Earlier today, I sampled some of the best beef brisket and beef rib from Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ in south Austin. Claiming that one place is better than another can be shootin’ words in Central Texas, so let’s just say that their flavor profile fit my palate best. The brisket and rib were both moist, tender, and balanced out the flavors of salt, pepper, and smoke.

This got me thinking a bit about my own recent experiments with brisket and ribs. Both are cuts of beef, but that’s really about where the similarity ends.

Brisket is comprised of a cow’s superficial and deep pectoral muscles. These are often sold together, but can also be cut and sold separately as ‘point’ and ‘flat’ cut briskets. The most important thing to note is that they’re weight-bearing muscles. Weight-bearing muscle come with a lot of connective tissue, so prep, cooking, and serving methods have to take this into account.

Prepping the brisket requires getting rid of some (or most) of the superfluous fat. This heavy, dense fat on the outside of the muscle is what goes into beef tallow. If it’s thicker than a half-inch it can often turn into a hard, smoky, and knobby substance that’s not very good to eat.

If you’re using a slow dry-heat method like traditional barbecue, then you’ll be leaving some of that fat alone, as it will help keep the meat moist as you cook it. Myself, I’ve ended up using moist-heat methods like braising and sous vide to tenderize the meat without the same need for the fat.

Braising: With this version, I used an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. Seasonings include a touch of heat from a half-teaspoon of cayenne mixed with kosher salt and black pepper. This was slow-braised in the oven for ~2 hours on a bed of sauteed onions, a dash of liquid smoke, and white wine. Once the brisket was removed from the creuset, I was able to add a little beef broth to make a kind of glace de viande from the brisket au jus and the now-caramelized onions.

Note: When serving brisket, be sure to cut against the grain for maximum tenderness.

Sous Vide: This version’s seasoning is simple: One package of dehydrated Lipton French Onion soup – yes, the old 70’s standby. The salt and dehydrated onion mades a nice ‘dry brine’ in which the meat marinates over night.

This is cooked with the sous vide method for 32-36 hours at 135 degrees. Then it’s finished on a hot grill for 75 seconds/side. This time, the final product came out with a marvelously savory onion flavor to compliment the beef.

Note: While you should still cut this against the grain, the brisket here didn’t ‘flake’ the same way. It was steak-like in texture and so tender you could cut it with a fork.

Beef Rib is (ironically) a completely different animal. It’s sliced from a different area, which means that it’s not a weight-bearing muscle. That makes it a little ‘easier’ to cook in that a beef rib can be cooked with dry high-heat methods like grilling. And speaking of making things easy, unless you have a full-sized BBQ and/or smoker, it’s best to purchase this cut as short ribs, where bone and meat have been pre-chopped for you.

The rib also differs from the brisket in that the fat is softer and substantially more marbled. Instead of hardening into tallow-like blocks, cooking tends to gelatinize these, making the rib tender and savory.

Personally, I’ve never found an easier and more delicious method than using sous vide on beef short ribs. Start by seasoning your ribs with a rub of salt (smoked salt is best!), pepper, and garlic powder. Bag it, and then sous vide at 145 degrees for 48 hours. Yes, that’s two days. It’s worth it!

To add a little appetizing color, place the ribs on a high-heat grill for two minutes on a side and serve! The mixture of flavors and even a hint of smoke is amazing. It’s not BBQ, so I call it ‘BBQ-style’ in the sense that you won’t get as heavy a hit of smoke. But you’ll definitely get the concentrated beef flavor in a way you’ll never forget.

Note: Beef ribs are so tender that you can slice them with the grain. Better yet, simply dig in with a fork and enjoy!