Texas style short ribs: Low&Slow on the kamado
This beautiful piece of beef is becoming increasingly popular among enthusiastic barbecuers. If you've ever had these beautifully marbled short ribs, there's no turning back for you either! They don't just look fantastic, but with the right preparation, they're also incredibly tender and amazingly flavorful.
Low and slow: where short ribs transform from meat to masterpiece
This time we're going to make the short ribs "Texas style". Texans love one thing: meat. It's all about the meat itself, which is why they mainly use just salt and pepper. We also add garlic powder and paprika powder ourselves. But if you want to make the real classic Texas-style short rib, try using only salt and pepper!
Grain-fed or grass-fed short ribs
If you want the best end result for your short ribs, choosing the right beef is an important decision. Grain-fed cattle are generally much more marbled with fat. This means that if you cook a short rib from grain-fed cattle, it will become much less dry compared to one from grass-fed cattle.
Here's why choosing grain-fed short ribs can be important:
1. Flavor and tenderness: Grain-fed beef is known for its rich and distinctive flavor. The grains in the cattle's diet, such as corn, can enhance the taste of the meat and result in marbling of fat throughout the muscle tissue, contributing to the juiciness and tenderness of the meat. The additional nutrients in the grain diet contribute to a fuller, more complex flavor.
2. Marbling: The marbling effect, where small streaks of fat run through the muscle tissue, is a characteristic of grain-fed beef. This fat marbling melts during cooking, providing the meat with unparalleled juiciness and flavor. This is particularly important with short ribs because the meat is naturally firmer and more fibrous.
3. Consistency: Grain-fed short ribs often have a more consistent marbling and quality than their grass-fed counterparts. This can result in more consistent taste and texture when preparing short ribs, this is important for culinary purposes.
4. More versatile: Grain-fed short ribs are versatile and can be prepared in various ways, such as roasting, braising, grilling, or sous-vide cooking. The rich and juicy meat is suitable for a variety of culinary creations, giving chefs the freedom to explore and experiment with flavors.
5. Popular among food connoisseurs: Due to their taste and quality, grain-fed short ribs are often popular among food connoisseurs and chefs. They are frequently used in high-end restaurants to create high-quality dishes that tantalize the senses.
Low and slow oak-smoked short ribs
Equipment
- BBQ or kamado
- Charcoal
- Thermometer
- Smoking wood: oak or hickory
Ingredients
- 2 kg shortribs
- sunflower oil
Ingredients for the rub
- 3 tablespoons coarse black pepper (steak pepper)
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat your BBQ or kamado indirectly to between 110 and 120 degrees Celsius.
- Remove your meat from the vacuum packaging and pat it dry with a piece of kitchen paper or a clean kitchen towel. This ensures that the piece is nicely dry on the outside and excess juices are removed.
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. Do this by placing a blunt knife or the back of a spoon between the meat and the membrane, making it easy to loosen and potentially pull off the rest with your hands. If you're feeling lazy, you can also cross-cut the membrane to create a diamond pattern. This prevents the meat from curling up when it's on the BBQ later.
- Trim off the excess fat that is on the top of the short rib. A little fat is never a bad thing, as fat contributes to flavor, but the more fat and membrane there is on the outside of the meat, the less the spices will be able to penetrate into the meat later on.
Making the rub
- Mix the pepper, salt, paprika powder, and garlic powder in a bowl.
Marinating the meat
- Place the short rib in a large bowl or tray and coat it with a small amount of vegetable oil. (This helps the rub to adhere nicely later on.)
- Pour the rub over the meat and make sure the entire piece of meat is covered with the rub.
Cooking the meat
- Add the smoking wood to the BBQ.
- Place the ribs with indirect heat on the BBQ and insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, between the bones.
- Cook the ribs until they reach 90/92 degrees Celsius and check if they are done. You can do this by inserting a skewer or a knife into the meat. The meat should be as soft as butter. If not, let them rest for another fifteen minutes.
Resting the meat
- Wrap the meat in aluminum foil and a kitchen towel and let it rest for about 1 hour.
- Snijd de ribs langs de ribs af en smullen maar!
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