Resting Meat: Why You Should and for How Long
If you’re grilling the best cuts of steak, you want to make sure these premium cuts shine. Letting meat rest is an essential part of the cooking process to serve quality meat. This is true for chicken, lamb, pork, game meats, and even some fish. We explain exactly why and how long meat needs to rest so your menu has customers coming back for more.
How to Rest a Steak
Check out our video to learn how to rest a steak the proper way:
How Long to Let Meat Rest
As a general rule, rest thinner cuts of meat for a minimum of 5-7 minutes. Thick cuts should rest for 10-20 minutes before you cut into them.
Meat Resting Times and Temperature
The goal with steak is for the center to be between 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit and the exterior between 125-140 degrees Fahrenheit. You can use a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature, but any further cutting into the meat will cause the juices to expel from the fibers.
Use the following timing recommendations to learn how long to rest steak so that the flavorful juices have time to distribute through your meat:
- Rest meat for 5 minutes per inch of thickness.
- Rest meat for 10 minutes per pound.
- Rest meat for 1 minute for every 100 grams.
- Rest thin meat for half the time it took to cook.
- Rest thick meat for the whole time it took to cook.
How to Rest Steak
Follow the steps below to properly rest a steak, roast, or any type of meat:
- Remove the meat from the oven or off the burner.
- Transfer the meat to a cutting board, warm plate, or serving platter.
- Trap heat by tenting the pan with aluminum foil.
- Remove the foil after the appropriate rest time.
- Plate and serve.
Why Do You Let Meat Rest?
Internal juices constrict during the cooking process, and resting meat allows its juices to reabsorb and redistribute. Cutting it too soon will cause its juice to pool out and yield a dry cut of meat. We break down what happens to muscle fibers when they're heated so you can understand this phenomenon:
What Happens to Meat When You Cook It?
This is what happens to the muscle fibers in meat while it cooks:
- When the steak is heated, the muscle fibers constrict.
- This constriction pushes the juices in those fibers away from the heat source and towards the center of the meat.
- Since all of the moisture is concentrated in the center of the meat, it will pour out of the meat as soon as it is cut, making it look unappealing and bloody while taking the moisture and flavor with it.
- The steak ends up dry and flavorless.
What Happens When You Let Meat Rest?
This is why it is so important to rest meat before serving:
- As the meat rests, the constricted muscle fibers begin to relax.
- The pressure on the juices is slowly released and they redistribute towards the edges of the meat.
- By letting the meat rest, you achieve an evenly moist and flavorful steak.
What Is Carryover Cooking?
Carryover cooking means your food is still cooking after it's removed from the heating element. Why does carryover cooking occur? During the resting period, the outer layers of your meat cool while the temperature at the center continues to rise. The latent heat traveling through the meat induces carryover cooking. The meat achieves its final resting temperature when its outer and inner temperatures meet.
How Much Does Meat Temperature Rise When Resting?
The density of your meat determines how much its temperature rises when resting. While you'll set your unit to your desired grilling temperature, variables like hot zones can induce more carryover, and small cuts of meat, such as steaks, are less prone to carryover cooking. With that in mind, we provide guidelines for carryover cooking large and small cuts of meat below:
- Small Meat Cuts Temperature Rise - Smaller meats like hamburgers, chicken breasts, and steak will continue to rise between 3-6 degrees Fahrenheit when resting.
- Large Meat Cuts Temperature Rise - Larger roasts such as pork tenderloin and turkey can rise between 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit when resting.
When to Remove Steak from Grill
Factor carryover cooking into your total cooking time and remove your steak from the grill when it’s between 3-5 degrees Fahrenheit under its ideal doneness temperature. For example, if you're preparing an asado and want to serve a thick picanha steak medium-rare (130 degrees Fahrenheit), remove it when it reaches 126 degrees Fahrenheit.
Resting Meat FAQs
As chefs start resting their meat, they may have some additional questions about how to achieve the best results. To help you engineer the perfect steak, we answer the most frequently asked questions about resting meat below.
How Long Can Cooked Meat Sit Out?
Resting meat should never run the risk of time-temperature abuse. Cooked meat can only sit out for less than two hours before it enters unsafe temperatures. According to the USDA, food items between 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit are in the Temperature Danger Zone, and at risk of growing bacteria. To prevent food poisoning, don't leave food out for extended periods.
Should You Wrap Steak in Foil?
Tenting steak in aluminum foil after grilling keeps the meat warm during the resting period. When it's 3-5 degrees under its ideal doneness temperature, remove your steak from the grill and loosely wrap aluminum foil around it.
Give your prime-grade beef, ribs, or chicken the time they need to rest before serving. Your guests and customers will be impressed by the flavorful results!
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What Are Burnt Ends?
