Could you hold cooked ribs for two hours before serving?


 
R

Robert M.

TVWBB Member
If possible I would like to cook ribs at home and then take them to a location about two hours away and then eat them at a family event. Is that possible/desirable?

I assume that after coming off the smoker I would foil them, and them place them in a cooler with the rest of the space packed with newspapers.

What could I expect after two hours? Soggy lukewarm ribs?
 
I would foil them as you mentioned and then wrap a couple layers of towels around them. If you are in doubt then try putting a hot pack, the kind that are heated in a microwave on the ribs. Also you are correct to eliminate empty space.
Good luck,

Mike
 
I mean they would still be hot if you followed the guidelines as stated by you and Mike above, but would they be soggy ...no,but the bark would defintely be soft, but still good. I mean its not a competition!! As long as it tastes good,thats all that matters!!
 
They might not be as good as if you ate them fresh off the cooker at home but my psychic abilities tell me that they won't go to waste.
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Don't know if it's feasible but take a grill and "finish" them on there at the location? Just a quick warm-up.

No hassle version: cooler them and enjoy when you get there. They will be fine.
 
To me Tom´s version of heating them up direct over a medium coal fire sounds the best. Another thing to consider is to take em off just a tad under done so they dont just turn to mush after the 2h resting. But then again i rather eat a rib on the fall of the bone side then the chewy side.
 
If you cooked them until they're done, immediately put them in foil pans, seal with a couple sheets of heavy duty foil, wrap each pan in a couple thick towels and set them in a cooler, they will stay plenty hot for 2 hours. You can always fill the coolers with hot water before hand to heat them up.
 
Foil and wrap them and your golden,everyone will still love them they will just have a softer bark but I find they become more moist and some people prefer that
 
Have done this a lot. As recently as a week ago. If time/convenience permit simply crank up the kettle to very hot and throw on the grill off the coals to dry the crust (I sometime add a little bit of rub first) Else crank the indoor oven up to 400/500 degree and toss them in there for a few minutes to dry them out a bit, can also broil for a brief period.

Most of the time no one wants to wait or cares about that detail. I'm the one that cares the most
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Good time to glaze or sauce if that's how you like them. I like sauce on the side, glaze from time to time. Pretty much do what the company wants for the most part during service.

One other note. If I'm going to serve next day I like to vac seal. Then I reheat in a water bath in the bag to get them to around 140 degree or so then do the above. They never dry out that way and retain a lot of moisture. I do the same with frozen/vac sealed ribs, pulled pork and brisket (brisket gets frozen before slicing).

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Andy Beers:
Foil and wrap them and your golden,everyone will still love them they will just have a softer bark but I find they become more moist and some people prefer that </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
Just about every rack of ribs I make on the smoker ends up on the grill to crisp up the outside a bit. My Family and I like it better this way.Especially leftover racks of ribs.
 
Great ideas here. One additional thing I do is heat the towels in the dryer for 10 minutes or so and then wrap the foil wrapped ribs with the hot towels and put them in the cooler. I've done Boston butts that way and kept them hot for 5 or 6 hours.
 
I often let ribs rest foiled and in a camping containr. Rather than towels I use newspaper which is a great insulator. Crisping over colas or a low gasser heat might be a good idea, but I haven't really found it necessary.

And, welcome to the board.
 
Robert,

Almost every rack of baby backs I've done have some time of rest in tin foil before we get to eat them. Rarely does any smoked meat finish when I'm ready to eat, so I plan to finish early. Ribs are no different. They're done when they're done. I've held them up to 4 hours heavily foiled and in a cooler packed with towels. They were hot and delicious when we took them out and ate them. Just like right off the smoker? No, but great none-the-less. I wouldn't hesitate to do it 2 or 3 hours at all. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. The destination has a gas BBQ so I guess I'll toss them on that for a bit if necessary.

I think in my original note I put too much emphasis on the temp the ribs would be at at the other end. I guess I knew I could always reheat, my concern was more would the texture of the ribs be compromised.

Sounds like the answer is no, not compromised, ribs will still be ok once gotten back to temp.
 
Well they ended up being foiled for three hours and were still so warm there was no need to reheat.

They were the most tender ribs I have ever had. I'll have to add foiling/resting to my procedure from now on.

Only (slight) issue was that when I cut the ribs up, sometimes the bark would tear. Since it wasn't my house I may have been using a dull knife.

Come to think of it, what is the best way to cut ribs? A chopping motion or a slicing motion? Which ever is better, I certainly find slicing easier since I can't always see the bone.
 
Also in the future, you could cut them (in to pairs at least) before foiling and holding.

I find that holding the rib vertical (instead of laying flat) and slicing down the bone to the counter is best. An extra hand helps.
 
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