Anderson G wrote:This is not a helpful response, but I wanted to reminisce. There was a small storefront BBQ place on Irving between Ashland and Southport that used to have a weekly special of all you could eat beef ribs. Can't remember its name now (I think "smokehouse" was in the title), but the place got taken over and/or went out of business a year or two ago, and the beef ribs offering was removed.

NN Smokehouse (R.I.P.)

I used to love N.N. Smokehouse. They had the best bbq in that area for quite some time (I'm not the biggest Smokin' Woody's fan). I went there the first time after seeing Trotter interviewed in the late '90's. He said that it was his favorite rib place in Chicago. They sold the business around 2002 maybe, and had another restaurant on Foster, near Tre Kroner, briefly thereafter. In addition to the ribs and smoked chicken, their pulled pork was good and they actually had a terrific Pancit. Thanks for rekindling a very pleasant memory

LAZ wrote:It never occurred to me that leanness was an attribute to be desired in any sort of barbecue. I have never tried them, but AFAIK, Bar-B-Que Bob's makes their beef ribs in the same Southern Pride they use for their pork ribs -- which I have had and like very much. When I have had the sliced brisket, it's also been very good: thick, tender, flavorful slices of smoky beef with crunchy charred ends.

LAZ,

While you and I differ about Bar-B-Q Bob's pork ribs I will say in two visits the beef ribs were the best BBQ item sampled. Damning with faint praise, you be the judge.

Bar-B-Q Bob's Beef Ribs 5.22.06



I highly suggest any and all BBQ items at Bar-B-Q Bob's be ordered sauce on the side as Bob uses L*qu*d Sm*ke in his sauce.

I should note it's been two years since I have been to Bar-B-Q Bob's, I should really give it another try.

Enjoy,
Gary

This discussion really got to me. I wanted beef ribs and figured (especially after seeing those anemic looking beef ribs from BBQ Bob's) that the best beef ribs in Chicago would probably be those that I cooked myself, so after a trip to Paulina Meat Market to special order some extra meaty beef ribs, I was committed.

Paulina always has frozen racks of beef ribs in stock, but since I don't care for previously frozen meat (especially at those prices), and I wanted to serve some Flintstonian sized beef ribs to my Dad for Father's Day, it seemed a custom order from the great butchers at Paulina was in order. Let me just say that even after expalining that I wanted big fat meaty beef ribs for the smoker and giving them 5 days to custom cut them for me, the beef ribs I got from Paulina were very dissapointing. Approximately $47 later (for 2 racks), the trimmed to the bone racks I saw when I opened my package at home were a real letdown. If you are considering following in my footsteps, I'd suggest sourcing your beef ribs elsewhere. Anyway, now that I have gotten that rant off my chest, on to the prep.

Beef Ribs Rubbed and Ready for the Smoker


Beef Ribs on the WSM after 2 Hours


Beef Ribs After 3.5 Hours, Glazed and Ready to Serve


Stacked in Groups of Two


Traditional BBQ Chicken for the Meek


These really turned out great, and I'll be putting beef ribs into my regular rotation once I find a reliable source for decent product.

stevez wrote:These really turned out great, and I'll be putting beef ribs into my regular rotation once I find a reliable source for decent product.

Steve,

Your beef ribs are haunting me, they look really good. I will be making them in the next week without doubt.

Enjoy,
Gary

stevez, I have never made beef ribs, but yours look beautiful. You include a shot of "glazed" ribs that clearly seem to have been swept with sauce while still on the cooker. I like this approach for both pork and beef ribs. One disadvantage to getting "sauce on the side" is that you lose the caramelization that comes from exposing sugar-based sauce to fire. Sauce as "dip" is way different than sauce that's cooked on, though on-the-side-as-dip is surprisingly exactly how Charley Robinson prefers his ribs sauced (wouldn't have guessed that).

I told Robert at Honey 1 that The Wife really liked ribs that were sauced and then exposed to fire so they got all crispy and caramel-y and he looked at me with mock incredulity and asked, "Really? Are you kidding me?!" I wasn't.

David Hammond wrote:stevez, I have never made beef ribs, but yours look beautiful. You include a shot of "glazed" ribs that clearly seem to have been swept with sauce while still on the cooker. I like this approach for both pork and beef ribs. One disadvantage to getting "sauce on the side" is that you lose the caramelization that comes from exposing sugar-based sauce to fire. Sauce as "dip" is way different than sauce that's cooked on, though on-the-side-as-dip is surprisingly exactly how Charley Robinson prefers his ribs sauced (wouldn't have guessed that).