Burnt ends are slow-smoked, cubed, and caramelized pieces of meat beloved for their sweet flavor and soft-as-butter texture. Made from either brisket or pork belly meat, they're almost as fatty as butter, too. Despite their name, burnt ends aren’t burnt at all. Their toothsome, BBQ bark crust gives them a burnt appearance but is chewy and tastes like smoked spices and meat. BBQ bark develops when dry rub, smoke, and meat proteins combine, initiating a chemical reaction that develops the flavorsome “bark”. Whether you're learning how to smoke meat to open a barbeque restaurant or expanding your existing menu, your customers will crave the delicious debauchery that is burnt ends. Read on to learn everything you need to know about burnt ends so you can add them to your menu. Click below to learn more about burnt ends: Burnt Ends Ingredients/Flavor Types of Burnt Ends How to Make Brisket Burnt Ends How to Make Pork Belly Burnt Ends How to Serve Burnt Ends Burnt Ends FAQ What Are Burnt Ends Made Out Of? Burnt ends are made from fatty cuts of smoked meat. Once the meat reaches its desired internal temperature, pitmasters dress it in Kansas City-style BBQ sauce which they caramelize in smoke. What Do Burnt Ends Taste Like? Burnt ends taste like rich, smoked beef caramelized in the sweet molasses beauty of Kansas City barbecue sauce. Despite their name and charred appearance, burnt ends don't taste burnt. The spices on the meat harden when smoked, creating a flavorsome layer of barbeque bark that has a similar consistency to jerky. When you first bite into burnt ends, your teeth are met with resistance from the dense barbeque bark crust. Breaking through, a burst of juice erupts as the meat releases the fat it absorbed during its long, low and slow smoking process. A deep umami flavor arrests your tastebuds. You chew the bark while the meat melts in your mouth. Before you know it, the bite is gone, so you reach for another burnt end. What Meat Is Burnt Ends? Both cow and pig meat are used to create burnt ends. Cow’s meat burnt ends come from the point half of a brisket. Pitmasters use pork belly to create pig meat burnt ends. Popularized in the 1970s, brisket burnt ends are both the most traditional and most popular type of burnt ends. Modern pitmasters also make burnt ends out of pork belly meat, which has a similar fat-to-protein ratio as brisket. We explain the intricacies of brisket burnt ends and pork belly burnt ends below. What Are Brisket Burnt Ends? Brisket burnt ends are cubed, sauced, and smoked pieces of point brisket. These sweet bites of succulent smoky beef are the classic and most common type of burnt ends. Brisket burnt ends are the signature dish of Kansas City-style BBQ. When smoked, the fatty brisket point cut crisps and is hard to slice. When making brisket sandwiches, most pitmasters discard the flavorful, crispy brisket point. But not Bryant’s Barbeque. Bryant’s Barbeque, a renowned restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, chopped smoked brisket point into cubes and handed them to queued customers as a free snack. Food writer Calvin Trill, a Kansas City native, spread the word about Bryant’s Barbeque, and burnt ends captured the hearts and tastebuds of BBQ aficionados nationwide. What Are Pork Belly Burnt Ends? Pork belly burnt ends are cubed pieces of pork belly meat that are slow-smoked, sauced, and then finished to yield a caramelized, sweet, and buttery flavor. While brisket burnt ends originated to reduce food waste by utilizing the discarded pieces of brisket from sliced brisket sandwiches, people prepare pork belly burnt ends for their own sake. When pitmasters realized just how delicious brisket burnt ends are, they prepared pork belly meat in the same way. Most unprocessed pork belly contains approximately 48% fat. When trimmed and cooked, brisket typically has a 50% fat content. So, while they come from two distinct animals, you can prepare brisket meat and pork belly meat the same way and achieve similar results. Back to Top How to Make Burnt Ends You make burnt ends by smoking cubed brisket point pieces low and slow, slathering them in sauce, and then giving them a final, caramelizing caress of smoke. Discover the fundamentals of how to make burnt ends so you can serve up authentic Kansas City flavor anywhere you park your smoker. Separate the brisket point from the flat. Trim leftover hard fat on the bottom of the point and the fat cap on top. You want them to be 1/4 inch thick. Smoke the brisket with low heat over an extended cook time. Many pitmasters swear that 250 degrees Fahrenheit is the best temperature to smoke brisket at. At 250 degrees Fahrenheit, expect the beef brisket to cook at a rate of 1 to 1 1/2 hours per pound. Once the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the smoked point and cut it into cubes. Shoot for 1 to 1 1/2 inch cube sizes. Sauce the cubed meat in sweet Kansas City BBQ sauce. Smoke the burnt ends in an uncovered pan for another hour or two. When you remove them, they should have absorbed the sweet sauce and will have a melt-in-your mouth consistency. How to Make Pork Belly Burnt Ends You’ll need to smoke pork belly for three to four hours to make pork belly burnt ends. We provide some tips and tricks for how to select the best cut of pork belly meat and how to make pork belly burnt ends below. Buy pork belly meat that has a balanced fat-to-meat ratio by asking your butcher for the center cut of the belly. Pure fat cubes will not render. Discard them. