET BLEND: Gourmet Blend BBQ pellets add a sweet, smoky flavor to your favorite red meat, poultry, fish, pork, lamb, or vegetable dish
- ALL NATURAL: Made from 100 percent all-natural hardwoods with no flavorings, fillers, or additives
For the best results, store your unused pellets in a sealed room temperature container like this 20 lb pellet container rather than in the Pit Boss hopper outside.
Pellets do not last forever, but will definitely last a LOT longer if stored indoors in a quality airtight container.
- Store up to 20 pounds of hardwood pellets in the heavy-duty plastic pellet bucket.
- Weatherproof, airtight lid protects pellets from the elements, keeping them fresh and dry
- Wire-mesh filter separates wood dust from the pellets for a clean burn
- Heavy-duty plastic scoop to easily transfer pellets
Start the Pit Boss
We have previously covered how to season a Pit Boss, how to start a Pit Boss, as well as how to troubleshoot the smoke level of your pellet grill.
If you need a good overview on how to use your Pit Boss for the first time, check those articles out first!
Make sure your grates are clean. We use the bristle-free BBQ Daddy brush to clean our grates after each use.
- Flexible Stainless Steel Fibers
- Water Activated Grill Cleaning Brush
- Easy to Clean
- Replaceable Grill Brush Head
Fill your hopper with pellets. Turn on the Pit Boss and let it go through the startup cycle.
Cooking Temperature
Set the temperature to 275°F after preheating and let the Pit Boss stabilize at this temperature.
While you CAN smoke beef ribs at 200-225°F, we are going to speed up the process just slightly, we've found without losing any moisture at this slightly higher temperature.
Cooking Time
Put your beef ribs in the cooking chamber and let the pellet grill do its thing!
Place the beef ribs in the cooking chamber with the bones pointing left and right, not up and down.
Put the thicker end to the right if there is one, which is normally the hotter side of a Pit Boss pellet grill.
Always use insulated BBQ gloves when rotating or moving the beef ribs around.
You may need to rotate 180° every hour or so to get even cooking and make sure the bones pull away evenly on both sides of the beef ribs.
Smoked Beef Ribs will take about 60-75 minutes per pound on a Pit Boss pellet grill at 275°F.
So a 5 lb rack of beef short plate ribs may take 5-7 hours.
However, you must always cook to temperature, not to time.
Target Internal Temperature
We are going to wrap our beef ribs in butcher paper when they hit about 180°F internal temperature.
This will ensure a nice crusty bark forms before we wrap.
Then we will continue cooking until they reach 200°F internally, much like a beef brisket.
Smoked beef short ribs are best served when cooked to 200°F internally, then allowed to rest.
You'll want to monitor the internal temperature of the beef ribs as they progress through the cook.
If you don't yet own an instant read thermometer, it's going to be hard to really know exactly when the ribs need to be wrapped or when they are done cooking on the Pit Boss.
You'll want a good leave in probe thermometer like the ThermoPro as well as a second instant read thermometer to spot check as you get close to pulling the beef ribs off the Pit Boss.
- 300ft remote range
- Oven safe with highly accurate stainless steel meat probe and oven/ grill/ smoker temperature probe, to allow you to monitor both food and ambient temperature simultaneously
- Food temp & HI/LOW ambient temp alarm
- Highly accurate temp range 14˚f to 572˚F; Displays both Fahrenheit and Celsius
If you don't yet own an instant read thermometer, ThermoPro makes a good one of these too.
While we have used and recommended ThermoPro for years, lately we have also become big fans of the MEATER leave in thermometer.
It is extremely accurate and has an incredible 165 foot Bluetooth range and works right with your smartphone so you don't need to carry a separate controller around with you like many other remote thermometers require.
It's got a great free app that is constantly being updated and even has an algorithm to predict how much longer your type of meat will take to cook based on cooking temperature, target temperature, current internal temperature.
It's like a GPS for your meat!
- Dual temperature sensors enable you to monitor both the internal meat temperature (up to 212°F) and the ambient/external temperature (up to 527°F) at the same time.
- Dishwasher safe
The Texas Crutch
One way to speed up your cooking time and increase your Pit Boss smoked beef rib tenderness is by using a tried and tested barbecue technique known as the "Texas Crutch".
Don't worry, it's not complicated.
Typically, we wrap big cuts of meat like ribs and pork shoulder in foil but for beef ribs, where we are trying to keep that nice crusty bark intact, we are going to wrap in pink butcher paper instead.
- TENDER MEAT
- FOOD GRADE, SMOKER SAFE
- HEAVY-DUTY
- UNWAXED
Pink butcher paper still tenderize the meat without steaming it and cause us to lose that nicely formed bark.
That's also why we are waiting until the beef ribs hit 180°F before wrapping. This gives us extra time for that bark to stiffen and set up on the meat.
So be patient and wait for them to hit the right temps.
Beef Short ribs aren't cheap, and you don't want to go through all of this just to end up with mushy meat because you rushed it.
