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Low & Slow BBQ Beef Short Ribs
Competition-worthy beef short ribs cooked low and slow until they're fall-apart tender. The ultimate BBQ challenge.
Shop the ingredients
The exact cuts from our counter, delivered fresh across Essex.
Beef short ribs are the brisket's smaller, more forgiving cousin — all of the smoke, bark and rendered fat in a format that won't eat your entire weekend. The keys are a steady fire, patience, and resisting the urge to peek.
Method
Mix all the dry rub ingredients together. Coat the short ribs generously on all sides, pressing the rub into the meat. Leave to sweat for 20 minutes while you light the barbecue.
Set up your barbecue for indirect cooking at 110-120°C. Add wood chunks — hickory or apple — for smoke.
Place the ribs on the cool side of the barbecue, bone-side down. Close the lid and cook for 4-5 hours, holding the temperature as steady as you can.
After 3 hours, start spritzing with the mop sauce every 30 minutes. This keeps the meat moist and helps build a deep, dark bark.
The ribs are done when the internal temperature reaches 95-100°C and the meat has pulled back from the bone by about 1cm. A skewer should slide in with almost no resistance.
Rest loosely wrapped in foil for 15 minutes before slicing between the bones and serving.
Pro tips from the block
- No barbecue? Cook the ribs in a 120°C oven on a wire rack over a tray for 5-6 hours. Brush with BBQ glaze and finish at 200°C for the last 30 minutes. Still incredible.
- The bark is the prize: the dark, peppery crust is the best part. Enough sugar in the rub and regular spritzing are what build it.
- Don't trust the clock: every rack is different. Cook to feel and internal temperature, never to time alone.
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