Different Types of Beef Ribs

We’ve done a boatload of pork ribs on GrillinFools.com, of which there are basically two kinds, baby backs and spares. The different types of beef ribs are more complicated. We will go over the English cut, beef back ribs, flanken ribs, and the almighty beef plate ribs (also know as brisket on a stick or brontosaurus rib). And let’s not even talk about beef short ribs which are used for just about any of these cuts, including beef plate ribs which are anything but short. We will talk about how to spot each type and link to our favorite recipe for each kind.

This is not a recipe post but we will link to our best beef rib recipes. 

What are the Different Types of Beef Ribs?

1. Beef Back Ribs

2. Korean Short Ribs or Flanken Ribs

3. English Cut Ribs

4. Beef Plate Ribs

We will cover these ribs in the same order as I listed them above.

Different Types of Beef Ribs – Beef Back Ribs

Beef Back Ribs are similar to baby back ribs on the pig. They are smaller than the beef plate ribs, which are from farther down the side of the animal and akin to pork spare ribs. Beef back ribs are not as meaty as plate ribs, but take considerably less time to cook than their dino rib cousins. They also have more bark to meat ratio which makes them more appealing than plate ribs to some (including me)

Beef Back Ribs Pro Tip: 

Do no scrimp on the beef back ribs. Always find the biggest slab you can find. The smaller ones are just not worth the work.

Find the biggest rack you can. Trust me. 

In this recipe, I grilled two racks of beef back ribs.

The bigger rack was far superior:

Different Types of Beef Ribs – English Cut Beef Ribs

English cut beef ribs are beef ribs sliced between the bones leaving a fairly healthy piece of beef running atop a bone. These can be a few inches long or cut into almost cube like portions. By dividing the cut into individual bones, this also cuts down cooking time and raises the bark to meat ratio. 

Here is the full recipe of those blazed and glazed English cut beef ribs

And here is a recipe for the cubed English cut ribs

Different Types of Beef Ribs – Korean Short Ribs

Korean short ribs also known as flanken ribs, are quite simply, a travesty. Those glorious beef ribs are sliced across the bone to make a thin piece of beef studded with 3-4 bones. These are the most common beef ribs, and at the same time, my least favorite. 

About the only positive thing about the flanken rib is that they only take minutes to cook. 

They also make a great substitute for bacon if you can find well marbled ones like these:

I cooled those korean short ribs three ways along side some sunny side up eggs for this beef ribs and eggs recipe.

One of the ways I cooked those ribs was with some Andria’s steak sauce (which is in the pic behind those ribs)

It’s not that kind of steak sauce.

It’s a brush on sauce not something you dunk beef in to mask the flavor a poorly cooked piece of meat. 

Beef Plate Ribs – Brisket on a Stick

This brings us to the dino ribs which are by far the most popular beef rib. They are thick and meaty, and even with taking hours to cook properly, are absolutely worth it.

They require a very low and slow cooking process but the results are nothing short of magical

Here is a very simple recipe for beef ribs that the pics above came from.

If you are slightly more daring, the best beef ribs I’ve ever cooked were smoked with garlic and onion.

Sure, there was some smoke wood too, but I also tossed on whole chunks onion and cloves of garlic. 

What’s so great about these beef ribs?

See for yourself:

Types of Beef Ribs Recap

Beef back ribs, English cut, Korean short ribs (flanken ribs) and beef plate ribs. All four take different times to perfect and have their own strengths and weaknesses, but all are fantastic in their own way. Expand beyond the pork ribs and take a stab at their beefy cousins.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.

Also, if you could leave us a great review with lots of stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ that would be most appreciated!

Additionally, you can follow us on our GrillinFools Facebook page, Instagram, and YouTube feeds

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

See Full Bio

BBQ Grilling

Related Posts

Grilled Beef Back Ribs

Grilled Beef Short Ribs

Simple Beef Ribs Recipe

Onion and Garlic Smoked Beef Ribs

This article was initially published on: March 11, 2024