After wrapping, replace your thermometer, or spot check with an instant read, and place the ribs back on the Pit Boss, and let them continue to cook.
Leave the beef ribs wrapped until they gets to your target temperature range of 200°F and then remove them from the smoker.
With pink butcher paper, you can leave them wrapped right like they are while they rest for about 30 minutes.
Resting the Meat
Just like we let our beef roasts and steaks rest before slicing them, we need to let this massive piece of meat rest for a little while before slicing into individual ribs.
Give the smoked beef ribs about 30 minutes to rest and let the meat relax and the juices redistribute before slicing.
You can leave it right in the butcher paper to help keep it moist while it rests.
Slicing and Serving
The easiest way to slice your smoked beef ribs is to turn them upside down so you can see the bones and slice evenly between them
Make sure to use a good meat slicing knife so that your slices cut cleanly and don't pull and tear at that now delicate smoked beef rib meat.
We are big fans of the Mercer Slicing Knife. It works great for slicing meats like brisket and ham.
Unlike pork ribs, you'll find that sometimes a SINGLE smoked beef short ribs is enough to feed a hungry adult.
Especially if you serve it along with some of our famous sticky smoked sweet potatoes, smoked asparagus, or balsamic smoked carrots.
Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Pit Boss Smoked Beef Ribs
Equipment
- Pit Boss Pellet Grill
- Wood pellets for Pit Boss preferably oak, alder, apple, and/or cherry
- Aluminum Foil Trays
- Plastic Wrap
- Empty Spray Bottle
- Internal Meat Thermometer
- Pink Butcher Paper
- Large Cutting Board
- Meat Slicing Knife
- Large Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1 3 Bone Section Beef Short Plate Ribs
Savory Beef Rib Rub
- ½ cup Kosher Salt use more or less if needed depending on preference.
- ¼ cup Smoked paprika
- ¼ cup Black pepper
- 2 tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 tablespoon Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne powder
Beef Rib Spritz
- 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Cup Water
Instructions
Prepare the Beef Ribs
- Trim the silverskin and any excess fat off the top of the beef ribs.1 3 Bone Section Beef Short Plate Ribs
- Do not trim or pull away the membrane on the bottom of the beef ribs.
Apply the Rub
- Mix the rub ingredients well and apply generously to the entire top and sides of the beef ribs.½ cup Kosher Salt, ¼ cup Smoked paprika, ¼ cup Black pepper, 2 tablespoon Garlic Powder, 1 tablespoon Onion powder, 1 teaspoon Cayenne powder
- Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 hours while you prepare the grill, or even overnight to allow the salt and rub to penetrate the meat.
Start the Pit Boss Pellet Grill
- Remove the fire pot from the bottom of the Pit Boss and clean out any ashes left over from the last cook. Replace it and make sure it is secured in place with the clips on either side.
- Add your chosen pellets to the hopper, start the Pit Boss pellet grill and put it on the "Smoke" setting.
- If there are no pellets in the auger, hold the "Prime" button until you hear pellets begin falling in the fire pot. This will speed up the auger to prime it full of pellets before you start preheating.
- Once the Pit boss begins to produce thick white smoke, let it run for about 5-7 minutes until the smoke turns more of a clearish blue color. This means the fire rod has fully heated up to burn the pellets more cleanly.
- Next, set the temperature to preheat the Pit Boss pellet grill to 350°F. We will drop this temperature before we start cooking.
- Fill an aluminum pan with water pan if you want to add extra moisture, and place it on the far left side of the Pit Boss pellet grill. Place a disposable bucket liner in the grease bucket as well if you want to limit cleanup later.
- Once the Pit Boss has come up to 350°F, drop the temperature on the control panel to 275° and clean the grill grates with a good grill brush and close the lid.
Smoke the Beef Ribs on the Pit Boss
- Remove the plastic wrap and place the beef ribs on the Pit Boss with the bones running left to right and the thicker end pointed to the hitter right side.
- Place an internal temperature probe if you have one into the center of the meat on top of the beef ribs.
- Close the lid, rotate 180°F every hour keeping the ribs pointed left to right so that both sides pull away from the bone evenly.
- Mix the apple cider vinegar and water together in the spray bottle and spritz the beef ribs about every 30 minutes or so to keep them moist.1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 Cup Water
- Cook the beef ribs until they reach about 180°F internally which may take about 5 hours.
Texas Crutch - Wrapping in Butcher Paper
- Carefully remove the beef ribs from the Pit Boss and place on a large sheet of pink butcher paper.
- Wrap the beef ribs with the butcher paper around on all sides.
- Replace the temperature probe and place back on the Pit Boss.
Remove, Rest, and Slice the Smoked Beef Short Ribs
- When the internal temperature of the beef ribs have have reached 200°F, remove from the Pit Boss and keep wrapped.
- Let the smoked beef ribs rest for about 30 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to distribute.
- After resting, place the beef ribs on a large cutting board. Turn upside down to see the bones and slice down between each bone and serve.
Bert P. says
Oh man, so good, this is my new favorite thing to make on my Pit Boss. Thanks!