Tangy Cider Wine Flintstone Ribs  
2-3         4-5 hours     Smoke     Oak
Meat tastes better roasted bone-in, and the bones are fun to gnaw. Beef short ribs are a perfect example. I can’t think of beef ribs without good ol’ Fred Flintstone coming to mind. His giant slab of ribs was so heavy, it tipped over his car! If you cooked the whole rib slab you might look like Fred; however, by definition, beef short ribs are a shortened portion of the entire rib bone. Make them even easier to handle by serving them flanken-style, or English-cut, with the bones cut in 2 or 6-inch lengths. I use a marinade to boost the ribs’ natural umami flavors. Umami is the savory in the five basic tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, savory). The addition of beef broth and Worcestershire sauce takes it to the next level, from umami to, “Ooooh, Mommy!”
1 cup red wine
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup beef broth
4 tablespoons Canadian Blackened Steak Rub (found in Rubs & Pastes ) , divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dry mustard, divided
4 to 6 English-style beef short ribs (about 2 to 2½ pounds)
2 cups apple juice
½ cup Savory Mustard Sauce (found in Top This ) , for serving
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk in the wine, vinegar, broth, 2 tablespoons Canadian Blackened Steak Rub, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and ½ tablespoon dry mustard.
  2. Trim some of the fat off the ribs. Remove the silver skin from the back (thin, white membrane).
  3. Place the ribs in a dish and pour the marinade over. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
  4. Preheat the smoker to 225°F and add wood.
  5. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining Canadian Blackened Steak Rub and the remaining dry mustard, to make a rub.
  6. Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and discard the marinade, but do not rinse them.
  7. Season the ribs all over with the rub and place them directly on the smoker rack.
  8. Pour the apple juice into a clean spray bottle.
  9. Smoke the ribs for about 3 hours, quickly spraying them with the apple juice every 30 minutes. This will help keep the ribs moist. Do not leave the smoker lid open long.
  10. After 3 hours, remove the ribs from the smoker. Wrap the meat in heavy-duty aluminum foil and spray them with apple juice before tightly sealing the foil.
  11. Place the ribs back in the smoker. Smoke the ribs for 1 to 2 more hours, until a digital thermometer registers 200°F to 205°F and the meat is falling off the bone.
  12. Remove the ribs from the heat, unwrap, and let them rest for about 10 minutes before serving with Savory Mustard Sauce.
The membrane on the inside of the rib slab can be difficult to remove. Prior to seasoning the raw meat, use a blunt butter knife to pry up an edge flap of the tough tissue. Grasp with a paper towel and pull or peel off, completely.