Every chef has a favorite dish – something that brings back the delicious nostalgia of their youth. For Brennan’s of Houston executive chef Joey Chavez, that dish is beef ribs. Chavez grew up with Sundays dedicated to two things, barbeque and yard work. After a long day of work, he watched his dad fire up the grill and cook what would eventually become his favorite dish.
Chavez, who has been at the helm of well-known restaurants and cooked alongside notable chefs all over the country, decided to make his dad’s recipe his own and has served beef plate short ribs in nearly every restaurant he has worked in.
Smoked Beef Plate Short Ribs
4 - 6 Beef plate short ribs
Beef Cure:
1 cup salt
½ cup sugar
1 cup ground coffee
1 tablespoon ground thyme
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
1 tablespoon ground ginger
Mix all ingredients together. Rub beef ribs until completely covered and refrigerate overnight. Remove ribs from refrigerator. Pour off the marinade, rinse ribs well under cold water and pat ribs dry with paper towels.
Turn grill on high heat and sear ribs over high heat until all sides of ribs have caramelized. Allow them to cool.
After caramelizing all sides of the ribs, turn heat down to medium on two-thirds of the grill, leaving the burner under the last third of the grill where the meat will cook on low. Paint ribs heavily with BBQ sauce. Close lid of grill and allow the ribs to cook, checking every 10 minutes to make sure they don’t burn and applying more sauce if necessary. Cook ribs to medium, or when tender when pressed down with your fingers. Remove ribs from grill, cover and rest for about 10 minutes.
