Smoking Dino Ribs in 3 Hours Instead of 9
Hot and Fast Beef Ribs on the Kamado
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Introduction
Dino Ribs, Hot and Fast, in About 3 Hours
What's up BBQ fans! Today we're doing dino ribs, but I don't have 6, 8 or 9 hours to wait on them. So I'm showing you how to do them in about 3 hours on the Komodo Kamado 38. Were they as good as a long cook? Not quite, but they were pretty damn good, and I'll tell you the one change that would take them up a notch.
The Ribs
These are dry-aged dino beef ribs from Porter Road. They come wrapped in an extra layer, which helps with those bones. It's like unwrapping a little gift for yourself.
There's a layer of meat and fat on top that's thick at one end and super thin at the other, with a lot of fat in between. For a normal low-and-slow cook on a kamado, I'd take the fat cap off completely. A kamado doesn't have much moving air, so you don't get the bark you'd get on a pellet grill or an offset.
Because we're going hot and fast, I left a little of that fat on to protect the meat and did a quick trim. It doesn't have to be perfect, but use a sharp knife. Save the trimmed fat. It goes right over the fire to render.
The Rub
Pepper: about 2½ tbsp from the Pepper Cannon (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%), set to 16 mesh
Salt: about 2 tbsp of Season-All, a coarse seasoned salt
Binder: a little W sauce. This meat was pretty tacky, so it didn't need much.
That's almost 50/50, a little pepper-forward. I went light on the bottom and put a nice heavy coat on top.
The Setup
Two big chunks of pecan on the bottom, then Bear Mountain lump
Lit a fairly large section with the GrillGun (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%) to get up to temp quickly
One more big pecan chunk on top where it's hot
Vents: top open 2½ turns and the bottom left open a half moon to climb, then the bottom down to about an eighth and the top back to about ¾ of a turn
Running hotter burns more lump, so don't be afraid to use a little extra wood. Pecan is a nice change-up. I like it on pork and ribs.
The ribs went on the right (indirect) side, with the trimmed fat directly over the fire on the left.
Pro tip: the first 10 minutes after adding a chunk is white, bitter smoke, so don't put the meat on right away. After that, a heavier smoke at the start of the cook adds a lot of flavor while it cleans up.
The Cook
Target: 300°F, but I ended up bumping it to 350°F
Unwrapped: about 2 hours
Wrap: double-wrapped in foil with Wagyu beef tallow, then about 45 to 50 minutes more
Pull: 206°F
Rest: about 45 minutes inside
I don't normally wrap in foil. At 350°F the bark got quite hard, and I wanted to soften the meat back up. I'd usually use paper, but foil left the bark ridiculously soft. So we sacrificed some bark for a more tender product.
Taste Test
A beautiful smoke ring all the way around, and some good rendering. Rendering is a product of time and temperature, so hot and fast won't match a low-and-slow cook, but it's still a decent product.
What surprised me most was the smoke flavor. For only two hours in smoke, there was way more than I expected. The ribs were way too tender to pick up for a bite, and they pulled apart easily by hand.
Honestly, a bit more fat could have rendered. Jake approved, and doggy approved.
Final Thoughts
If you're short on time, hot and fast works. You'll get good smoke and tender beef ribs in about 3 hours.
Want to take them up a couple of notches? Cook them hot and fast, then hold them overnight in a warming oven or an oven set around 170°F. That extra time would render more fat and make them absolutely dynamite. Time always improves barbecue.
Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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