Birthday Ribs Dilemma -

[BFlynn]

My grandfather is turning 95 this weekend. We are doing a very small, VERY socially distanced birthday party for him. It has been requested that I make ribs for the event. Ribs will need to be finished by 10am, to delivered by 10:30, and served at 11:00.

I'm on the fence about whether to smoke them the night before, and reheat, or wake up early and have them fresh off the smoker. SLCs seem to take me right at 4 hrs at 250 on the PBC. I also like having a little extra time in case I hit a snag.

If I get the PBC prepped the night before, fire it up at 4:30, ribs go on at 5am. That gives me plenty of time to smoke.
Also, thinking that I will do them all dry rub, and then sauce them, and put in the oven for 15 mins at my Aunt's house upon delivery.

If I smoke them the night before, there is no rush, I can sleep in (I'd say til 9 but I'll be up by 7 anyway). Have a bloody mary for breakfast, and not be in a rush at all. Figure they'd need 30 mins - an hour at 225 to reheat the next day. I won't think the ribs are as good, but everyone else will be just as happy.

Any advice from the peanut gallery?
Is that enough time to reheat ribs?
Should I just suck it up and wake up early?

I did consider throwing loading the PBC in the truck and showing up at my Aunt's house at 5 am to just smoke them on site..... that's probably a good way to get expelled from the family though.

[Jfrosty27]

I would plan for more than 30 min to reheat at 225 if they’re cold from the fridge. When I reheat, I wrap in foil to prevent drying out and in the oven at 325 for about 30-45 min.

[BFlynn]

And do you sauce them before you wrap? or after they reheat?

[Jfrosty27]

Yes I sauce before the wrap

[Davek8282]

Wish I could help, I eat them cold out of the fridge the next day

[Loren]

Do 'em the day of; while guests might not necessarily notice the difference of reheated ribs, you will.

Knowing you made the best ribs possible for your family (and especially a birthday party of such importance - 95! That is AWESOME!!!) is, in my opinion, well worth getting up a few hours early and getting a few hours less sleep.


I'd still do the Bloody Mary, seems irresponsible to not have one while smoking some ribs

[Sweaty Paul]

+1

[jfmorris]

If I were in your shoes, I would set a 4:30AM alarm, hop up, get the ribs going at 5, and then go nap on the couch for a couple hours until the rest of the family wakes up, or just get your coffee and have an early start to the day.

I also would not plan on the oven being available, unless you know your Aunt is not using it to prepare any other dishes for the get together. I would just sauce the last 30 minutes on the PBC, if saucing, then wrap in foil (maybe double wrap), and into a cooler wrapped in towels. That should keep them plenty hot for 30-60 minutes.

[BFlynn]

I think that's what I'll do. Just needed some convincing.

[Sweaty Paul]

+1

[CaptainMike]

I'm with Jim, just get up early and get it done. It's grandpa's birthday.

[fracmeister]

I had a similar issue once. That's when I sous vided ---ice bath and stored until the event (which wasnt exactly scheduled) and finished for a couple hours on the smoker once I knew the time. They were great but I wouldn't recommend it to you if you have a Plan B. Just a bit nerve racking... racking.... get it.

[bbqLuv]

Bloody Mary for breakfast Now that is a good start.
How about a low and slow over knight. when done hold on warm. Matt Pittman shows how to do a weekday Brisket over knight.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...5AF47EF1B0BAA8
I would think you may adapt this approach for ribs rather than brisket.

[bbqLuv]

Does not cooking involve time and temperature? Lower temp, longer cook.

[jfmorris]

bbqLuv sure, time and temp, but since ribs finish in 4-5 hours at 225F, and you really cannot safely smoke at much lower temps.... its only an overnight cook if you go to bed at 3am and wake up at 7am, haha.

He is not talking about brisket or butts - those are cooks that DO take 10, 12, 14 hours, and are great for overnight cooks.

[bbqLuv]

At 160 degrees, you get tender ribs in 10 to 12 hours. At 170 to 180 degrees, the meat is noticeably dryer, but the cooking time is a more manageable 6 to 8 hours.

[klflowers]

Get up!!! Nothing like getting up early, throwing some meat on, bloody mary(s), then off to the party with some just off the pit wibs and a slight buzz...

[mgaretz]

Or you could do Blasphemy Ribs and put them on at 7:30 to be finished by 10:00 and sleep an extra few hours! (I also reheat them when there are leftovers. They reheat quickly - about 10 minutes at 375F in the oven on a foil-lined baking sheet.)

[jfmorris]

I like this, but unless he has something other than a PBC, its going to be really really hard to do more than one rack of ribs cut up blasphemy style. That 18" cooking grate on a PBC just won't handle it.

[BFlynn]

Yeah, I thought about blasphemy style. I've added 2 extra grate levels to my PBC, but I think that's going to be too much juggling.

I think I'm going to just start them early that morning.

[Steve R.]

Yep, up and at 'em! Grandpa's only going to turn 95 once. If this was just a run of the mill, every week kind of cook, I could maybe see doing it the day before and reheating.

[Santamarina]

I’d definitely set that early alarm and cook day-of. Actually, I’d start an hour earlier...just in case anything goes sideways. You can always toss them in a warm oven inside when they’re done.

[shify]

Unless you want to sous vide and smoke, which would take about 1 1/2 hrs to smoke, the best bet is to wake up early