Holding St. Louis Ribs


 

Bob A

New member
I will be cooking 3 slabs St. Louis cut ribs this weekend and the arrival times of the guests are variable so I can't really predict a start time for dinner. This is not a problem with pork butt or brisket since I can foil and put into a cooler for a few hours and not lose much heat. I have never had to time ribs before. Can I do the same thing for ribs? I'd be careful to let them cool before wrapping because I don't want mushy ribs. How long can I keep in the cooler?

Thanks.
 
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I haven't had too much luck holding ribs. I think if you foil them and keep them stacked on each other and wrap them up in towels, they might hold ok.
 
Probably be OK for an hour or two. A few years ago I did 9 racks of babybacks on my 22 WSM with rib racks, upper and lower. I foiled them and put them in my cooler. I have a Pelican cooler that I specifically bought for butts and briskets and in this case, ribs. Had to clean up and change and a few other things and then drive them across town to the party. By the time we unfoiled and sliced them up they'd been off the smoker close to an hour and a half. The ribs were fine, still plenty warm and everyone enjoyed them. Good luck with your cook!!
 
I've held ribs for a couple of hours in heavy foil and double layer of towels in a cooler. Stacking them, as mentioned above, makes a big difference. If you have to wait longer, there's always the oven for a quick reheat.

Jeff
 
I have foiled as mentioned above and added fire bricks, that I heated in the smoker, to the cooled to maintain the heat. I generally wrap the bricks to avoid damage to the cooler.
I use this approach when taking ribs to family reunions, which never eat on time
 
You could also just leave them ( I assume your using) in the WSM.
Shut all vents. While you let the ribs come down to room temp, the WSM will come down enough in temp so when you wrap in foil and put em back in it will act like a faux cambro, and that will stay warm for a few hours.

Tim
 
I have foiled as mentioned above and added fire bricks, that I heated in the smoker, to the cooled to maintain the heat. I generally wrap the bricks to avoid damage to the cooler.
I use this approach when taking ribs to family reunions, which never eat on time

“Never on time!”
Boy, ain’t that the truth!! I am a firm believer in one will eat when the masses get their collective poop in a group unless the cook pitches a fit! Since I’m the kitchen master, grill maven, beer processing plant, scullery, chauffeur, General slave, I get to pitch the fit when I want rears in chairs!
I do allow a little flexibility when it’s Christmas or Easter and birthdays but, when I start saying put the wagons in a circle, I hope the table is surrounded with hungry kinfolk!
Of course, that’s when the show is here, when I need to travel, I take cold stuff if I can.
I will admit the towels in the cooler set up works well for several things, Mac and cheese wrapped and wads of newspaper does well too.
Other than lighting a chimney it’s about all the Kalamazoo Gazette is good for!
 
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You could also just leave them ( I assume your using) in the WSM.
Shut all vents. While you let the ribs come down to room temp, the WSM will come down enough in temp so when you wrap in foil and put em back in it will act like a faux cambro, and that will stay warm for a few hours.

Tim


Thanks for the responses. I did the above and they turned out fine. There were no leftover ribs.
 
“Never on time!”
Boy, ain’t that the truth!! I am a firm believer in one will eat when the masses get their collective poop in a group unless the cook pitches a fit! Since I’m the kitchen master, grill maven, beer processing plant, scullery, chauffeur, General slave, I get to pitch the fit when I want rears in chairs!
I do allow a little flexibility when it’s Christmas or Easter and birthdays but, when I start saying put the wagons in a circle, I hope the table is surrounded with hungry kinfolk!
Of course, that’s when the show is here, when I need to travel, I take cold stuff if I can.
I will admit the towels in the cooler set up works well for several things, Mac and cheese wrapped and wads of newspaper does well too.
Other than lighting a chimney it’s about all the Kalamazoo Gazette is good for!

I've got an old fashioned cast iron triangle dinner bell that I'm not afraid to use.
 

 

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