Direct Heat Beef Ribs – Party Ribs Style

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These direct heat party beef ribs are cut into individual ribs and grilled over direct heat on the charcoal grill. With a simple barbecue sauce glaze that tacks up to the perfect sticky sweet consistency, these crunchy beef ribs are a fantastic flame-kissed meat treat to try!

I’ve made direct heat pork ribs, and I’ve dabbled with party ribs as well. So when I saw some beautiful beef ribs that had already been cut into individual ribs on sale at my local grocery store, I immediately thought to try to combine the two popular methods for grilling ribs.

The beef party ribs are smoky, crunchy, fatty, sticky… everything you want in a party rib! After all, anytime beef meets the primal kiss of open flame, the result is nothing short of fantastic.

Direct Heat Beef Party Ribs Video

Ingredients Needed

• beef back ribs – You can buy a slab and cut them into individual ribs yourself, or purchase them already cut. The packs that I found at the grocery store contained 2 to 3 back ribs per pack. *Here’s a great guide on the 3 types of beef ribs.
• salt – We always use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, a staple ingredient for any barbecue pit master.
• coarse black pepper – I definitely recommend this type of thicker grain black pepper for smoking and grilling meats.

Seasoning Note for Direct Heat: Ordinarily I would recommend trying my homemade Texas-style rub recipe for beef ribs. It’s a great all-purpose barbecue rub that’s made with only salt, pepper, garlic powder, and seasoned salt, and it’s my go-to for all kinds of meat. However, since direct heat ribs are cooked at a higher temperature over open flame, I recommend NOT using a seasoning with garlic powder or sugar, as these have a tendency to burn.

For the Barbecue Sauce Glaze:

• barbecue sauce – Use your favorite. I used Blue’s Hog Smokey Mountain BBQ Sauce for this recipe, but any sauce will do.
• apple cider vinegar – The amount of vinegar may need to be adjusted if your sauce is not as sweet as mine.
• yellow mustard
• hot sauce and/or Sriracha – I prefer to use a vinegar-based hot sauce. You can adjust based on your spice preference.

What is Direct Heat Grilling?

Most often, smoking meats and other items low and slow involves indirect heat cooking in which the meat is placed on the grill or smoker farthest away from the heat source. So for instance, if the fire pot on your pellet grill is on the right side of the chamber, then you would place your ribs on the left side for indirect heating.

Direct heat cooking is the opposite of that. Instead of taking advantage of the lower temperatures to cook your meat for a longer period of time, you place your meat directly over the heat source, like an open flame, hot coals, or a hot griddle, and cook at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time.

Direct heat cooking and grilling are great for getting a fantastic seared crust on foods like burgers, steaks, or veggies. These items are most often grilled instead of smoked.

Preparing the Grill for Direct Heat Cooking

For direct heat cooking with a kettle-style charcoal grill, just follow these steps to set up your grill:

1. Fill a charcoal chimney about 3/4 of the way with lump or briquette charcoal.
2. Place a fire starter at the bottom of the charcoal grill and light it. Then set the charcoal chimney on top of the lit fire starter.
3. Allow the coals in the chimney to heat up and turn gray and ashy.
4. Pour a single, even layer of charcoal across the bottom of the grill for consistent heat. I like to use a metal garden shovel to arrange the hot coals into the shape that I want – pictured above.
5. Place the grill grate back on the grill, and close the lid for the grill to heat up. You can adjust the vents to dial in the grill temperature to about 325-350°F for direct heat cooking. Open the vents to allow more air flow to increase the temp, and close the vents a bit to allow less air for a lower temperature.

How to Make Direct Heat Beef Party Ribs

These direct heat beef ribs can be made on any grill that allows direct heat cooking over an open flame or hot charcoal. Here’s a look at how we made these delicious barbecue party ribs on the Weber kettle charcoal grill:

Step 1: Season the beef ribs. Season all sides of the beef ribs with an even layer of salt and black pepper. *TIP – Pour your kosher salt into a clean, dry shaker-style seasoning bottle for even coverage. I picked up this tip when seasoning beef briskets with a barbecue pitmaster friend of mine.

Step 2: Grill the beef ribs over hot charcoal or open flame for direct heating. Place the seasoned beef ribs bone-side down on the grill to gently heat the meat at first. Then flip to the other side after about 20 minutes.

Step 3: Flip the beef ribs every 20 minutes. Allow the ribs to cook, flipping approximately every 20 minutes. Manage your grill’s oxygen levels and vents to control flare-ups and maintain consistent heat. *TIP – Keep the grill lid closed as much as possible in between flipping to better control the fire.

Step 4: Make the barbecue sauce glaze. Add the ingredients for the glaze to an aluminum foil pan and mix together well. This saves you a dish to wash, because you’ll allow the beef ribs to tack up and rest in the pan when they’re done cooking.

Step 5: Glaze the direct heat beef ribs. Once your beef ribs reach an internal temperature of about 195°F, glaze with the barbecue sauce mixture. Simply use a basting brush to brush the glaze on the ribs. Then continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches about 200-203°F.

Step 6: Rest and serve the beef party ribs. When the ribs are done cooking, toss in the remaining barbecue sauce in the foil pan. Then place the foil pan of ribs on the grill grate, close all the grill vents, and close the grill lid. As the grill calms down and the temperature drops, the residual heat will finish the cooking process, and your beef party ribs can rest on the grill.

Direct Heat Beef Ribs FAQ’s

What is the best seasoning to use for direct heat ribs?

Since direct heat ribs are cooked over higher heat, and often times an open flame, stick with a simple seasoning blend of kosher salt and black pepper. Other spices like garlic powder will burn more easily, creating a bitter taste.

How do I ensure my beef ribs don’t dry out?

Maintaining a stable grill temperature and flipping the ribs periodically helps in even cooking and retaining juiciness. Keeping an eye on internal temperature is also key.

How long does it take to cook direct heat beef ribs?

The cooking time will vary based on the temperature of your grill, how large your ribs are, etc. Our beef ribs took about 2 hours to cook at an average grill temperature of about 340-350°F.

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