- 1Trim the ribsPull off the papery silverskin on the back of the ribs — grip a corner with paper towel and peel. Leave the fat cap on the top. Pat both sides dry.
- 2Mix the rubCombine salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder and cracked coriander in a small bowl. Massage generously onto every surface of the ribs. Rest at room temperature for 30 minutes while the kettle heats.
- 3Set up indirect heatFire up your Weber kettle with a two-zone setup — charcoal banked on one side, ribs going on the empty side. Aim for a lid temperature of 120-130°C. Add a handful of soaked apple or cherry wood chips to the coals for a whisper of smoke.
- 4First cook — 3 hours unwrappedLay the ribs meat-side up on the indirect side, close the lid, and don't touch for 90 minutes. Spritz with apple cider every 45 minutes to keep the bark developing without drying out. Total unwrapped cook time: 3 hours.
- 5Wrap and rest phase — 60 minOnce the bark is set (dark, glossy, feels tacky), tightly wrap the ribs in two layers of foil with a splash of apple cider inside the wrap. Return to the kettle for another 60 minutes. The internal temperature you're chasing is 96°C — that's where collagen fully breaks down.
- 6Rest before slicingPull the ribs off the heat, leave them wrapped, and let them rest for 20 minutes on the bench. This is non-negotiable — cutting too early loses all the collected juices.
- 7Slice between the bonesUnwrap on a big cutting board. Slice cleanly between each bone. The meat should have serious jiggle and pull cleanly off with a fork.
- 8ServeServe on butcher paper with a sharp knife, a pile of pickles, buttered white bread, and a cold WA pale ale. That's dinner.
Ask any Perth backyard griller what the ultimate slow-cook is and they'll usually name-check American beef ribs before anything else. Big, meaty, dinosaur-style short ribs — the kind that render for four hours over indirect heat until the collagen melts, the bark turns black and glossy, and the meat pulls cleanly off the bone with a fork.
At THE BUTCHER BOX, our beef short ribs come from the plate section of Australian grass-fed beef, cut to a 4-bone rack of approximately 1.5 kg — the exact spec you want for the technique below. Order them Wednesday, get them Friday, cook them Saturday. This is the exact recipe our head butcher uses at home.
Why beef ribs are different to pork ribs
Pork ribs cook in 3 hours; beef ribs need 4-5. That extra hour is the collagen. Beef short ribs have more connective tissue than any pork rib — which is exactly what you want, because when collagen breaks down slowly at 90-96°C, it becomes gelatin, and gelatin is what gives you that unbelievable mouth-feel and glossy bark that makes proper beef ribs eat like the world's most decadent stew.
Rush the cook and you get chewy, tough beef ribs. That's the single mistake beginner BBQ cooks make.
Kit you'll need
- A Weber kettle (or any decent charcoal/gas grill with a lid + indirect heat setup)
- A digital thermometer — grate temp AND meat temp. Guessing kills ribs.
- Foil for the wrap phase
- A spritz bottle with apple cider
- Optional: apple or cherry wood chips for a subtle smoke ring
If you're on a gas grill without a smoker box, wrap the wood chips in a foil pouch, punch holes in it, and sit it directly on a burner. Works fine.
Pairing the sides
Beef ribs are rich. Balance the plate with:
- Coleslaw — sharp, vinegary, not the mayonnaise-bomb pub-standard
- Cornbread or buttered white bread to soak up juices
- Dill pickles — the acid cuts the fat perfectly
- Pickled onions — same reason
Wine or beer? A cold WA IPA works. If you're going wine, a full-bodied Margaret River Shiraz. Skip the Cabernet — too tannic against the fat.
Timing for a Saturday dinner
Working backwards from an 18:00 dinner:
- 13:30: Take ribs out of the fridge, apply rub, rest at room temp
- 14:00: Fire up the Weber, get the temp stable at 120-130°C
- 14:15: Ribs on the indirect side
- 17:15: Wrap the ribs in foil
- 18:15: Pull from heat, rest 20 min wrapped
- 18:35: Slice and serve
What to do with leftovers
Chop the leftover rib meat off the bones the next morning and stir it through a pot of Boston baked beans for lunch. Or fold it into a beef ragu with pappardelle for a proper Sunday-night pasta. Refrigerate the meat with a splash of the wrapping juices — it reheats without drying out.
Where to source the ribs
Every Friday, we deliver whole beef short-rib racks across Perth metro from our Malaga counter. Order by Wednesday 7pm for that week's delivery. Sub-in a Braai Box or Grill Master's Box subscription and the ribs will rotate through your kit alongside boerewors, marinated skewers and Wagyu burgers.
Beef ribs are the single most satisfying thing you can cook in a Perth backyard. Set aside a Saturday, follow this recipe, and you'll never spend $95 on a mediocre BBQ restaurant plate again.
