August 2, 2023

Whole Smoked Bone-In Beef Short Rib Plate

It’s not everyday you get to see a whole short rib plate smoked. Most people smoke pork ribs, but beef short ribs out of the smoker is something special. I purchased a nice untrimmed prime plate from my meat department recently and felt like they needed the smoking treatment. You won’t typically see these on display at a meat counter, so you’l have to ask your butcher if they have one in back stock. A whole plate usually is between 4-5 lbs. The short rib plate is used for either English or flanken cut beef ribs.

This short rib plate was simply rubbed with olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. It will take at least 6 hours to smoke in order for them to reach maximum tenderness. I used a 50/50 mix of pecan and hickory wood chips, but mesquite, cherry, and oak would also be great flavors to enhance your ribs. These ribs couldn’t have turned out more tender. You’ll know that they’re done when you can pull the bone out cleanly. What’s even better is that I turned the leftovers into short rib tacos on corn tortillas with cilantro and onions with hot sauce.

Prep Time5

Cook Time6

Course: Main Course

Keyword: Beef, electric smoker, main course

Servings: 4

Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

Electric Smoker

Ingredients

1 whole bone in beef short rib plate 4-5lbs
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp cracked black pepper

Wood Chips

1/2 hickory chips
1/2 pecan chips

Instructions

Allow your short rib to rest on a pan overnight in the refrigerator to develop a pellicle.
Pull the short rib out of the refrigerator. Rub with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on all sides. Let sit out at room temperature for 2 hours before smoking.
Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the short rib plate in the smoker.
Smoke for 6 hours, replacing the wood chips as need; every 60-90 minutes.
Let the short rib plate rest for 30 minutes before cutting.
Cut in between the 4 bones.