Tender and Flavourful Woodfire Smoked Beef Short Ribs

Servings: 4 Total Time: 7 hrs Difficulty: Intermediate
Ninja Woodfire Beef Short Ribs

If you’re into beef that’s smoky, juicy, and falls off the bone, you’ve just hit the jackpot! These Woodfire smoked beef short ribs keep it simple with a classic SPG (salt, pepper, garlic) rub. Using the Ninja Woodfire’s smoker function, this recipe takes the fuss out of BBQ while delivering maximum flavour.

Tender and Flavourful Woodfire Smoked Beef Short Ribs

Prep Time 1 hr Cook Time 5 hrs Rest Time 1 hr Total Time 7 hrs
Difficulty: Intermediate Cooking Temp: 120  C Servings: 4 Estimated Cost: £ 25 Calories: Approximately 450 per serving Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Step 1: Prepping the Ribs

    • Trim the ribs thoroughly, removing excess fat and silverskin for even cooking and a tender finish.
    • Create the SPG rub with a 1:2:1 ratio of salt, pepper, and garlic. Apply it evenly to coat the ribs.
  2. Step 2: Setting Up the Ninja Woodfire

    • Fill the smoker’s pellet box with ‘All-Purpose Blend’ wood pellets.
    • No need for preheating—set the smoker to 120°C and a 5-hour timer.
  3. Step 3: The Smoking Process

    • Place the ribs on the grill plate, close the lid, and start cooking.
    • Check after 1.5 hours, pouring off rendered fat if necessary. Mist dry areas lightly with water.
  4. Step 4: Monitoring Internal Temperature

  5. Step 5: Resting the Ribs

    Wrap the cooked ribs in foil and let them rest in a cooler for an hour to redistribute juices.

  6. Step 6: Serving

    Slice between the bones and serve with your favourite BBQ sides like slaw or baked beans.

Equipment

Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy a product using these links, we get a commission at no extra cost to you. Your support helps keep the BBQ magic alive, and we thank you in advance!

Note

Spritzing Tip: A light mist of water keeps the bark moist. For extra flavour, try beef stock or apple juice.

Leftovers: These ribs make killer sandwiches the next day—just shred and pile onto a bun!

Hot Holding: To avoid stress, keep them wrapped in foil in a low oven (around 60°C) until serving time.

Alternative Cookers: If you don’t have a Ninja Woodfire, a similar result can be achieved in a Kamado-style grill or bullet smoker​​.

Keywords: beef short ribs, smoked ribs, Ninja Woodfire, SPG rub, BBQ beef, easy BBQ recipe, smoker recipe
Rate this recipe
Love this recipe? Spread the word!
Tag #SmokeSearRecipes if you made this recipe. Follow @smoke.sear on Instagram for more BBQ tips and recipes.

Pin this recipe to share the BBQ love with your friends and followers.

pinit
Rate this recipe
Add a question
🔥 Korean BBQ Sirloin Steak Lettuce Wraps 🔥

Sticky, spicy, seared sirloin straight off the BBQ, topped with spring onion salsa and loaded into crisp gem lettuce cups. Bit of rice, squeeze of lime, job’s a good’un.

Kept it simple tonight and fired up the @weberuk Go-Anywhere - picked it up on holiday a couple years back and it’s still going strong. Just cooking for me tonight, so no need to light up the big boys.

And to nail that perfect medium rare? Let the @meatermade take the stress out of it - never misses.

Full recipe’s up on the website now - go give it a bash and tag me if you do 🔥
5 Years of Smoke, Sear & (a bit of) Madness 🔥

Can you believe it’s been 5 bloody years since I chucked away the £5 disposable BBQ and started this mad little journey?

Since then, life’s changed in more ways than I can count – personally, privately, professionally – but one thing that’s stayed constant through it all? 

. . . Standing behind that BBQ, burning meat and turning mistakes into magic.

Honestly . . . if it wasn’t for this BBQ community – a few proper legends especially – I don’t know how I’d have got through some of the darker days last year. But here we are. 

🔥 The socials? I see you.

20.5k on Insta, 9.6k on Facebook, 7.5k on TikTok, the WhatsApp community buzzing, and that little Ninja Woodfire UK group? Now 25.3k strong. Mental.

But let’s be honest . . . as much as I love the likes and the banter – the thing I’m proper proud of?

💻 My little corner of the internet – smokeandsear.world

– Over 113,000 unique users this year
– Over 209,000 page views
– And just under 100 completely free recipes uploaded YTD.

All hand-crafted by yours truly, probably while wearing Crocs and talking to myself about rub ratios.

I started that site during lockdown just to share what I was learning. Now it’s a full-blown BBQ resource hub helping thousands every month. Mad.

So yeah . . . big love to everyone who’s followed, supported, messaged, shared, or even just lurked silently in the background. You're part of this.

Can’t wait to see what other crazy arse ways I come up with to help push the UK BBQ scene forward 🔥

Stay smoky. Stay saucy. And keep cooking outside
🔥 Korean Gochujang Baby Back Ribs – Ninja Woodfire style 🔥

Sweet, smoky, spicy and sticky – these ribs are straight-up flavour bombs. Five-hour marinade, slow smoke in the Ninja Woodfire, wrapped in buttery honey foil, and glazed to perfection. That bark? Glorious. That bite? Fall-off-the-bone filth.

Big thanks to @villagebutchers for the banging baby backs – proper quality.

Served ‘em up with sticky rice, kimchi and a sprinkle of black sesame. Keep it simple. Let the ribs do the talking.

👉 Full recipe’s on the website, as always – link in bio or hit up www.smokeandsear.world
🔥 SMOKED BEEF CHEEKS – CONFIT STYLE 🔥

Low ‘n slow smoke. Bathed in beef dripping. Pulled like butter.

Forget brisket – this is beef cheeks done my way on the Kamado Joe. Smoked for bark, confit in tallow ‘til melt-in-the-mouth.

Sliced? Shredded? Squashed in your hand caveman-style? Doesn’t matter – it’s all ridiculous.

What I served it with:

🌽 Corn ribs with lime & spice
🧅 Pickled red onions for that zing
🧀 Mac & cheese because . . . obviously
🍞 Mini brioche rolls for cheeky little beef sliders

It’s messy, it’s juicy, it’s a full-blown backyard feast.

👇 Shout-outs to the legends behind the gear & grub:

🥩 Beef cheeks from @villagebutchers 
🔥 Smoked on the @kamadojoeuk I got from @bbqs2u
🌡 Temps locked in with the @thermapen – can’t believe I waited 4 years to buy one
🍞 Mini brioche rolls from @stpierreuk – perfect for a kids sharing platter

As usual, full step-by-step recipe over on the website.

#SmokeAndSear #BeefCheeks #KamadoJoe #BBQGoals #TallowConfit #LowAndSlow #BBQFeast #CornRibs #SmokedMeatMadness #WeekendBBQ #BritishBBQ #MacAndCheeseVibes #Thermapen #StPierreBrioche #KamadoLife #MeatSweatsApproved
🔥 Caribbean platter all cooked in the Bradley Raven electric smoker 🔥

Smoked jerk pork belly burnt ends, chicken thighs, sweet potato wedges, pineapple fingers, corn ribs finished with a hit of @lincolnshiredrizzleco lemon dressing (local and lush), plus a sticky scotch bonnet onion jam for good measure.

Everything cooked low ‘n’ slow in the Raven – step-by-step recipe is up on the website now if you fancy giving it a bash.

@bradleysmoker_europe kindly gifted me the smoker to make a bit of content with – safe to say it’s earning its keep already.