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove any remaining skin. The skin won’t render. Cut the pork belly into 1 1/2 to 2-inch-sized cubes. Add dry rub or other desired seasonings. Place your pork belly cubes on a wire rack before adding them to your smoker. This aids smoke circulation and makes it easier to move the cubes in and out of the smoker. Smoke the pork belly cubes for approximately 3 1/2 hours to cook them and imbue them with smoke. When the internal temperature of your pork belly cubes reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, remove them and sauce with Kansas City-style BBQ sauce or the sauce of your choosing. Put them in a heat-proof disposable pan and smoke them until they reach your desired level of caramelization. Expect this to take approximately 45 minutes. Let them rest covered outside of the smoker for an additional 15 minutes. The meat will continue to absorb the sauce. Enjoy your crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside pork belly burnt ends. What to Serve with Burnt Ends What you should serve with burnt ends depends on whether you’re using them as an appetizer or as the centerpiece of your entree. Both crunchy and juicy, burnt ends also make a great mix-in for side dishes like baked beans. Whether you’re serving brisket or pork belly, discover what to eat with burnt ends below: Serve burnt ends between a bun as a sandwich. While they don’t lay flat and stay put like sliced brisket, these flavorful bites release their juice into the bun and create a messy but delicious BBQ sandwich option. Serve burnt ends in baked beans. Kansas City-style baked beans get their rich flavor from burnt ends, which soften when they’re simmered with these sweet and saucy baked beans. Serve burnt ends with Carolina-style red slaw. While mayo-based coleslaw is traditional for Kansas City BBQ, we recommend blending traditions and pairing burnt ends with the signature red vinegar-based coleslaw of the Carolinas. This tangy, light, vinegar-dressed coleslaw is a nice complement to the rich burnt ends. Serve burnt ends with roasted sweet potato. Just like burnt ends, roasted sweet potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, making them textural twins. Dress them in BBQ sauce to add moisture. Serve burnt ends as the protein in a BBQ boat. Many BBQ food trucks allow their customers to build a BBQ boat by layering two sides and the protein of their choice in a banana split boat. Serve burnt ends in BBQ tacos. Particularly if you use pork belly burnt ends, this is a fun twist on traditional tacos. BBQ restaurants can offer burnt ends tacos as a taco Tuesday special, or restaurants can promote them as a happy hour menu item. Serve burnt ends with mac and cheese. This is an indulgent pairing, but the tender noodles and creamy consistency of mac and cheese pair perfectly with the toothsome BBQ bark and juicy center of burnt ends. The flavors of smoke, cheese, and grain culminate in a filling dish that satiates appetites and indulges senses. Serve burnt ends on kababs with grilled vegetables. This is a great option for catered events and mobile food vendors who want to offer a portable food option. You could also serve them on food picks as an appetizer tray item at weddings and corporate events. Serve burnt ends with roasted Brussels sprouts. Brussels and bacon are a classic combination, so reinvent the tradition by using burnt ends instead. Burnt ends and bacon are equally rich, but burnt ends bring smoke and sweetness to the table. Replace the traditional balsamic glaze with BBQ sauce and you’ve got a down-home version of a bistro classic that will prove life really is sweeter in the South. Serve burnt ends inside a bao bun. Create a fusion twist on a street food classic and replace BBQ pork with burnt ends inside a bao bun. The soft, doughy bao creates a pleasant contrast to the chewy, sumptuous burnt-end meat. Back to Top Burnt Ends BBQ FAQ Knowing what burnt ends are, how to prepare them, and what to serve them with is a start, but you probably have a few more questions about this smoked meat candy before you add it to your menu. We answer frequently asked questions about burnt ends below, so you can move forward with incorporating this menu trend with confidence. How to Get Bark on Brisket Brisket bark is a key element of scrumptious burnt ends, but how do you get bark on brisket? Follow the tips below to develop flavorful and crunchy brisket bark on your burnt ends: Rub meat with oil before adding dry rub - Oil picks up smoke. Use a high sugar dry rub - Sugar helps build bark on brisket. Spray the brisket while it smokes - Spray once an hour while the internal temperature builds to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it reaches 165, wrap the brisket in butcher paper - The butcher paper protects the bark and retains moisture. Once wrapped, continue to smoke the brisket until it reaches the internal temperature of 203 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it reaches 203 degrees Fahrenheit, unwrap and finish with a last kiss of smoke - This will redevelop any bark that was washed away by pooled liquid in the butcher paper. Are Burnt Ends Fatty? Yes, burnt ends are fatty. Made from either brisket meat or pork belly meat, burnt ends contain approximately 50% fat content. However, burnt