Guys let’s stop talking about how shrinking down your ego is “good for society”, and how you vote your conscious as an explanation for why you’re such a fluffy curmudgeon now, or how your significant other likes you best when you’re wearing flowered shirts and reek of fruity colognes, STOP IT! JUST FRIGGING STOP RIGHT THERE! You friggin’ Pansy, can’t you see? It’s time to reclaim your manhood and what better start than by eating a chunk of cow. But not just any cow. Introducing what you’ve been craving all along, what your carnivorous self has been begging to deliver home after all the fluffy insanity we must bear day-by-day. There’s such a thing now and it’s known as the “Beef Dino Rib”! It’s truly amazing I tell you but you’ll need to pay attention to get it right.

Remember those first dates and how awkward that was, you dropped her off not knowing if she liked you or didn’t really; was the light glowing “green” and all four of her bases open or was first base the only base that would open? Would there be a second date to find out, OR, would – Look, forget all that sh*t because this is a first date that’s going to go perfect for you! After reading this you’re going to get it right the first time, I promise! These Dino Ribs are just perfect for taming your carnivorous desires. All disappointments in a second date will [almost] be forgotten once you bite into one of these puppies, [I mean dinosaurs, I meant ribs]. Plus, I’ve got enough information contained herein to make your first date with a dinosaur rib forever memorable?

I found these at my local H.E.B. recently. I had some experience with smoking brisket in the past but this looked like a whole new challenge [and it is]. Big beef ribs have become the “new” pitmaster challenge out there. They have sort of eclipsed the beef brisket challenge of the past decade. Now it’s how good and tasty can one make a three or four Dino rib cut taste. Expect to pay up for this chunk of cow, the one pictured was I believe listed as “Prime Beef” and set me back $45. That’s for three bones weighing in @ 4 lbs. Once I was ready to dedicate a whole afternoon-evening to making this happen I took it out of the freezer and left in the refrigerator for a couple days in advance. One of the reasons for that is I had to psyche myself up for what was about to happen. Depending on the size of your cut and the type of smoker or BBQ pit you possess cooking times can vary. However, the preparation tasks beforehand pretty much remain the same to deliver a tender and smoke-filled piece of enjoyable cow. I’m going to detail what I did here [as well as what I didn’t do] to make this a great meal. Please feel free to search YouTube and other internet based info on approaches for how to tame one of these very tasty pieces of beef.

Special Note: My BBQ pit is a Big Green Egg. Once I built my fire my pit wanted to stay around 300 degrees, even though I was targeting 250 degrees. After adjusting the vents to almost nothingness [very little airflow] I realized my smoker was calling my hand – I was either going to get what I wanted and risk putting out the fire or go with what my smoker setup wanted instead which was 300 degrees steady. So I stayed with my smoker’s 300 degrees plan and these were done a little bit before I planned. Therefore, if you read on the internet where it takes 5-6 hours @ 250 degrees, it may only take 3 hours [more or less] @ 300 degrees? Either way, never skip the final step which is resting the meat in an insulated cooler. Please read on for exact details –

Step One: [Photo above]
Buy one of these tasty cuts, usually they will be offered as three bones, maybe a four bone chunk. You’ll want to do a couple things, because you’re going to place a rub on the meat its best to trim some of the fat off the top of the cut and you’ll definitely want to remove the membrane from the bone side of the meat. Just like pork ribs you’ll find a thin membrane on the bone side that can be removed by using dry paper towels and a little bit of patience. Now then you are ready to go to the next step.

Step Two: [Photo below]
You’ll want to use a rub that promotes a tasty crust on top of the meat when done. The most popular rub for this cut [according to what I found] is a combination of garlic powder, salt and pepper in equal measures. I found a grinder bottle that had all three of these components plus onion flakes again @ H.E.B., and it worked perfectly. You’ll need to spread a binder all over the meat prior to covering it with this rub. Use Dijon Mustard it makes a great binder and is only slightly detectable upon serving the finished product.

Step Three:
Once your smoker or BBQ pit is ready Oak is always a good choice for beef, however, I used Hickory wood chunks instead. The problem with Oak is that it is very stout so unless you’ve had experience using it on expensive cuts of beef caution is in order here. Best to back off a little if you choose to use oak wood as it can be very tart. Cherry and Maple were also mentioned in articles I read for smoking this cut. However, I am very pleased with the flavor I achieved using only Hickory wood.

Step Four:
You will need to monitor temperature especially early on to establish something that is consistent and steady. My pit wanted to deliver 300 degrees pretty consistently so I went with it and really could have taken the ribs off at least 30 minutes before I did in 3-1/2 hours? After reading articles from experts many said it was going to take 5 maybe 6 hours which kind of biased my thinking but again that was @ 250 degrees, not 300 degrees. So be aware of this and adjust your cooking time accordingly.

Step Five:
2-1/2 hours to 3 hours in, this is where spritzing the meat periodically becomes important. Using a sanitized spray bottle, mist the meat beginning after 2-1/2 hours and every 30-45 minutes afterward [until removed] with a combination of white vinegar and hot sauce. I used a combination of white vinegar and some Cholula Hot Sauce I keep in the refrigerator. [Note of Warning: Make sure you are using white vinegar that is for “cooking” only, there are several industrial strength vinegars out there that are used for other purposes and are dangerous for human consumption. Make certain the label indicates clearly that your white vinegar is safe and used in food preparation.]

Step Six:
Now that you’ve determined the ribs are ready to remove from the pit, wrap them in Butcher Paper and place them in an insulated cooler. Place a towel over them and close the lid. Let the ribs rest for at least 30-minutes, though a full hour is recommended. I kept mine resting for an hour and 15 minutes mostly because I wanted to finish a Scotch and Water I was working on before dinner?… I know how selfish of me. Once I removed them from the cooler they were still warm and cutting into the meat was easy!

Finished Product [Photo below]
All in all I’m happy to say my first attempt, this experiment smoking Dino Ribs to perfection turned out very well. Going forward I can see Dino Ribs on the menu at the Newman townhouse at least a couple times each year?
SO YUMMY, thanks for reading!