BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Makes 6 servings. 6-8 hour cook time.

Goes great with mashed potatoes or other mashed root vegetable.

ingredients

  • 2 tbsp bacon fat

  • 5 pounds bone-in short ribs, cut into 3-inch pieces

  • 2 tsp sea salt, divided

  • ½ tsp cracked black pepper, divided

  • 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped

  • 1½ cups barbecue sauce of your choice, plus more for serving (optional)

  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard

  • ½ tsp natural liquid smoke

  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper

preparation

  1. Heat the bacon fat in a large pot over medium-high heat.

  2. Trim the ribs of excess fat, then rinse and pat them dry with paper towels. Season all over with 1 tsp of the salt and ¼ tsp of the pepper.

  3. Working in batches, brown the ribs on all sides, then place them in the bottom of a slow cooker.

  4. Add the chopped onion, barbecue sauce, dijon mustard, liquid smoke, cayenne pepper, remaining 1 tsp of salt, and ¼ tsp of pepper to the slow cooker.

  5. Toss to coat, cover, and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours. Stir the ribs once or twice during the cooking time to ensure even coating and cooking.

  6. Transfer the ribs to a platter, skim off any fat from the top of the liquid in the slow cooker, and serve the liquid over the top of the meat. Serve with additional barbecue sauce, if desired.

This recipe is adapted from Danielle Walker's Against all Grain: Meals Made Simple cookbook's Barbecue Beef Short Ribs recipe (p. 144)