Biggest "wow" factor in shortest time


 
Chris NE

Chris NE

New member
I'm cooking for 20 adults and 10 kids at a family reunion next week.

Need lunch ready @ 11:30am and am struggling between these choices:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE> <LI> 1. Pre-smoking brisket or ribs ahead of time and reheating on site
<LI> 2. Smoking ribs on site with an early morning start [/list]

Because of previous day activities, it would be hard to midnight smoke a brisket.

I've served pulled pork to this clan a couple of previous times, so I'd like to do something different.

I've never actually pre-cooked and then reheated anything I've smoked on the WSM cooker.

Any thoughts on smoking ribs that morning vs. reheating something prepared a week before?

Do you think I should stick with loin backs over spares, since they would probably cook just a bit faster?

Thanks in advance for your guidance!
 
Loin backs will take 4 hrs or so at 230. Ican get 6 2# racks with ease on the 18" WSM, could probably fit 2 more without dificulty...definitely crowd pleasers.
 
What are you cooking on? Try RSC if you want a WOW factor. The taste is great and all the flames from flare ups are very entertaining for people to watch. If you can get your hands on 2 kettles it should be easy to cook enough for 30 people.
 
I know I'm kind of in the minority around here but I don't believe most bbq needs to be served hot off the grill. I cook lots of different things, lots of different ways, and each has its time and place. IMO, bbq is not something I like to serve a la minute and as a result I like to apply it to situations like yours, where I have days ahead to prepare and not much time before serving. If properly handled, reheated bbq can be just as good as hot off the grill, and in the case of pulled pork can be better if one takes the time to reserve the drippings, defat them, and incorporate them back into the meat.

My suggestion is to serve a combo of chicken and ribs. You'll need a fire to reheat the ribs, so if you have the time, use it to cook some chicken.

For the ribs, cook them to tender. I assume you're foiling them, so drop the foiled (tender) racks into ziplocs, and drop the bags into an ice bath. While cooking the chicken, return the foil packs to the grill, and start to gently warm them. At some point they can be unfoiled to restore the bark and/or sauced.

read here for an example of a rib reheat
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
I know I'm kind of in the minority around here but I don't believe most bbq needs to be served hot off the grill. I cook lots of different things, lots of different ways, and each has its time and place. IMO, bbq is not something I like to serve a la minute and as a result I like to apply it to situations like yours, where I have days ahead to prepare and not much time before serving. If properly handled, reheated bbq can be just as good as hot off the grill, and in the case of pulled pork can be better if one takes the time to reserve the drippings, defat them, and incorporate them back into the meat.

My suggestion is to serve a combo of chicken and ribs. You'll need a fire to reheat the ribs, so if you have the time, use it to cook some chicken.

For the ribs, cook them to tender. I assume you're foiling them, so drop the foiled (tender) racks into ziplocs, and drop the bags into an ice bath. While cooking the chicken, return the foil packs to the grill, and start to gently warm them. At some point they can be unfoiled to restore the bark and/or sauced.

read here for an example of a rib reheat </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Extremely good advice!
 
Thanks all, for your suggestions.

The cabin claims to have a grill, but I haven't been able to verify what sort of grill. An actual one, or just a fire pit that you can load with charcoal.

I think I'm going to just pack the WSM with me and load it up with loin backs that morning.

I've made roadside chicken before, but I think I'll save that for the next gathering. I think a single meat will probably be okay for this lunch coupled with Jack Stack beans, and a couple of salads.
 
Here is another idea for ribs, I do loin back as well as spares, just up the time for spares, Kevin covers the time difference in this thread.
 
Barbeque is great reheated. Take a load off your mind and do what makes sense: cook in advance and reheat the food the day of the party. It's too hard to time BBQ and there's no big advantage to it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom Hinkle:
Barbeque is great reheated. Take a load off your mind and do what makes sense: cook in advance and reheat the food the day of the party. It's too hard to time BBQ and there's no big advantage to it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nothing against reheating meat if you can't cook the night before a mid-day event, but "too hard to time BBQ? Heck, that's considered by many to be THE advantage to it...Foil and cooler.
 
I think the biggest "wow" factor in the shortest time might be a stuffed fatty. They only take about an hour or so and many people have never eaten anything like it.
 
After some thought, and reading a myriad of different threads here; I'm going to smoke the loin backs today and take them out to the cabin.

I did some reconnaissance to check out the "grill" which is just a typical campsite iron grate contraption. It's rather small, might hold 3 racks at a time to reheat, so I need to go a different way.

I'm wondering about taking an 18 quart electric roaster (or two) out there with me and re-heating the racks in simmering water.

I'm guessing I could get six racks in each roaster.

I don't like mushy bark, so I don't foil ribs.

Here's a couple questions I have about reheating the racks:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE> Should I cool them in the fridge a bit before vacuum-packing them?

Also, any thoughts on time to simmer them? I was guessing around 20 minutes or so. [/list]

Thanks for your help.
 
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