Yes. I brushed the nearly finished ribs with a sauce that I made and let them caramelize for around 20 minutes before pulling them off the smoker. I did them that way as a concession to my Dad who likes them like that, but I actually thought it was a good addition to the "recipe". The ribs weren't overly sauced...just a light glaze. Additional sauce was served table side, but I noticed that not too many people used any, which I took as a compliment.

David Hammond wrote:One disadvantage to getting "sauce on the side" is that you lose the caramelization that comes from exposing sugar-based sauce to fire. Sauce as "dip" is way different than sauce that's cooked on, though on-the-side-as-dip is surprisingly exactly how Charley Robinson prefers his ribs sauced (wouldn't have guessed that).

I told Robert at Honey 1 that The Wife really liked ribs that were sauced and then exposed to fire so they got all crispy and caramel-y

This is my favorite treatment for pork ribs, too. I don't like it as well on beef ribs because I'm not fond of sweetened beef.

Of course, the trouble I have with barbecue beef ribs in general is that I prefer beef rare. A technique I have tasted but not cooked apparently involved cold smoking a rib roast and then cutting it up and grilling the steaks, which struck me as the best of both worlds: rare, smoky beef with crispy fat.

LTH,

Was up by (down by/over by) da Jewels yesterday and beef ribs caught my eye. Picked up six cut in individual ribs and learned if I want whole racks of beef ribs I should call a few days in advance and ask for Eddie in the meat dept (Foster/Pulaski).

Slathered the beef ribs with a mix of Thai Curry (Maesri, green) and yellow mustard and went with the Weber Kettle set for low and slow. Tomato, jalapeno and onion accompanied for smoked salsa.





Smoked Salsa



Beef ribs



Enjoy,
Gary

Hi,

How long did you smoke the beef ribs rough? Would time be much different if arranged in a rack?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:How long did you smoke the beef ribs rough?

C2,

I was gentle with them......

The Weber Kettle in low and slow mode runs slightly hotter than a WSM, and I prefer beef ribs with a little more chew to them than most, they were on the cooker for slightly over 2-hours. Whole racks of beef ribs will take longer, Steve's 3.5 hours for whole racks of beef ribs on the WSM seems right. I know BBQ guys who go 5,6 or more hours on beef ribs, but this tends to give them a texture I do not find appealing and a sticky tacky mouthfeel.

Enjoy,
Gary

Hi all, was lurking a bit and decided to plunge in. I just bought some beef ribs at the Cermak produce on N. Kedzie, about 4200 block. They will bring out from the back a pack of "costillas de res"-beef ribs. BUT...you have to ask for them "entera'-whole, one of the butchers will then know you want the rack, or slab. Otherwise, they just put out extremely thin cuts of the ribs as short ribs, which hispanics prefer for grilling. I'm braising two racks right now for dinner grilling tonight. I'm trying G Wiv's dry rub I bought at Spice House. Suace...TBD. I'll let you know how it turns out.

While downtown yesterday I stopped by Lawry's and got a serving of their beef ribs. While i was damn sure they weren't going to be smoked, i figured the quality of the meat would more than make up for the second-rate cooking option.

Meh. I dont recommend anyone try their ribs (not that most would anyway if they're eating at Lawry's!). The sauce tasted more like gravy than BBQ sauce, and had little redeeming value. While the ribs were clearly of a higher quality than most places, they still had varying levels of tenderness.

At the end of the day, the flavor was neither beefy, nor smoky, nor bbbq'd. . . i guess i should've ordered a salad.

I wish I had a camera to show you the beauty of Honky Tonk BBQ's beef short ribs aka Pot Roast on a Stick. The plate was a crudely wonderous square slab of beef several inches thick, with two rib bones justting out of it. It looked like a claymore mine.

The ribs were thick enough that i sawed at them with fork and knife and each slice yielded delicious and moist beefy goodness with generous (and appreciated) fat content. the flavor was oustanding and most bites I took down without saucing. My buddies ordered the St Louis and the babyback pork ribs. While both enjoed their pork, they made clear that we'd be returning for the beef ribs soon.

I must also add that the fried green tomatos/tomatoes were out of this world. Thank you Jessica Tandy for putting this idea in my head.

Ghazi wrote:

ab wrote:Bar-B-Que Bob's actually has decent ones.

http://www.barbquebobs.com/
2055 W. Howard

Thanks for the recommendation, but I must strongly disagree. I had the worst food experience in recent memory there. The beef ribs were the fattiest I have ever laid tongue on. The quality was woeful.

