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[Hank D Thoreau]

I love beef ribs. When I go out I order the big beefy ones with an inch or more of meat on top of the bone.

They are very difficult to find at the grocery store. While I understand that I can go to the butcher and have the custom cut, I would like to be able to cook what I can find.

The ribs are usually not particularly meaty but can be tasty if cooked well. I recently made another run at them when I found a couple of packages at my store.

The problem is that there are some meaty areas and some very thin, like the meat between the ribs. I cooked at 250 for about 4 hours, until the meaty parts were around 203. That dried out the thin parts.

I am thinking that maybe I ought to really drop the temperature down to maybe 165 to 185 and bring it up at the end of the cook. Anyone have any suggestions, other than get better meat?

Do I really need to get the rib meat up to 203 or can I go lower for maybe a longer time?

[bregent]

>Do I really need to get the rib meat up to
>203 or can I go lower for maybe a longer time?

Like brisket, pork butt, pork ribs, and other tough cuts, there is no magic number that makes the meat get tender. It just takes time at temp. I cook beef short ribs sous vide at 131F for 72 hours and they get fork tender. So yes, you can cook at lower temp for longer and the final temp when done will be less. This won't necessarily solve your problem though. If there's a big difference in thickness, it's hard to get it to cook evenly.

Sounds like you are buying shiners. Try to get some chuck short ribs, or plate if you want to spend some $$. I get chuck short ribs that are about 1.5 inch thick for about $4/lb from Costco Business Center - there are a bunch in California.

[Hank D Thoreau]

If by shiners you mean the racks that are basically cut to the bone with just a connecting meat that you can usually get for under a $1.00/pound...I have tried those but they are pretty worthless. The next step up are the packages of separated ribs. They be a little pricey at times, for what you get. I found them on sale. They were inconsistent with some meaty and others not having much except the meat separating the bones.

[triplebq]

I have had great success with Beef Ribs from Sam's Club. https://www.samsclub.com/sams/case-sale-whole-beef-short-ribs-piece-count-varies-by-bag/prod17180007.ip?xid=plp_product_1_2

Here is a post I did on how I cook them, etc. https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=405.0

[GatorDave]

My suggestion would be go to the butcher and order what you actually want.  Why settle for what you can get, when you can get what you actually want at the butcher.  Plus, by going to the butcher you are most likely supporting a local business rather than a chain type store.  It's a win win.  You get what you want and get to feel good about getting it.

[Hank D Thoreau]

So let me clarify, I cook almost every meal except breakfast on some sort of BBQ, year around. That is our kitchen.

So I am not talking something special in this post. I go to the market and see what looks good in the meat section and I buy what I need.

When they have packages of ribs that look good I buy them. So I am really talking utility cooking here. Just day to day and not the weekend or holiday bbq.

When I want something special I go somewhere where I can get it.

I still want to figure out how to best cook what I can find at the market.

[bregent]

I've just never found beef ribs at the supermarket that were worth the time to BBQ. They're tasty, but they don't have enough meat and end up being expensive for what you get. When they go on sale, they are great for making beef and barley soup.  When I want BBQ beef ribs, I don't waste time with supermarket ribs - I go to Costco cause they always have them cheap.

If you need to use supermarket beef ribs, then I would wrap them once they've picked up some smoke and color. The steam will help them cook more evenly.

[yorkdude]

I've just never found beef ribs at the supermarket that were worth the time to BBQ. They're tasty, but they don't have enough meat and end up being expensive for what you get. When they go on sale, they are great for making beef and barley soup.  When I want BBQ beef ribs, I don't waste time with supermarket ribs - I go to Costco cause they always have them cheap.

If you need to use supermarket beef ribs, then I would wrap them once they've picked up some smoke and color. The steam will help them cook more evenly.

Man those look really good.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Wrapping is a good idea. And you are correct. It is rare that you can find decent beef ribs at the market. They have them occasionally at my market.

In my area it depend on which market you go to. They stock based on what sells. There is an Albertson's a ways from my house that sells brisket because folks buy it there.

It is not as good or cheap as Cosco. Cosco is USDA Prime and a good price.

[bregent]

>>Cosco is USDA Prime and a good price.

Yeah, but not as good as last year.  Last week prime brisket in the Bay Area Costco's were $4/lb, they were about $3.25 last year this time, and under $3 the year before.

Have you been to the Costco Business Center? There are 4 in the LA area. 

[Bentley]

It sounds like you are buying grocery store beef back ribs and they are "fingered".  They want the meat on the Rib Roast where they can get $9/lb and not on a rib where they get $3.50.  Out side of foiling, not sure you can cook that kind of rib evenly.

[Hank D Thoreau]

I have never heard of Cosco business centers.

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[Hank D Thoreau]

Maybe these cheap ribs just need to be boiled and then grilled with sauce  I need to find better ribs.

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[bregent]

The business centers have much of the same stuff as the retail stores, with one notable exception - no crowds! They don't give out samples so you don't have hoards of people blocking the isles to get a free dixie cup of juice. They also don't have the food court or consumer electronics. You can walk around without someone ramming a cart into you, and the checkout lines are usually empty. They cater mostly to businesses and have commercial restaurant and cleaning supplies and the like. They do have many of the same food items - fresh, frozen, canned - and the have a wider assortment of meats.  If you've got one nearby, it's worth checking out. As long as you're a Costco member, you can shop there.

The one's I been to in California all carry bone-in chuck short ribs.

[yorkdude]

This thread is timely, I love beef ribs and can never find them. We were for years members of Costco but let it lapse as it is just the 2 of us now in the house.
We opted for Sams in Topeka, (45 minutes away) as the only Costco's are in Kansas City, (2 hours away). Anyway we get a letter that says "we miss you" and if we re-up we will get a $50.00 gift card. I told Gwen that is the sign we have been looking for, she misses it also. Looks like Kansas City is on the agenda possibly this weekend.