This Is The Best Way To Season Your Beef Ribs

Beef ribs are an ideal canvas for creating mouthwatering flavor at your next backyard dinner party, but these chunky and tougher pieces of meat can intimidate even experienced grill masters positioned at the cookout. We spoke to Aaron Franklin, pitmaster extraordinaire and owner of Franklin BBQ, for some easy-to-use tips on cooking up and serving beef ribs that are flavorful, juicy, and tender. Franklin is most at home in front of a grill, and when he's not in Texas, can be found doing barbecue master classes in Argentina with The Vines Global. But we wanted to learn how to make our barbecue dishes as delicious as possible without having to board a flight to Mendoza.

"Beef plate ribs are very fatty and can take tremendous amounts of salt and acid," Franklin advises. "My base seasoning is always two parts coarse black pepper and two parts coarse kosher salt." Turns out professional chef training isn't required to come up with a professional-tasting meal — nor are many ingredients required. With only two ingredients, this is the kind of seasoning chefs of all levels can confidently cook with. However, Franklin does take his ribs one step further after the salt and pepper stage.

While less can be more when it comes to preparing barbecue dishes, Aaron Franklin encourages cooks to build upon his generous seasoning base for beef ribs. He also suggests the option of tweaking your basic salt and pepper seasoning to create further flavor dimensions: "Feel free to add or modify the basics with seasoning salt or anything savory." If you're not sure what ingredients to reach for, infused salts are a great starting point or coat the meat in herby, premade seasoning blends.

Lastly, instead of simply sprinkling seasonings over raw meat, take steps to let your flavorings stick to the ribs as they rest over the flames, while also increasing flavor. Honey can lend sweetness to ribs, or for those craving a fiery bite, hot sauce will bring a zippier punch to the meal. Franklin says, "I also prefer a hot sauce binder and lots of spritzing with apple cider vinegar." The zingy combination of apple cider vinegar and hot sauce keeps seasonings glued to the meat, resulting in cozied-up hot, tangy, and rich flavors that settle in and leave you with fully tasty bites. Experiment with different kinds of hot sauces, as some lend sweeter tasting notes than others that have a fiery list of hot-pepper ingredients. And then just go wild with culinary creations of your own, as hopefully beef ribs shouldn't intimidate you any longer.