how to cook dino ribs: the craftmaster's guide to beef plate ribs

Let's say the quiet part out loud: Dino Ribs are better than Brisket.

Not by a lot. But they're cheaper per pound, more forgiving on the cook, and when they come off the smoker probe-tender and glossy, they deliver the same "how did you do that" reaction with a fraction of the anxiety. If you're just getting into low-and-slow, this is where I'd send you. If you've cooked briskets for years, this is where I'd send you when you want a Saturday off from babysitting a stall. Plus, they look really cool.

That's the craftmaster's opinion, and I'll defend it. Here's how I cook them at home

start with a bigger rack

If you're going to spend the time, spend it on meat that pays you back. Bigger racks have more meat over the bone — same cook, same effort, more supper.

Our dino ribs run heavy on purpose. We get them cut between six and ten pounds. Certainly nothing wrong with a smaller rack, which is arguably more flavorful, but they are usually better suited for the crock pot, or you may want to double up on the smoker.

the trim

This is where most people either do too much or too little. Here's the rule:

• Surface fat comes off. Anything sitting on top of the meat that won't render into it — trim it.

• Silverskin comes off. If you see a thin, silvery, plastic-looking layer under the fat cap, get it off. It won't render, and it eats like a rubber band.

• Fat between muscle layers stays. That's where the flavor lives. Don't chase it.

• Bone-side membrane stays. Plate ribs aren't pork ribs. The membrane on the back is thin, helps hold the rack together during the cook, and falls right off when the meat's done. Leave it.

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Sometimes you'll find a thin strip of muscle sitting on top of a fat pocket. That's flap meat that never renders right. Take it off. Make little beef cube snacks. Nobody will miss it on the rack.

Translation: trim what won't help you. Leave what will.

dry brine and season

Season heavily the night before. Any decent beef rub works — salt-and-pepper alone is legitimate, and so is whatever's in your cabinet. We're not selling rubs here.

Pat the ribs dry. Rub them hard. Put them on a rack over a sheet pan and back into the fridge, uncovered, for at least 12 hours.

The overnight rest does two things: the salt works its way into the meat, and the surface dries out. Dry meat forms bark. Wet meat forms steam.

the smoke

Smoker at 250°F. Same as brisket. Whatever wood you like on beef — oak, hickory, pecan, or a mix — will work here. There's so much flavor in these bad boys that it won't matter much. We highly recommend some kind of temperature probe of your choice, placed in the thickest part and near (not touching) the bone.

Once you're a couple hours in and the surface has taken on color, spritz occasionally with a mix of water and apple cider vinegar. Not to cool the meat down. Just to keep the bark from drying out.

You're looking for an internal temp around 165°F. That's usually four to eight hours, depending on the rack. We're shooting for temp, not time, so this is no time to rush. That's what the beer is for (see below).

the texas crutch

At 165°F, wrap the ribs — foil or butcher paper, whichever you prefer (we like peach paper) — and move them to a 250°F oven.

Here's the move that separates a good rack from a great one: put about two tablespoons of beef tallow in the wrap before you close it up. Tallow is rendered beef fat. When you add it back, you're basting the ribs in their own kind, and it keeps the whole thing from going dry through the finish.

The oven is not cheating. The oven is the tool that lets you sleep, drink a beer (again, see below), or actually pay attention to your guests. Once meat is wrapped, wood smoke isn't doing anything for you anymore; your bark is already built. Convection heat is convection heat.

probe tender wins

Cook until the ribs are probe-tender. That means a toothpick or a probe slides through the meat with zero resistance — like it's warm butter.

Temperature helps as a guide. Somewhere between 205°F and 210°F is usually where they get there. But temperature isn't the answer. Probe tender is the answer.

This is the biggest thing new smokers get wrong: they pull too early because the number said so. I've done it many times. Beef ribs are so heavily marbled that they're forgiving on pull temp. If they're not probe-tender at 205, they're not done. Keep going.

rest, then hold

Pull the ribs and set them on the counter, still wrapped, for 15 to 30 minutes. This lets the temperature settle and the panic-boil of hot juice inside the wrap calm down and even soak back in.

Then wrap the whole package in a towel and put it in an empty cooler. Close the lid. Walk away.

Minimum hold: two hours. This isn't optional. The rest is where tough becomes tender, where the juices redistribute, where the ribs stop being cooked and start being finished.

Maximum hold: six hours, maybe more. This is the part nobody tells you about, and it's why ribs are great for events. If you're cooking for people arriving at 6 PM, you don't have to time your cook down to the minute. Pull the ribs at noon, put them into the cooler, and they're still hot and getting better at supper. That's a superpower.

what to pour while you wait

Brau means brew, so we don't cook without one in hand. For a Dino Rib day, you want a porter. Something slow to sip through a long cook, dark enough to match what's happening on the smoker, but not so heavy it fills you up before supper.

The pour: Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter from Lexington Brewing and Distilling. Bourbon barrels give up vanilla, oak, and char — the same flavor notes you're building into the meat over the eight hours it takes to get there. The cocoa layer is the bark on your ribs in liquid form. And at over 8% ABV, it's a slow sipper by design, not by willpower. I gave it 4.25 stars, which is high praise around here.

If you want to stay closer to home, Coco Loco from NoDa Brewing (Charlotte, NC) is the local move. Also 4.25 stars, a chocolate porter with a coconut twist.

why dino ribs beat brisket

Same technique. Same flavor family. Half the anxiety.

• Cheaper per pound. Ribs cost less than brisket.

• More forgiving. You can miss your pull temp by five degrees and never notice.

• Better hold. Six-hour cooler rest is a feature, not a rescue.

• Fewer stalls. No 12-hour cooks that turn into 16-hour cooks.

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The one honest downside: there's more fat to deal with, both in the trim and on the plate. If you don't like intramuscular fat, don't cook dino ribs. If you do — and if you're reading this you probably do — this is your cut. If you're looking for leaner, Brisket, especially the flat, or Tri-tip are worth a look. 

ready to try it?

If you want Beef Ribs that are heavy on the bone, pasture-raised on our South Carolina family farm, and shipped frozen to your door — this is where we come in.

→ [Shop Dino Ribs — Hi Bräu Beef]

Cook one this weekend. Send us a picture. Tell us we were wrong about the brisket thing.

We won't be. Cheers to great meat, good times, and enjoying life.

— The Craftmaster