These smoked beef short ribs are tender, meaty, and one of my favorite comfort foods to make on the smoker. Beef short ribs are the perfect choice for low-and-slow cooking—the ribs just melt in your mouth.
One of my favorite things about this recipe is its simplicity—you need just *four* ingredients to make it happen. You just let your smoker do its thing, and let the flavor from the beef ribs shine through.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
- Bone-In Beef Short Ribs — I picked up 4 bone-in beef short ribs from my local Whole Foods. In total they weighed 2.61 pounds.
- Mayonnaise — I'm using mayo as my binder to get the seasoning to stick to the short ribs. You can also use olive or, mustard, or hot sauce if you prefer. (You can't really taste it anyway).
- BBQ Rub — I used my favorite beef rub, Hardcore Carnivore Black. But feel free to whatever beef rub you like.
- Beef Broth — I'm using some Kettle & Fire beef broth to spritz the ribs while they're on the smoker to keep them moist.
HOW TO MAKE SMOKED BEEF SHORT RIBS
@grillfrenzy Smoked beef short ribs on the @Traeger Grills with some 🍻 #traegergrills #grilling #steak ♬ original sound - GOLDEN OLDIES
1. Season the Short Ribs
Pat the short ribs dry with paper towels. Then, apply a light coating of mayo to the short ribs and season generously with your beef rub. Let the rub adhere to the ribs for 15-20 while you preheat the smoker to 250F.
2. Smoke the Beef Ribs
Place the beef ribs bone-side down on a wire rack or directly on top of the smoker grates. Smoke at 250F for 5-6 hours, or until the internal temperature of the ribs reaches 200F-205F. I used cherry pellets for this cook but oak, hickory, or pecan pellets also work.
3. Spritz the Ribs
After the first 2 hours of smoking, start to spritz the beef ribs with the beef broth, every hour or so. This helps keep the beef moist and tender.
4. Pull when Done
Pull the ribs off the smoker when they're probe tender–at about 200F-2005F degrees. Depending on how hot your smoker is running, and how thick your beef ribs are, this should take 5-6 hours.
5. Rest & Serve
Allow the short ribs to rest for 10-15 minutes, and then dig in and enjoy.
PAIRING SUGGESTIONS
Serve these smoked beef short ribs with smoked Brussels sprouts, smoked sweet potatoes, or smoked mac & cheese.
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE
- Mix up the seasoning. If you don't have Hardcore Carnivore Black, use some coarse black pepper, kosher salt, onion powder & garlic powder.
- Give yourself time. These beef short ribs take quite a while on the smoker. Give yourself plenty of time. Feel free to bump the smoker temp up to 275F if you need to speed it up a little.
- "Dino" ribs. Note: these are not the same thing as the big "dino" beef ribs or beef plate ribs. You can find me recipes for those smoked beef ribs here.
Smoked Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in short ribs
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise as a binder
- 3 tbsp BBQ rub
- 1 cup beef broth for spritzing
Instructions
- Pat ribs dry and coat with mayonnaise. Season generously with rub.
- Preheat smoker to 250F using pellet flavors like oak or pecan.
- Place ribs on smoker bone-side down and cook for 5–6 hours.
- Spritz with beef broth every 30–45 minutes after the first 2 hours.
- Remove ribs when internal temp reaches 200°F–205°F.
- Rest for 10 minutes and serve warm.
Notes
- Mix up the seasoning. If you don't have Hardcore Carnivore Black, use some coarse black pepper, kosher salt, onion powder & garlic powder.
- Give yourself time. These beef short ribs take quite a while on the smoker. Give yourself plenty of time. Feel free to bump the smoker temp up to 275F if you need to speed it up a little.
