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How to Smoke Dino Ribs: Big, Bad Beef Plate Ribs
Because Sometimes Bigger Is Better
By Steven Raichlen
Greetings from Barbecue University®, my school at the Alisal Ranch in Solvang, California. We always start the first class with a bang. And bangs (or bones) don’t get bigger than dino bones, aka brontosaurus bones, aka beef plate ribs, aka big bad beef ribs!
The beef plate rib certainly lives up to its reputation as “brisket on the bone.” Imagine the fatty richness of a barbecued brisket point with the gnaw-a-bility of a meaty sparerib. Imagine a single rib that weighs upwards of 2 pounds and easily feeds 2. When you order it at a restaurant, you can pay up to $50—for a single rib! I’m going to show you how to barbecue this spectacular beef bone at home for a fraction of the price.
What Are Dino Bones?
First the rib. Beef plate ribs are cut from bones 6, 7, and 8 on a steer’s ribcage. (MPS/NAMP 123A in butcher speak.) They come in a slab that’s the size of a laptop computer, tipping the scale at 6 to 8 pounds.
We source our beef ribs from the Nashville-based butcher shop and online meat purveyor, Porter Road. Founded by Chris Carter and James Peisker in 2010, Porter Road specializes in pasture-raised meats free of antibiotics and hormones, dry-aged and hand-cut. I order from them whenever I can: their meats are first rate. If you use code BarbecueBible you can get 15% off your first order.
How to Smoke Dino Bones
Once you have your dino ribs, cut the rack into individual bones. Individual bones mean more spice, more bark, and more woodsmoke on each rib. I like to keep the seasoning simple: coarse salt and cracked black peppercorns. Maybe a whiff of garlic powder and dried oregano. Whoops—I just gave away the formula for my Planet Barbecue Brisket Rub, which goes great on dino bones.
You can cook your dino ribs on a smoker, kamado, pellet grill, or charcoal grill. (Sorry, folks. It’s hard to smoke meat on a gas grill.) Preheat it to 250 degrees and add the wood (chunks or chips) following the manufacturer’s instructions every hour.
The other ingredient you need is time—lots of it—because dino ribs take at least 8 to 10 hours to cook, plus 1 to 2 hours resting in an insulated cooler or barbecue blanket before serving.
So how do you know when they’re done? The meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones by 2 inches or so and the meat will be soft and tender. The internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer should be around 200°F.
What to Serve with Dino Bones
And what do you serve with dino bones? If you’re me, nothing. I like to savor the rich beefy flavor, salt, pepper, and smoke all by themselves.
But Mrs. Raichlen likes my Chipotle Molasses Barbecue Sauce, so I wouldn’t say no to that.
Here, then, are Barbecued Dino Bones in all their beefy glory. Guaranteed to give brisket a run for its money!
Recipe
Dino Bones (Barbecued Beef Plate Ribs)
By Steven Raichlen
Big, meaty beef plate ribs seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper, and hot red pepper flakes, then smoked low and slow until tender.
Method: Hot-smoking
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Smoking Time: 8 to 10 hours
Resting Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 3 full beef plate short ribs (rack of 6 to 7 1/2 pounds)
- 3 tablespoons coarse salt (sea or kosher), plus extra for serving
- 3 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes
- Beer (optional)
- 1 cup beef stock (preferably homemade)
Equipment
- Smoker
- Oak, hickory, or mesquite wood, or a combination
- Aluminum foil drip pan
- Instant-read thermometer
- Insulated cooler (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the rack lengthwise into individual bones and place them on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Place the salt, pepper, and hot red pepper flakes in a small bowl and mix well. Generously sprinkle the rub on the ribs on all sides, including the ends, rubbing it into the meat with your fingertips.
- Set up your smoker following the manufacturer’s instructions and preheat to 225° to 250°F. If your smoker has a water pan, fill it with water or beer to a depth of 3 inches. If it doesn’t have a water pan, fill a disposable aluminum foil pan with water or beer to a depth of 3 inches and place it below the rack on which you’ll be smoking the ribs. (Note: You don’t need to do this on a ceramic cooker.) Add wood as specified by the manufacturer.
- Place the ribs in the smoker fat side up, with at least 2 inches between ribs. Smoke the ribs until darkly browned on the outside and very tender inside, 8 to 10 hours. If working on a smoker with the firebox at one end, shuffle the ribs a couple times so they cook evenly. To test for doneness, insert a metal skewer in the largest rib (through one end and parallel to the bone); it should pierce the meat easily. Another test for doneness is to insert an instant-read thermometer parallel to but not touching the bone; it should read 200°F. (Check the ribs to make sure all are done.) When done, the meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones by 1 to 2 inches.
- Transfer the ribs to a large foil pan with the beef stock. Loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in an insulated cooler. Let the ribs rest for 1 hour before serving.
- Just before serving, season each rib with a light sprinkling of salt.
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