$$$ · brisket, ribs, pork shoulder, and long smoke cooks
Hold a steady 225°F for twelve hours
Low-and-slow barbecue where stable heat matters more than speed.
Weber Smokey Mountain 18-Inch Charcoal Smoker
Also called
The signature cut of Texas BBQ — three-rib slabs cut along the bone from the beef short plate, with a thick fat cap and intramuscular marbling that turns to silk over 8–12 hours of low-and-slow smoke. Often called "dino ribs" or "brontosaurus ribs" for the dramatic plate-and-handle shape (the bones can run 8"+ and weigh 1.5–2 lbs each). Distinct from *short ribs* (the same plate region cross-cut into thin Korean galbi or Argentine asado de tira strips), from *back ribs* (the dorsal end above the loin, leaner), and from pt-BR *costela ponta de agulha* (the front-of-chest cartilaginous variant). Salt-pepper rub, post-oak smoke, and patience — the full plate-rib experience is one of American BBQ's defining traditions.
Names by country
| Country | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Plate ribsprimary | USDA short plate primal, cut along the bone into 3-rib slabs. Sometimes "beef plate ribs" to disambiguate from the much smaller "back ribs," or colloquially "dino ribs" / "brontosaurus ribs" for the dramatic shape. Texas-BBQ-tradition cut. |
Classic recipe
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