OK, let me start by saying I hate doing what I am about to ask, but it's either this or don't eat ribs (heaven forbid)...
Because of an early morning commitment tomorrow that will take me away from the house until mid-afternoon, I need to smoke the ribs today to be served tomorrow. Any advice on how to make this less like leftovers and more like they're supposed to be? I have four racks of baby backs that I am skinning, trimming and salting now and plan on cooking them in a couple of hours...
"But if you have no choice, cook them about three hours at 225°F, wrap, chill rapidly, and the next day warm for about two to three hours in foil, remove the foil, firm the crust, add the sauce, and you're ready to rock."
Equipment
Weber Genesis Gas
Weber 22" Kettle (black)
Smokenator
Slow N Sear
Thermometers
Maverick 732 Redi-Chek
Thermopop
Fuel
Kingsford Blue Bag
Kingsford Professional
Wood
Apple (chunks)
Mesquite (chunks)
Hickory (chunks)
Oak (chunks)
Beverages
Beer: Sun King Sunlight Cream Ale; Goose Island 312; Goose Island Green Line; Revolution Anti-Hero IPA; Lagunitas IPA
Bourbon: Basil Hayden
Rye: George Dickel
Cocktail: Manhattan
Personal
Married, one child (son)
Originally from Indianapolis, IN. Currently live in Chicago's Western Suburbs (near Meathead!)
Associate Dean at Chicago area university
cdevito, we wrap leftover ribs (in 3 bone sections if possible) with sauce in foil, bake them in the oven to warm through. They are better than no ribs at all and fine for a quick weeknight meal a day or two after a weekend cook but they definitely taste like leftovers. Others here likely have much better leftover rib techniques.
@ Nate - Thanks! That's roughly what I figured. My plan (unless the experts recommend something different) is to heat them slowly in the oven, then put them over moderately high direct heat to firm up the crust, then sauce and back on the heat to make the sauce gooey.
@ Reds Fan 5 - Yeah, I've done that before too. Im hoping for a better result with some advice from the Pit Masters...
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Similar to Meathead's article, except I smoke mine longer initially on smoke day (5-7 hrs seems to be my average) then reheated them, wrapped tightly in foil, dry, for a couple hrs at the usual 225 either on the smoker or indoor oven.. Darn close to fresh-good.
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
I've done what Huskee talks about. I basically cook the ribs until "nearly" done, immediately wrap tightly in foil and shove them in the fridge (I'm fortunate to have a huge garage fridge). The day to eat the ribs, I use the oven at 225 (unless I don't want to heat up the house, then I use the grill). At this point, you can't really add smoke to them, so oven or grill is the same. I cook them about 2 hours and do a bend test. They should be hot now AND they should be "done". Some direct heat helps with the bark, plus you can sauce them if you want to. I never sauce my ribs, but some people like sauce on ribs so I provide it for them on the side :-)
That method has given me ribs that were about 85% as good as if I pulled them straight off the smoker and to the table.
One time I vac sealed half a rack and heated that in simmering water, and it turned out good. Sauce before or after, but saucing after and putting back on grill or under broiler works out just fine.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Grilla Grills Pellet Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
These days, the SV circulator does double duty as a food-reheater for things like smoked, sauced, and vac-sealed half-racks (much like thefist did in simmering water).
Comment