ends are not just crispy, juicy nuggets of fat. Burnt ends are made from the point cut of a brisket, which comes from the brisket primal (aka the pectoralis minor muscle). Brisket point has a dense layer of fat coating it as well as plentiful intramuscular fat marbling, but it is still a cut of meat. When making brisket burnt ends, they leave the fat layer intact to render the meat while it cooks, which imbues the meat with rich flavor. Burnt Ends vs Brisket Technically, burnt ends and brisket are the same things. Burnt ends are the trimmings from a smoked brisket. During the smoking process, the point cut of the brisket develops a rich, smoky bark and crunchy texture. Pitmasters trim off this flavorful section, cut them into cubes, sauce them, and then kiss them with smoke to caramelize them. These bites of BBQ bark and caramelized, well-marbled meat are known as burnt ends. Some pitmasters use pork belly meat to make burnt ends, but they prepare it in the same way as brisket burnt ends. What Part of Brisket Is Burnt Ends? Burnt ends come from the point half of a smoked brisket. The point half is the superficial pectoral. It is also called the “second cut” because when butchers separate the brisket muscles; they first remove the deep pectoral known as the “first cut” or the “flat cut”. The point half is also known as the “fat end” because it is much fattier than the lean, deep pectoral cut. Rib Tips vs Burnt Ends Rib tips and burnt ends are not the same things. Burnt ends are the BBQ bark-laden edges of slow-smoked brisket, and rib tips come from the short section butchers remove when they prepare squared-off ribs cuts like St. Louis style spareribs. They are distinct cuts of meat from separate animals, and they interact with heat differently. The heat cooks the fat off rib tips, but burnt ends absorb fat, giving them a richer flavor and juicier texture. How to Reheat Burnt Ends Burnt ends reheat well. We show you how to reheat burnt ends with your oven, smoker, and stovetop below. How to Reheat Burnt Ends in the Oven - To reheat burnt ends in the oven, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the burnt ends in a disposable aluminum pan and apply a fresh coat of barbeque sauce. Wrap the pan in aluminum foil, and warm it in the oven for 20 to 24 minutes. How to Reheat Burnt Ends in the Smoker - If you’d like to reheat your burnt ends in your smoker, preheat your smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, place the burnt ends in a heat-resistant disposable tray. Lightly reapply your sauce and warm them for 30 minutes. How to Reheat Burnt Ends on the Stove - To reheat burnt ends on the stove, seal them in a bag with a vacuum sealer. Take a large pot and add 3 quarts of water for each pound of meat. Bring the water to a boil. Place your vacuum-sealed bag inside the pot. Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the hot burner. Let the burnt ends rest in the water for 15 minutes, then remove the bag. Cut open the vacuum bag and remove the burnt ends. You can follow a similar process with the sous vide method to reheat your brisket without drying it out. Are Burnt Ends Pork or Beef? The most traditional burnt ends come from beef, specifically from the brisket point cut. However, given their popularity, some modern pitmasters prepare pork belly in the same style as brisket burnt ends to recreate this tender-centered, crunchy-edged delicacy with pork meat. Unless labeled as pork belly burnt ends, expect to receive beef burnt ends when you order them at a BBQ restaurant. If you have a food allergy, ask your server to confirm whether the burnt ends are brisket or pork belly meat. Burnt Ends BBQ Sauce As the hallmark dish of Kansas City style BBQ, Kansas City style BBQ sauce is the traditional finishing touch for burnt ends. Kansas City-style BBQ sauce is a fail-proof choice because it is the most popular type of barbecue sauce. Ketchup-based and swirled with molasses, this high sugar content sauce is an addicting staple in pantries nationwide. If you want to blend BBQ traditions, try dressing your burnt ends in Carolina Gold BBQ sauce or North Carolina vinegar BBQ sauce for tangy twists that will cut some of the fat in the burnt ends and produce balanced flavor bites. If you want to keep some of the sweetness but add some tang, try Memphis-style BBQ sauce. Fusion chefs may choose to sauce their burnt ends in bulgogi sauce or a tamarind chutney to blend the American BBQ tradition with global flavors. What Is National Burnt Ends Day? National burnt ends day is a national food holiday that takes place on September 1st. Offer a burnt end special on September 1st or host a burnt ends cookoff event at your restaurant to attract customers. Are Burnt Ends Healthy? Made from fatty cuts of meat and slathered in a sugar-rich sauce, burnt ends are not a healthy choice. Burnt ends pack a powerful protein punch, with an average of 27g of protein per one cup of smoked beef brisket burnt ends, which appeals to those wanting to add more protein to their diet. However, the allure of burnt ends is their decadence, not their health benefits. Back to Top Made from an inexpensive cut of meat, burnt ends are affordable to create. They reduce food waste by utilizing every morsel of delicious smoked brisket. Whether you serve them as an appetizer, entree, or add them to your favorite side dish, burnt ends will be the crown jewel of your menu.
