PITMASTER PEARSE

Beef short ribs come in a variety of sizes; Angus cows produce those larger 'dino' bones whereas smaller breeds such as Dexter Irish cows unsurpsringly have much shorter ribs (as above). This is an incredibly forgiving cut of meat and takes as much time as a brisket - as such this is the perfect place for any aspiring pitmaster to start their BBQ journey.

Beef Short Ribs: get the best quality that you can afford. Dino tend to come in 3 rib packs, whereas short ribs come in a 4 pack.

Wood: Oak or Mesquite. Oak is far more common place and considerably more affordable so this would be my preference

Preparation: minimial prep required as there's no silverskin that needs removing. Keep the membrane underneath the bones on as this helps the meat stay on the bone whilst cooking. Simply trim off any flappy parts. Bish, bash bosh!

Rubs: use a binder to help the rub tack onto the meat - these don't impact the flavour so use either a hot sauce such as KP's or mustard and slather on. Don't forget the sides! Coat evenly with either a 2:1 Pepper to salt ratio or for something with a little extra a 1:1 ratio of Meat Church Holy Cow and A   O's Dirty Cow.

Instructions: Simply keep a steady temp of around 275F/135C for around 5h until ribs start to probe with little resistance. You have the option of wrapping, foil boating or no wrap - I prefer the latter as it's hassle free. Then bump up the temp to 300F/150C and spritz every 30 mins with a 'lil 1:1 ratio of hot sauce to water or just straight up apple cider vinegar. You should have developped a crunchy looking dark bark. When the ribs probe like butter (zero resistance) and internally measure around 190F/90F, take off to rest.

Resting: you've done all the hard work, now the hardest part is waiting a few hours more. Yes it's hard but trust me, the end result is far more enjoyable. No one wants to burn their mouth and secondly, allowing all that rendered buttery goodness to be reabsorbed into the meat is heavenly. Either rest of kitchen counter for a few hours, or hold in a pre-heated cooler/oven at the lowest temp. Serve when closer to the 165F/75F. Whilst you can't 'eat a smoke ring', beef short ribs can deliver showstopping smoke rings which look like masterpieces.