I was looking for something new to smoke and found some great-looking Korean-style short ribs at Sam’s — thin, cross-cut slices across the bone rather than the thicker traditional cut. The marbling caught my eye, so I decided to give them a try. Cost was just under $10/lb, with the whole package running about $31 plus tax.

I dry brined them with coarse salt for 8 hours ahead of the smoke.

I seasoned the ribs with pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. I placed some soy sauce and some Worcestershire sauce in pan, then placed the ribs in the pan and added a little more of each on top of the ribs. It was applied for flavor and for moisture during the smoke.

Smoking
I ran these on my 22″ Weber Smokey Mountain. Both pans fit, though I had to bend them slightly to get the lid on — I used two pans on purpose to give the ribs a little breathing room rather than crowding them into one. Because these are thin, cross-cut slices rather than a thick single-bone rib, they cook much faster than a traditional short rib. I built the fire with charcoal in the bottom chamber, a full chimney of lit coals on top, and two small chunks of hickory. I flipped the ribs at the 2-hour mark, planning for a 4-hour total cook.

They came out very tender with an incredible aroma right at the 4-hour mark.

What I Served With It

To round out the meal, I made fried rice. I cooked the rice in the Instant Pot first, spread it on a baking sheet, and refrigerated it for several hours — the classic move for keeping fried rice from turning mushy. I finished it on my Blackstone with yellow onion, green onion, frozen peas and carrots, and three eggs, using soy sauce for flavor and color.

Want to see a completely different cut and method — traditional beef short ribs, sous vide for 72 hours before a short smoke finish? Check out my Short Ribs Sous Vide, then Smoked post. Sous Vide and Smoked Short Ribs