How to Smoke Meat
Some say cooking meat with smoke is a labor of love, others consider it an art form. Pitmasters use wood, smoke, and some basic equipment to turn tough cuts of meat into mouthwatering barbecue. Whether you're making Memphis-style BBQ or one of the other three regional American barbecue traditions, you must gain the equipment, tools, and techniques to prepare it. Go from a pit-novice to a pit-master with our meat smoking guide. Shop All Smokehouse Supplies Use the following links to navigate and learn more about smoking meats: How to Smoke Meat in a Smoker Which Cuts of Meat Should I Smoke? Smoked Meat Temperature Chart Best Smoking Woods Grilling vs Smoking Smoked Meat Explained Commercial BBQ Smokers Equipment for Smoking Meat Pit BBQ Definition How to Smoke Meat in a Smoker Hot smoking meat with wood is a time-honored tradition with some well-tested practices. Follow our tips below to learn how to smoke meat in a smoker and craft premium BBQ customers crave. Write out a BBQ schedule - Extensive cook times can lead to forgetfulness and fatigue. Ensure your meat is ready when you need it and don’t miss vital steps along the way by following a detailed schedule that outlines when to increase heat, wrap meat, and add your mop sauce. Incorporate a two-hour buffer period to accommodate the meat resting period and unexpected additional cooking time. Start with a clean smoker - Leftover residue creates creosote-filled smoke, which is dangerous. Grease that drips into your fire causes bad-tasting smoke and perverts the flavor of smoked meat. Truss your meat - Trussing (aka tying meat) with kitchen twine keeps its shape and allows it to cook evenly. Not just for chicken cuts, use trussing when smoking any uneven cut of meat. Tailor your wood size to your cooking time - Large cuts of meat with long cooking times require large wood chunks that range in size from a golf ball to a baseball. Wood pellets work well for fast-cooking items like fish. Smoke dry wood - While some love to experiment with soaking their wood in beer and other flavoring agents, damp wood causes uneven smoking. Use indirect cooking - When you smoke your meat with an indirect heat source, the meat drippings cannot fall into the fire and produce flare-ups or nasty tasting smoke. Aim for a light blue smoke - Light blue smoke has the best flavor. Burning wood is okay for smoking - It’s better to smoke meat with the clean smoke from burning wood than dark cloudy smoke created by incomplete combustion. Black smoke is bad - Pay attention to the color and consistency of the smoke. It should be a gentle, steady stream of blueish-white smoke. If the smoke is puffy, inconsistent, and gray/black, your wood is air starved. Dark smoke creates an unpleasant flavor in your meat. Add air to correct the problem. Only lift the lid at planned intervals - You will need to lift the lid to tend to the food, fire, and water pan, but you should not lift the lid otherwise. Try to perform all three maintenance functions at once. Preserving a smoky environment and even temperatures is critical for smoking succulent meats. Use smoke for half the cooking time - Adding too much wood and smoke will dominate the flavor of your meat and dry rub. After the first half of your cooking time elapses, allow heat to finish cooking your meats. How to Arrange Meat in a Smoker We recommend arranging your meat in an offset smoker. Always arrange your denser meats closer to the heat and arrange your lighter meats further away from the heat source. When arranging multiple types of meat in your smoker, you’ll need to know how long each type of meat usually takes to cook. Otherwise, your meats won't finish cooking at the same time. How to Arrange Meat in a Vertical Smoker Vertical smokers have higher temperatures at the bottom where their heat source lies. Arrange your heavier meats towards the bottom of your vertical smoker and lighter meats on a higher rack. Best Smoked Meats The best cuts of meat for smoking are full of fat and connective tissues (collagen). Smoking is an indirect cooking method that uses low temperatures and long cooking times. The cuts of meat we usually consider inferior quality are the stars of the meat smoking world. When the connective tissues have time to break down slowly, they convert to sugar and moisten the meat while it cooks. Smoked meats are a great example of the power of the Maillard reaction to enhance the complexity of food. The three classic types of BBQ meat are beef brisket, pork shoulder, and ribs. Beginners to smoking meat should start out with easy and inexpensive cuts such as a Boston butt or picnic roast. Experts in the art of smoking may want to try their hand at smoking a prime rib or leg of lamb. We list the best meat to smoke in an eclectic smoker below, so you know exactly what to ask for when you go to your local butcher shop. Boston Butt - While its name suggests otherwise, Boston butt (also called pork butt) comes from the thick, marbled upper portion of a pig’s shoulder (aka the blade roast). It begins directly behind the pig’s neck and typically contains a small piece of its shoulder blade. When smoked, Boston Butt meat falls apart with ease, making it the ideal cut for pulled pork recipes. Picnic Cut - Also known as picnic shoulder/pork shoulder, the picnic cut is well-exercised pig shoulder meat. This arm roast begins where the Boston butt ends and continues down the leg to the hock. Brisket - Brisket comes from the breast of a cow. Lacking collarbones, cattle use their pectoral muscles to keep the front half of their 12000-to-1400-pound bodies off the ground. Their breast meat is dense, tough, and loaded with connective tissue. The point half of the brisket is used to make burnt ends. Pork Spareribs - The long cuts from the stomach to the shoulder of a pig are called spareribs. A rack of spareribs will have 11 to 13 bones that offer meat both atop and between the bones. St. Louis-Style Ribs - Characterized by their rectangular shape, butchers extract St. Louis-style ribs from