Skip to main content

Texas Beef Ribs

Despite his growing appreciation of cheater skills and methods, R. B. is still a little sore about the time his outdoor hickory smoked ribs (barely) lost the blind taste test against our cheater Texas Beef Ribs. Sorry, R. B., the kids preferred the smoky, supermoist, easy indoor version. The bigger surprise was finding a distinct outdoorlike crust on the slow cooker ribs. Because the ribs weren’t simmering in sauce, the crust had a chance to develop. We didn’t even need to finish them off under the broiler or on the grill. In the pork-crazy mid-South, beef back ribs are a rarity. Now that the in-house tasting staff has ever-so-slightly favored the cheater style, we’ll not hesitate to jump on a good-looking rack, regardless of the weather.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

4 pounds beef ribs
2 tablespoons Cheater Chili Dry Rub (page 45)
1/4 cup bottled smoke

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    CUT the ribs into 2-bone pieces and place them in a large slow cooker (at least 5 quarts).

    Step 2

    SPRINKLE the dry rub on all sides of the ribs and add the bottled smoke.

    Step 3

    COVER and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Cheater BBQ
Read More
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Like tiny tomato galettes and chimichurri grilled shrimp.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.
Like swordfish steaks with tomatoes and Peruvian-style tofu.
Loosely inspired by pasta Amatriciana, a few pounds of zucchini stand in for tomatoes.
No grill needed for this just-charred-enough sweet and spicy chicken.
Invert the ratio of gin to vermouth for a party-friendly and slightly lighter drinking experience.
Thinly sliced and cooked hot and fast, pork tenderloin is the juicy, cook-quicking weeknight champion of this vegetable-heavy stir-fry.