Where do beef short ribs come from, what do they taste like and how should you cook them? Short ribs come from the beef chuck portion and not the rib portion. They are the five short ribs from the chuck section that are too small to be used for good steaks. The meat in between these bones is from muscle that is used heavily, and therefore has less tenderness but much more flavor. Since short ribs come from the area between the chuck and rib, they combine characteristics of both cuts. Short ribs get the rich marbling of rib steaks with the deep beefy flavor of chuck roast. Traditionally, beef short ribs are braised (A combination of dry and moist cooking methods where you sear the meat and then bake the meat in a liquid), or smoked low-and-slow till the internal temperature reaches 200º - 205ºF.
Short Rib information courtesy of Lake Geneva Country Meats website.

Trim off the fat cap, membrane and silver skin from the top side of the short ribs. Rub all sides of the ribs with Roasted Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Pete's Western Rub which can be found on page 169 of my cookbook - "The Wood Pellet Smoker and Grill Cookbook". Wrap the seasoned short ribs in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat your wood pellet smoker grill to 225ºF using 100% hard wood CookinPellets.com Premium Perfect Mix wood pellets. Smoke the beef short ribs for 3 hours at 225ºF before bumping the pit temperature to 250ºF. To help prevent your food from sticking to the grill grates be sure to use one or more Teflon grill mat. Continue smoking the short ribs at 250ºF for approximately another 3½ hours until the internal temperature of the ribs reach 200º - 205ºF. The short ribs should be tender and almost falling off the bone. Wrap the ribs in heavy duty foil and rest them for at least 30 minutes before serving.

For many decades, Tri Tip Roasts were virtually unknown outside the Central Valley of California. Even today, many of you can't find Tri Tip Roasts and/or your butcher or local grocery store meat cutter doesn't really know what a Tri Tip Roast is. Since I live South of Sacramento I've known about Tri Tips for decades. In the old days you could get a Tri Tip Roast for less than $3 a pound but these days you're lucky to find one for less than $7 or $8 a pound - A Prime Tri Tip Roast at Costco runs closer to $10 a pound. Why? Because the secret is out and people have learned just how great this cut of beef really is and the demand for Tri Tips have soared.

I prefer buying cryovac peeled Tri Tip Roasts in bulk from Costco or Cash & Carry. This allows me to save $2 to $3 a pound per roast. Peeled Tri Tips have the fat cap already removed. Piece count varies by cryovac bag. I like to trim each Tri Tip Roast of any excess fat and silver skin before vacuum sealing and freezing.

Rubbed both sides of a Tri Tip roast with Roasted Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and my Pete's Western Rub which can be found on page 169 of my cookbook - "The Wood Pellet Smoker and Grill Cookbook". Wrapped the seasoned Tri Tip roast in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight.

Preheated my Green Mountain Grills WiFi Controlled Davy Crockett Portable Wood Pellet Grill to 235ºF using 100% hard wood CookinPellets.com Premium Perfect Mix wood pellets which is comprised of Hickory, Cherry, Hard Maple, and Apple pellets. The Davy Crockett is perfect for smaller meals, for on the road in our RV and for two people.

Smoked the Tri Tip Roast for approximately 2 hours at 235ºF until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the roast reached 145ºF. Rested the roast loosely under a foil tent for 15 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain(s). As you can see from the photos, 145ºF for us produces a nice medium rare output. For rarer results, pull the roast at 135ºF. Served with a side of potato salad and fried asparagus.

Times are for planning purposes only - always cook to internal temperatures unless you're one of those gifted cooks that can tell when a piece is ready to your specs by pocking it with your finger. Personally, I prefer to test the internal temperature using an instant read digital thermometer.