a pig’s belly. Once removed, they trim away the breastbone, cartilage, and tips. Pork Back Ribs - Back ribs (also known as baby back ribs/loin ribs) come from the top of a pig’s rib cage below its loin muscle between the spine and spareribs. Baby back’s short, curved shape makes them easy to hold. Pork Country-Style Ribs - Cut from the shoulder blade end of the loin, country-style ribs are the leanest cut of pork ribs and offer the most meat per bone. Back Ribs - Beef back ribs are cut from behind the shoulder of a steer (the top dorsal area). Butchers remove the rib bones to access the prized prime rib roast. Butchers leave little meat on top of the rib bones, so most of the meat found on the back rib cut is between the bones. Plate Short Ribs - Plate short ribs come from the lower portion of a cow’s rib cage known as the short plate. Sandwiched between the brisket and flank steak cut, the short plate runs between the 6th and 10th rib. Nicknamed “brisket on a stick”, plate short ribs typically have 2” of meat on top and span 12”. This fatty cut of ribs does well with the low and slow cooking method. Chuck Short Ribs - Chuck short ribs come from below the chuck at the front of the steer. They’re shorter than plate short ribs and run from the 1st to the 6th rib. Whole Chickens/Turkeys - Smoked poultry is a lighter but equally delicious barbecued meat. It takes approximately 3 hours to smoke a whole chicken and between 6-10 hours to smoke a whole turkey. What Cuts of Meat Shouldn’t Be Smoked? It’s a waste of time and money to slow smoke premium cuts of meat like steaks that grill well. We suggest saving your filet mignon for the sous vide and keeping your lean roasts and pork loins out of the smoker. How Long Does Smoked Meat Last If you refrigerate hot smoked meat within two hours of removing it from the smoker, it will last for four days. Tightly wrapped and frozen hot smoked meat lasts up to three months. Cold smoked meat lasts months without freezing. Cold smoking preserves meat and dries it out, creating an unfriendly environment for the types of bacteria that spoil meat. Back to Top Smoked Meat Temperature Chart Use our smoked meat temperature chart when smoking meats: Meat Type Smoking Temperature Ideal Internal Temperature USDA Minimum Temperature Pork Butt/Shoulder225-275 °F195-205 °F145 °F Pork Ribs225-275 °F195-205 °F145 °F Pork Tenderloin225-325 °F145-150 °F145 °F Beef Brisket225-275 °F190-210 °F145 °F Chicken250-300 °F165 °F165 °F Turkey250-300 °F165 °F165 °F Fish225-250 °F165 °F165 °F Best Wood for Smoking Meat Wood smoke affects the flavor of barbecued meats. Discover the four best woods for smoking meat below: Hickory Wood - If you can only stock one wood, order hickory. BBQ experts call hickory the universal wood for smoking meat. Hickory wood has an inherent sweetness and releases an abundance of smoke, creating the perfect sweet-savory combo. It lends well to large cuts of ribs, poultry, red meat, and pork shoulders. Mesquite Wood - Mesquite is a dense, hot burning wood with a rich, earthy taste. The powerful flavor of mesquite wood lends well to red meat, so it's the darling of beef-centric Texas style BBQ. Apple Wood - Choose apple wood if you want to add a sweet and fruity flavor to your smoked meat. Apple wood has a subtle flavor that takes time to develop, so it’s perfect for the low and slow BBQ method. It lends well to pork, chicken, ribs, and wild fowl. Oak Wood - Oak has a smoky flavor between apple and mesquite. You can use it on its own or blend it with other woods such as cherry, hickory, and apple. Pitmasters often use oak wood to smoke brisket, beef, and sausages, making it another popular choice for Texas style barbeque. Worst Woods for Smoking Avoid using softwoods in your smoker because they contain elevated levels of oil and resin that release dense, pungent clouds of smoke. The worst woods for smoking meat are spruce, pine, and fir. Across wood types, always discard rotten, waterlogged, or rotten pieces. Best Size Wood for Smoking The size of the wood you smoke meat with matters. Wood chips ignite quickly and burn fast, so they’re used with fast cooking items like steak, fish, and pork chops. Wood chunks burn steadily for hours in a smoker, making them the ideal size for low and slow smoked ribs, brisket, and pork butt. Pitmasters use logs as a source of smoke and fuel in large area pit barbeques and offset smokers. What Is the Difference between Using Charcoal and Wood to BBQ? Typically, the smoke from burning wood or charcoal creates the indirect heat used to BBQ. For the American BBQ tradition, burned wood smoke is the preferred heat source. When you burn wood, its natural flavor releases in its smoke, imbuing barbequed meats with earthy essences. Pitmasters tailor their wood selection to complement their meat menu. Smoking vs Grilling Smoking and grilling are two distinct cooking methods. Smoked meats are cooked low and slow over an indirect heat source (smoke) in an enclosed, circumvented cooking device. Grilling is a cooking method that exposes the surface of foods to a direct, dry heat source. Grill heat temperatures are over 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook foods in under an hour (usually in a matter of minutes). Large cuts of meat such as slabs of ribs, beef briskets, and pork shoulders become succulent and tender when you smoke them. Whereas grilling is perfect for smaller cuts of meat like fish, steak, and chicken breasts that aren’t filled with collagen. What Is Smoked Meat? Smoked meat is a protein that was exposed to smoke for the sake of cooking, flavoring, or preserving it. Smoking is one of the oldest cooking methods and has two styles: cold smoking and hot smoking. Hot smoking is how American pitmasters make barbecue, and cold smoking is the technique used to create smoked salmon. What Is Cold Smoking? Cold smoking is a method of preserving and flavoring foods by keeping them away from the direct heat source and exposing them to low-temperature smoke. The smoke is typically between 