Smoked Short Ribs

These bbq smoked short ribs are so full of flavor and fairly easy to make on the smoker. And with a low carb spice rub you have a tasty low carb dinner for summer. Each meaty rib has only 1.8g net carbs and 14.4 grams of protein! 

You might also like these low carb bbq rib burgers.

This post was originally sponsored by Certified Angus Beef® but we just made this recently and wanted to update the post. That was the first time I had made beef short ribs and was floored by the flavor. My son even stayed home from going to his friend’s house because they looked so good.

This cut of meat is so tasty and then when you make them on the smoker. The smoking adds yet another layer of flavor. And I used a sugar free low carb spice rub which is uses a lot of everyday seasoning you will have in your cupboard and a sweetener.

I also used my husband’s Meater wireless meat thermometer which figures out how long the meat should cook including the resting time. Plus you can track it all on your phone. In other words, it takes all the guess work out!

What are short ribs?

If you are like me, you might not know what a beef short rib is. It’s taken from the brisket, chuck or rib areas.  They usually require long periods of cooking like braising to make the meat tender. They are also good barbecued. Click here to learn more about short ribs.

Below you can see what the beef short ribs look like. They have a lot of marbling which is where they get the flavor. I bought two packages of Certified Angus Beef ® brand because they looked so nice! You can learn more about this cut of meat and find some recipes for short ribs on their website. They even have how-to videos.

You can also just ask your local butcher. Most bigger grocery stores have a butcher that would even order these beef ribs for you if you can’t find them in the meat case.

How to make a low carb spice rub for ribs.

I make my own bbq rub and use it for a lot of my recipes like my bbq salmon or chicken. This dry rub is easy and you can make a big batch for easy summer barbecues.  Here are the ingredients for my low carb bbq rub recipe:

• 1 part paprika
• 1 part cumin
• 2 parts salt
• 2 parts chili powder
• 3 parts onion powder
• 3 parts garlic powder
• ½ part black pepper (can also use ¼ t cayenne pepper for more heat)
• 3 parts brown sugar sweetener (Swerve brown or Lakanto Golden) 

Note if you don’t care about this rub being sugar free you can substitute the sweetener with regular brown sugar.

 How to make smoked short ribs.

Note the timing on these beef short ribs will vary depending on your smoker and the size of the ribs themselves. The cook time for ours have taken anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours.

If you use a Meater wireless meat thermometer which is a digital probe meat thermometer, it will calculate how long it has to cook. It a little probe that you place in the thickest part of the meat as it cooks.

You can then follow it’s progress on your phone. It takes all the guesswork out. However you can also just use an instant read thermometer and check it starting at 3 hours.

Step 1: Take out the ribs and let come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. In the meantime get out a small bowl add all the spices and sweetener. Mix the seasoning together well then take the spice mixture and rub all over the ribs. Place on a platter or plate. When ready to cook, place on the grill grate of the smoker.

Step 2: We set the smoker temperature to 275° F and cooked them for 3 – 5 hours or until the internal temperature is 203° F. Time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your ribs as mentioned above. This time it took approximately 4 hours.

Below you can see what the smoked short ribs look like in the smoker and the Meater wireless meat thermometer sticking out.

When done, take them out and let them rest for 5-10 minutes.  You can tent them with a piece of foil while resting.

You will also see below how they pull away from the bone when they are done. When you go to eat them you can probably just pull the bone right off of some of them.

Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

Making these in the oven.

If you want to try this in the oven, rub the short ribs with the bbq seasoning and place in a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 3 hours in a 300°F oven. Take off the foil for the last ½ hour.  Again you want the internal temperature to be 203°F for them to be done so you might have to cook them longer.

If you want a low carb bbq sauce to go with this.

I’ve made a low carb bbq sauce for lots of my recipes.  I didn’t think these bbq smoked short ribs needed it but if you are interested you can make some. It will keep for quite a while in the refrigerator. 

•  brown sugar sweetener (Swerve Brown or Lakanto Golden)
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 5 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Swerve sweetener
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ¾ cup water
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard

Well I hope you like these smoked beef short ribs as much as I do. The smoking adds so much flavor to a super flavorful cut of meat. I just LOVEd them and made them twice this summer so far. I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy them too.

The nutrition for 1 smoked beef short rib is: 323 cals / 28.1g fat / 2.2g carbs / 0.4g fiber / 14.4g protein = 1.8g net carbs

This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef ® brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own. #Steakholder #BestAngusBeef

You might also like my friend Taryn’s smoked onions or her smoked garlic to go with this!