Texas Smoked Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 1 four-pound plate of beef short ribs (3 bones, IMPS 123A)
• 3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons 16-mesh coarse black pepper
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 cup beef broth, for spritzing
• 4 chunks post oak or white oak wood

Before you cook

• Pull the rib plate from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking so it loses its chill.
• Slide a butter knife under the thick membrane on the bone side and peel it off with a paper towel.
• Trim the hard surface fat down to about a quarter inch, leaving the fat that runs between the bones alone.
• Stir the salt, pepper and granulated garlic together in a small bowl.
• Smear the mustard over every surface of the plate in a thin film so the rub has something to grip.
• Shower the rub on heavily from about a foot above the meat, coating the top, sides and bone side.
• Let the seasoned ribs sit on a rack for 30 minutes until the rub turns wet and dark.
• Fill a spray bottle with the beef broth.

Steps

1. Build a fire in your smoker and hold it steady at 275 degrees Fahrenheit with the oak chunks going.
2. Set the rib plate bone side down on the grate, as far from the firebox as it will sit.
3. Close the lid and smoke undisturbed for 3 hours, feeding the fire small splits so the smoke stays thin and blue.
4. Open the lid and spritz the top of the ribs with beef broth.
5. Spritz again every 45 minutes from here on, working fast so the heat does not escape.
6. Keep smoking until the bark is deep mahogany and does not smear when you touch it, about 6 hours total.
7. Push an instant-read thermometer into the thickest meat between two bones and look for 203 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Probe three different spots; the thermometer should slide in with no resistance at all, like a jar of peanut butter.
9. Move the plate to a cutting board, tent it loosely with foil and rest it for a full hour.
10. Slice down between the bones with a long knife and serve one bone per person with white bread and pickles.