60-120 degrees Fahrenheit and will not cook food, so many butchers cure meats before cold smoking them. What Is the Difference between Cold and Hot Smoking? Hot smoking is another term for barbecue. Barbecue employs smoke between 200-300 degrees Fahrenheit to cook meat. Hot smoking flavors the surface of the meat with smoke and tenderizes meats by slow cooking them. In contrast, cold smoking uses cooler smoke to preserve and flavor meats but doesn’t cook them. Back to Top Types of BBQ Smokers Below we've listed the types of commercial BBQ smokers you can purchase to churn out delicious low and slow-smoked meats: Commercial Indoor Smokers - BBQ restaurants with limited space and high traffic may require a commercial indoor smoker. There are full, half, and under-counter cabinet models, accommodating a variety of menu and space requirements. Pig Roaster - Perfect for Carolina-style whole hog BBQ, cook smokey, whole roasted pigs inside your commercial kitchen with pig roasters. Indirect-Heat Pit/Offset Smoker - Indirect-heat pits, also known as offset-smokers, have enclosed chambers that pull smoke, heat, and air from a firebox. This cooks the meat low and slow and creates a smokey flavor profile. Pitmasters fill their firebox with woods that complement their meat. Off-set smokers are popular for Texas-style BBQ. Some commercial outdoor grills come with a smoking function. Smoker Grills - Wood-fired pellet grills are diverse pieces of equipment that add woody flavor to grilled items. While smokers turn vegetables to ash, smoker grills give produce a smoky essence without overcooking them. Smoker grills are perfect for restaurants that want to test out smoking, special menu preparation, and outdoor catering applications. Subterranean Pit - Subterranean pits are underground pits that trap foods with an indirect heat source, cooking them evenly and saturating them in smokey flavors. Originally called Pachamanca, subterranean pits date back to the Inca Empire and are the earliest barbequing method. While uncommon, some old-school pitmasters still use subterranean pits. Offset Smoker vs Vertical Smoker If you're wondering whether you should get an offset smoker or a vertical smoker, you'll need to consider the size of the meat you need to smoke and your operational goals. We explain the different benefits of offset smokers and vertical smokers below. Pros and Cons of Horizontal Offset Smokers Offset smokers have a large cooking capacity and are ideal for smoking large cuts of meat like ribs, brisket, and whole hog BBQ. Many pitmasters swear offset smokers create the most authentic barbecue flavors. Most offset smokers can double as a grill if you switch their cooking chamber to grates and create a charcoal pit, making them a versatile investment. Offset smokers are more affordable than vertical smokers. Since they don't need electrical power, you can use your offset smoker anywhere. Offset smokers require more labor, fuel, and lose heat faster than vertical smokers. Pros and Cons of Vertical Smokers Vertical smokers have a smaller footprint and require less fuel than offset smokers. You can yield a high output with vertical smokers because they smoke meat much faster than offset smokers. Vertical smokers are both portable and hold their heat in cold environments, making them ideal for mobile food businesses. While many vertical smokers have double doors for easy fuel replenishment, their narrow designs make it hard to add, rotate, and remove your meats. Adding fuel to vertical smokers without double doors is difficult and time-consuming. Small vertical smokers may not accommodate large cuts of meat, so you may have to hang ribs from a hook instead of smoking them racked, which often leads to unevenly cooked meat. Meat Smoking Equipment Invest in meat smoking equipment so you can start creating delicious smoked proteins. Here are the top 6 smoking tools you’ll need: Smoker - There are a variety of commercial smokers you can purchase. Most manufacturers categorize them by how they generate heat. Wood - Hardwoods work best for smoking. Research the ideal type and size of wood for your smoker. Thermometers - Invest in quality BBQ thermometers to assess your smoke and meat temperatures. Water Pan - Use a water pan to create humidity inside your smoker’s cook chamber. The moisture helps the meat absorb the smoke and prevents it from drying out. Spray Bottle - Certain sections of meat are more prone to drying than others, so you’ll need to use a spray bottle to moisten vulnerable areas during each cook session. Spray bottles with adjustable nozzles work best. You’ll want to release equal parts mist and stream. A pure mist spritz will evaporate before reaching the meat, but a pure stream may dampen the wood. Drip Pan - If your smoker doesn’t have a pre-installed drip pan, you’ll need to add a large, shallow pan underneath its grate. Meat releases grease and rendered fat during the long smoking process. These drippings can turn rancid or cause fires when left unchecked. Meat Smoker Accessories Stock-up on these must-have BBQ smoker accessories: Heat Resistant BBQ gloves BBQ Grill Brush BBQ Tongs Basters Butcher’s Block Boning Knife Rib Racks Shredding Claws What Is Pit BBQ? Pit BBQ is not a dish or a cooking device, it is a method of slowly cooking foods using indirect heat from smoked wood or charcoal. In contrast, pit cooking is the act of roasting meat in a large, level hole in the ground. To start, load a stack of logs approximately 2 1/2 times the volume of the pit into the earth and set them ablaze. Allow the hardwood to burn until it reduces, then half fill the pit with burning coals. This process requires 4 to 6 hours of burning time. Back to Top Smoking is a wonderful way to transform tough cuts of meat into gourmet meals. If done correctly, smoking meat can infuse a ton of flavor into your meat dishes. Whether you want to add smokey brisket nachos to your appetizer list or create a full-fledged BBQ menu, our guide to smoking meat can teach you everything you need to know.
