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The Melting Pot
Central Texas Beef Ribs hero image coming soon
1900s-present - Central Texas pitmasters and German and Czech Texas meat-market barbecue traditions
Central Texas beef ribs are a modern craft-barbecue showpiece rooted in the region's old beef barbecue culture. Plate ribs became especially visible through Texas barbecue joints that treated them like brisket on the bone: simple seasoning, post oak smoke, and patient cooking.
Difficulty
Hard
Prep time
20 minutes
Cook time
7 hours
Total time
7 hours 20 minutes plus resting
Servings
4 to 6 servings
Region
Central Texas barbecue country
Era introduced
1900s-present
Introduced by
Central Texas pitmasters and German and Czech Texas meat-market barbecue traditions
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Central Texas barbecue prizes smoke, beef, and restraint. Beef ribs follow that logic at dramatic scale. The best-known version uses three-bone plate ribs with enough meat to slice like brisket, a coarse salt-and-pepper rub, and a long cook over post oak or similar hardwood. They are expensive and slow, so this is a special-occasion barbecue entry rather than a quick grilling recipe.
Drafted with Texas beef rib method from Serious Eats (https://www.seriouseats.com/texas-style-beef-short-ribs-recipe), technique context from Amazing Ribs (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/beef-and-bison-recipes/smoked-texas-style-bbq-beef-ribs-recipe/), and Central Texas beef rib evolution context from HOU BBQ (https://houbbq.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-texas-barbecue-beef-rib/).
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