I’m a big fan of beef ribs, but they’re hard to find in Middle Tennessee — when I do see them, they usually don’t have much meat on them. I found some decent-looking short ribs at my local Publix and decided to give them a try. Doing a little research, I found three schools of thought on sous vide timing for short ribs: a high temp of 165°F for 24 hours, a medium temp of 145°F for 48 hours, or a low temp of 130°F for 72 hours.
The Sous Vide Stage
Sous vide is a set-it-and-forget-it appliance — the meat cooks until you remove it. The reasoning behind such a long cook at a relatively low temp is even cooking throughout and real tenderness. I went with the 72-hour version. With sous vide, the process is as simple as seasoning the product and cooking it submerged for the recommended time. I seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, vacuum sealed them, and let them run for the full 72 hours.
Here’s what the ribs looked like coming out after 72 hours. They’re cooked to something like a medium-rare steak in color, but with a tenderness closer to filet quality — and unlike traditional cooking methods, they’re cooked completely evenly throughout, edge to edge.
Finishing on the Smoker
The plan all along was to finish these on the smoker for extra flavor. I ran low and slow at about 225°F with hickory. As usual, I had something else going at the same time — mild Italian sausages sharing the smoker. I left the ribs on for about 2 hours total, rotating them occasionally, with no baste or sauce during the process.
I let them rest about 10 minutes once they came off.
Result
I pulled one off the bone and sliced it to get a better look at the finished product.
I’d absolutely do this again. Next time, I’d like to try the 48-hour or 24-hour version to see how much of a real difference the shorter cooks make. If you’re curious how a completely different cut and method compares, I’ve also done Korean-style short ribs straight on the smoker, and hickory smoked American Wagyu beef ribs.