For what its worth, the brisket and mac n cheese were shockingly tasteless, with the brisket offering a dessicated consistency of half-done beef jerky, and the mac n cheese offering the blandest version of the beautiful dish that I have ever come across.

The beef links were ok, with a spicy, post swallow burn that made it the only thing that would possibly see me return.

But i do appreciate the tip!

I had more or less given up on Bob's last year, but decided to try again last month. I still don't like most of what they serve, but a few trips have all resulted in well smoked, not-to-fatty beef ribs. Be forewarned that the place now has a strong chemical odor of some kind.

You should give them another try.

Any updates on this topic? I have an out of town guest that wants some for dinner on Monday. North side or north/northwest suburbs preferred. Any type of preparation is fine.

I'd check with Barn&Co. and Rub BBQ to see if they could accommodate you.

Dave148 wrote:Any updates on this topic? I have an out of town guest that wants some for dinner on Monday. North side or north/northwest suburbs preferred. Any type of preparation is fine.

They're not great - and I wouldn't call them true BBQ, either - but Players Grill in Highland Park has some that are ok.

=R=

Players Grill
1855 Deerfield Rd (Garrity Square)
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 831-4445

The only place left where I order these is L. Woods in Lincolnwood. No sign of actual smoke, but enjoyable taste and texture.

L. Woods
7110 N Lincoln Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712
Phone:(847) 677-3350
lwoodsrestaurant.com

scottsol wrote:The only place left where I order these is L. Woods in Lincolnwood. No sign of actual smoke, but enjoyable taste and texture.

L. Woods
7110 N Lincoln Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712
Phone:(847) 677-3350
lwoodsrestaurant.com

I saw these on the menu the other day at a biz lunch but opted for the grilled salmon instead (not bad but nothing special). I'll have to give the beef ribs a shot next time I'm over there.

=R=

I was going to vouch for the beef ribs at L. Woods also. They range from good to very good.

The short ribs at Milt's BBQ for the Perplexed looked really good on their Check,Please! segment but even on their menu, they're described as braised. In Texas, that could get you shot.

Be sure to check their hours because they are observant of the Sabbath.

=R=

Milt's Barbeque for the Perplexed
3411 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 661-6384

Dave148 wrote:Any updates on this topic? I have an out of town guest that wants some for dinner on Monday. North side or north/northwest suburbs preferred. Any type of preparation is fine.

Dave,

With a little heads up I am happy to, as Octarine suggested, do on request hickory smoked beef ribs at Barn & Company. I'd guess Jared would at Rub BBQ as well. The problem with your request for this Monday is I will not be at Barn this coming Monday and Rub is closed on Mondays.

Next time they come in town give me more notice and I will be happy to accommodate.

Regards,
Gary Wiviott
Pitmaster, Barn & Company

I'd guess Jared would at Rub BBQ as well

Yes, I would gladly... As for availability on a more regular basis, we serve smoked beef ribs at our Pit-to-Plate Dinners, held every Friday in our BBQ Supply space... We're sold out a couple months in advance right now, but if any LTH'er wants to come - just email me - jared@backcountryq.com . I save a couple extra spots (we sell 30 of the 36 seats) for Friends, Family, and Foodies...
Pit to plate by Rub BBQ Company, on Flickr
Pit to plate by Rub BBQ Company, on Flickr

I hit up the Pit-to-Plate dinner this past Friday and I can speak to the quality of Rub's beef ribs. Maybe one of the best pieces of BBQ I've had in my life.

That's what's so great about Jared's Pit-To-Plate and Gwiv's Pitmaster Dinners. You get to eat their professionally prepared Q without having to rely on luck as far as freshness is concerned and it is the master himself who is doing the cooking.

As good as their restaurant food is, this is at a whole different level.

I know you were all worried about last night's beef ribs result.
We ended up at L. Woods. My out of town guest pronounced it "quite good."

I had a late lunch and wasn't too hungry. Chopped salad and tomato soup for me. All good.

Thanks for letting us know. It actually is frustrating when folks ask for advice then don't report back.

L. Woods beef ribs for lunch today. Originally came out room temp and meat only on one side. Waiter was quick to bring the replacement below

I don't know how long ago Green Street Smoked Meats added beef short ribs to the menu, but they are quite awesome. Not sure why this place gets almost no mentions around here -- they're doing some good stuff. The pork belly, broccoli salad, and now the short rib are all standouts, in my opinion. They were out of pastrami (another recent menu addition), but I'll report back when I've tried it.