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A close up of smoked beef short ribs with a dark crust.

BBQ Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Harry Soo
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This recipe is sponsored by Slap Yo' Daddy.
Sweet and spicy, beef short ribs are smoked with hickory and applewood for a finger-licking good meal.
Preparation 20 minutes
Cook 3 hours
Ready in 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings 3
CourseMain Dish
InfluenceNorth American
DifficultyExperienced
MethodSmoke

Ingredients

Equipment

  • smoker
  • 3 hickory wood chunks
  • 3 applewood chunks
  • aluminum foil

Directions

  • Trim excess fat cap from the beef short rib.
  • Rub all the surfaces with mayonnaise. This will help ensure a tacky surface for the rub to stick and it also helps to tenderize the meat.
  • Apply enough rub on all exposed surfaces until you cannot see the meat underneath (a medium-heavy coat).
  • Let sit uncovered in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
  • Heat a smoker to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Once it gets to temperature, add three tennis-sized chunks of hickory wood and three tennis-sized chunks of apple wood.
  • Smoke the short ribs until the crust or bark is formed, 2 to 3 hours. Once the crust starts to form (about 90 minutes), spray the ribs with plain tap water from a spray bottle. Repeat the spraying every 15 minutes.
  • Once the crust has set, remove the ribs from the smoker and place them in the middle of a sheet of aluminum foil.
  • Sprinkle the dark brown sugar evenly on the ribs. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of mango nectar over the ribs. Turn the ribs over and repeat the brown sugar and mango nectar on the other side.
  • Wrap the ribs tightly in the foil and return to the pit.
  • Check for tenderness using a bamboo skewer after 45 minutes by opening the foil. The skewer will go through like a muffin when it is done. If not yet tender, close the foil and check in 15 minutes. Keep checking until the meat is probe tender.
  • Remove when done and open the foil to vent (this step is very important else the ribs will overcook).
  • Once the ribs have cooled a bit, remove from the foil pouch. Mix some molasses with the au jus in the foil and brush the molasses/au jus on the ribs. Then apply a thin coat of your favorite barbecue sauce. Give it a dust of cayenne pepper before you slice and serve.