What Are Short Ribs?
Beef short ribs are a cut of beef that comes from the chuck, plate, rib, or brisket section of a cow. They earned their name because they contain “short” pieces of rib bones encased in meat. While they offer less meat than steak, they have more meat than other beef rib varieties. Their high fat content is perfect for slow cooking methods. Thanks to their similar body build, you can purchase bison short ribs as well. Bison short ribs are a sumptuous, game meat alternative to traditional beef short ribs. Shop All Beef Short Ribs Where Do Short Ribs Come From? The best beef short ribs come from the chuck primal where the marbled serratus ventralis muscle is thickest. Originating near the second rib, serratus ventralis covers most of the cattle’s rib cage but thins as it stretches to the rump. Short ribs can also come from the brisket, plate, and rib sections. While short ribs from these sections are less expensive, they're also less flavorful. Cuts of Beef Short Ribs Butchers cut beef short ribs in two dominant fillets: flanken and English. We also know flanken short ribs as crosscut ribs, kosher ribs, and Korean-style ribs. Chefs may refer to English cut short ribs as braising ribs, barbeque ribs, or fancy cut ribs because of the dense slab of meat perched atop their bones. The English cut has several sub-types. From Texas-style BBQ to fine-dining, butchers know how to cut short ribs into the best style for your cooking application, so tell them what dish you would like to make. Flanken vs English Style Short Ribs Discover the differences between flanken and English style short rib cuts: Flanken Cut Beef Short Ribs - Flanken-style short ribs have a half-inch thick strip of meat that runs across four to five bones. It is the ideal cut for Korean Kalbi-style short ribs. English Cut Beef Short Ribs - To create the English cut, butchers sever the ribs and leave a thick piece of meat sitting atop the bones. You can purchase English cut short ribs in racks of four bones or as individual pieces. English cut short ribs are the perfect cut for smoking delicious BBQ. Types of English Style Short Ribs There are three types of the English style short ribs: Trimmed English Short Rib Cut: To create the trimmed English short rib cut, butchers remove the exterior fat cover and much of the latissimus dorsi muscle (aka the prime rib cut). Lean English Short Rib Cut: The lean English short rib cut is the same as the trimmed style, but the butcher removes more of the fat layer. Riblets: Riblets are a type of English cut where the butcher slices the bones into individual pieces and then cuts short, 1-2-inch-long sticks topped with a thick round of meat. Boneless English Short Rib Cut: you can purchase English style ribs as boneless slabs between 1-2“ thick and roughly 8” long. To create the boneless cut, butchers remove both the bones and the intercostal meat. How to Cook Beef Short Ribs From grilling to smoking, there are many ways to cook beef short ribs. Discover some of the most popular ways to cook beef short ribs below. Braised beef short ribs Sous vide beef short ribs Smoked beef short ribs Parilla grilled beef short ribs Slow-roasted beef short ribs Simmer in Korean noodle soups How to Cook Boneless Short Ribs The best way to cook boneless short ribs is by braising them or using sous vide. Both methods tenderize dense short rib meat. Boneless short ribs are easier to portion, cut, and shred than their bone-in counterparts. Bath shredded short ribs in classic French sauces like the demi-glace for a decadent, timeless dish. Short Rib FAQ Before you add short ribs to your menu, you may have a few questions about this cut of beef. We answer some of the most frequently asked questions about short ribs below. Are Short Ribs Beef or Pork? Traditionally, short ribs are a cut of beef, but you can also purchase bison short ribs. Short ribs comprise the lower 3 to 6 inches of a cow’s rib cage near its breastbone. Pigs don't have short ribs. What Are Braised Short Ribs? Braising is the traditional cooking method for beef short ribs. Braising pans allow chefs to employ both dry and moist heat. To braise short ribs, chefs sear the meat and then bake it in a liquid. Chefs often braise short ribs in a mixture of red wine, beef broth, and vinegar. What Do Short Ribs Look Like? What short ribs look like depends on their cut. English-style beef short ribs look like single-boned, small, square chunks of meat. Flanken beef short ribs look like long, three-boned strips with generous meat portions between each rib. How Many Short Ribs Per Person? The ideal short rib serving size varies by the weight of the short rib pieces and the style they're cut in, but you can estimate that you'll need between one to three short ribs per person. You'll want to serve each person approximately one pound of bone-in short ribs. Do Short Ribs Have Bones? Yes, short ribs have bones. Short ribs earned their name because they contain a “short” piece of the rib bone plus its surrounding meat. You may wonder why you’ve seen boneless short ribs at a butcher shop then. Butchers prepare boneless short ribs by removing the rib piece. So, boneless short ribs are something you can buy, not something that exists naturally. Chuck Roast vs Short Ribs Gourmands prize beef chuck for its rich, meaty flavor. Since short ribs come from both the chuck and rib cuts, they fuse the dense beefy goodness of the chuck with the luscious marbling of a rib steak. Beef short ribs are a flavorful, versatile cut of meat that lends itself to many slow cooking applications. Whether you’re grilling ribs for your summer menu, or creating an elegant entree, short ribs will be the crown jewel of the meal.