I think you can also blanch the meat before a long cook to kill the surface bacteria, if that bothers you. Iirc it also prevents the outer graying.
(I haven’t, but also wasn’t bothered by the smell)
Btw re 72h short ribs — see my comment about the Chuck roast, same idea, we ended up liking it shorter, if you haven’t experimented with that yet (and it’s easy enough to throw back in for a longer cook if you don’t).
