BRITU Question


 
A

Andrew S.

New member
I'm going to making some baby-backs this weekend, but I need to take them to someone else's house for eating. I've read about wrapping them in foil and then keeping them in a cooler for a while. My question is at what point in the cooking process should I pull them and keep them in the cooler. I can use the grill at the house we're going to to finish them off if need be.

Also, I have the EZ-Que for the kettle - should I be using this for ribs? can I just put all the ribs in the basket and let them cook that way?

thanks.
 
I would go ahead and cook them to completion, but would not attempt to hold them like a butt in a cooler for an extended period of time, say more than an hour. If they need to be held longer, refrigerate them. I find they reheat well in a microwave on a lower setting. I slice them into individual ribs before reheating. For a party, you could certainly reheat them on the kettle for effect, but you would want to do that as slabs or half slabs.

I wouldn't use my EZ Que for the ribs - and I do have one.

Paul
 
Andrew,

I would agree with Paul. The problem with foiling them is you might leave them in too long and they would completely fall off the bone and me mushy.
 
If you have a smokey joe I would bring that to the party with you. Cut the slabs in half and light the SJ when you get there and glaze them there...great for effect and taste.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I guess I'll foil them, but not keep them in the cooler. Then I'll glaze and re-heat when I get there. Thanks again.
 
Feel free to pull them just shy of done if you can gauge this. If not, don't worry about it but if you're going to grill to reheat (I would too) with a glaze then do one of two things: either pull them when done (or just shy if you can) and allow them to cool--uncovered--for a bit then get them in the fridge to chill, then wrap; transport chilled, then reheat on the grill (glaze after they've heated) or pull when done (or just shy) then wrap individually in foil and stick in cooler for transport and to keep the heat up.

It's true that they can overcook if pulled at done then wrapped for a while. However, either pulling before they're done or minimizing the time between the WSM and the reheat can work too. For this, set up your cook so you can leave shortly after you pull the ribs. Put each slab on its own piece of foil and rest on your kitchen counter for 10-15 min before you leave--foil open and not covering the meat--then wrap to enclose and go. (This will allow much of the heat to dissipate, minimizing the chance of overcooking in the foil.) Just carry the slabs in a bag. Arrive, set up the SJ, heat, glaze, finish; serve. If the time from the point you remove the meat from the WSM to the point when you reheat it on the SJ is less than 2 hours or so, you'll be fine food safety-wise. (For further insurance do not touch the meat with your hands before cooking.)

You can use your rotis for ribs, btw. I agree with Paul and wouldn't for the BRITU recipe/procedure but it works well. My favorite for rotissed ribs: a paste of fresh garlic, fresh parsley, dried herbes de Provence, Dijon and evoo.


Kevin

On edit: fixed typos
 
that makes sense. It sure would have been much easier if my wife had just made the BBQ at our house!

Is there a limit for how long they can be refridgerated before being reheated. If that's an option, I can get them done a little earlier in the day and reheat/glaze later.

those garlic ribs sound great. I'll try those next.
 
There is a limit but it is measured in days, not hours. You're fine if cooking earlier the same day or a day (or two) before. More than that and you're looking at loss of quality. Personally, one day in advance is as much as I go and that's rare--same day is preferred.

Again, let them cool, uncovered, on the counter then fridge to cool completely, then wrap. (If doing this several hours to a day in advance wrap well in plastic (either alone or before foil) to minimize moisture loss.)

It's important to heat gently for the reheat. If you're doing a lot of ribs and don't have lots of reheat space and you want to save a little time you can start the reheat process in the microwave (at a low power setting) as Paul suggests. You can get them hot first that way then move them to the grill for the glazing/finish texture phase. That allows some to be heating while some are finishing on the grill (you can also reheat on a covered sheetpan instead of nuking). If using the grill alone and going direct use moderate heat and flip frequently while getting them up to the hot-and-done stage (you can not flip too much), then glaze and finish.

Have fun with your cook.
 
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