Del King shares his beef rib smoking secrets
By Bill Wight, cbbqa member
Posted August 11, 2003
If you have ever had the pleasure of eating a beef
rib smoked by Texan Del King, you have had a real Texas treat. I
asked Del if he would share his secrets with us and here is his method
of smoking beef ribs, Texas-style.
I like to start with meaty beef ribs--center
cut if possible. Just like pork ribs you need to pull the
membrane off the back.
If I am going to remove the membrane from several racks I will use
catfish skinning pliers. Or you can use the standard method of butter
knife and a paper towel.
Remove the fat that was between the two membranes after the outer
membrane is removed.
Brush or rub the front and back of the ribs with cheap yellow mustard
and then add your favorite rub. With Beef ribs I try to use a rub with
no or very little sugar. [see below] Do not apply a very thick amount
of rub--a thin coat is all you will need.
A Texas Secret--Along the bone edges take and pack Brown sugar along
the entire sides. This will help seal in your juices.
Let the rub and mustard blend and form into a paste.
Place ribs into your smoker membrane side up for the first 3 hours.
After 3 hours turn the ribs over so the membrane side is down for the
rest of the cooking time.
Cook the ribs for 5.5 hrs to 7 hrs.
Try to maintain your pit temperature at 225F for the entire cooking
time.
Now cooking for such a long period of time you will have some pull
back on the meat from the bones. This is OK. I know some folks say
they can cook their beef ribs without the pull back. You can do it too
but you will have to raise the temperature and cook for a shorter
time. They will not be as tender as with my method.
After 5 hours you can start basting the ribs with your favorite BBQ
sauce. (as long as it is a no or low sugar sauce). If your sauce is a
high sugar sauce wait until 30 minutes prior to removing your ribs
before you add your sauce. The sugar will caramelize and turn black if
you leave it in the cooker too long.
If you do add your barbecue sauce at the 5-hour point, you can add 3
coats (lightly) between now and the time to remove your tender beef
ribs.
After about 6 hours, start checking your ribs they--should be very
close to being tender and ready.
Any time from 6 to 7 hours and your ribs will be done. It depends on
how close you kept your temperature at 225F.
Here is a rub you can start with for beef ribs.
Modify it to suit your personal tastes.
Danny Gaulden's General-Purpose Dry Rub w/o sugar
3/4 cup paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 cup black pepper
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Mix ingredients together and store in an air-tight jar.
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