Freezing Ribs


 
A

Andy Rowland

New member
Costco sells ribs in packs of 3 which are too much for my family to eat. Which is better, to freeze the raw ribs that I don't want to eat or to cook the extra ribs and then freeze?
 
Andy, I like leftover or thawed and reheated bbq of all kinds. However, I'd recommend freezing raw individual racks in a bag as tightly as possible, preferably with a vacuum sealer like a Foodsaver. Ribs are just better still hot from the cook, and as to convenience, only one rack to a package will thaw relatively quickly.
 
And for the other side of the coin , if you cook all 3 racks while you've got the cooker going you can portion up the cooked ribs and freeze and reheat. What I usually do is cook a mess of ribs with just the dry rub . The ones I don't eat that day I freeze unsauced. Then when I go to reheat I will give them a coat of sauce which kind of rejuvenates the moisture that might be lacking.
I agree that the just cooked ribs taste the best , but I like to get the best bang from my charcoal and even reheated ribs taste pretty dang good. Just my 2 centavos , amigos.:wsm:
 
I smoke all three racks. Then, separate into "meal size" packages and refreeze. If you put in a pan with a bit of moisture and cover with foil they seem to be very nearly as good as fresh off the smoker (that is to say, flat out WONDERFUL)!!

Dale53
 
might be a little off topic but my uncle gave me a good bit of elk meat several years ago. It was wrapped in thin plastic & then butcher paper (many packages, roughly 1# each). I have a food saver but this method seemed a lot better than that.....food saver packaging can get dinged and lose its integrity.

On topic: I too prefer ribs reheated in the oven sometimes, but if you just want to cook a little you can have some freshies to experiment with later (different rub, method, etc). You just can't screw up here is what it boils down to....IMO anyway.
 
I think leftover ribs taste better than the day they were made. I like making extra racks cooking them a little short and then finishing them on the grill on a later date. If I want sauce I will sauce them when they are on the grill.
 
Thanks for the feedback. It doesn't sound like freezing raw or cooked ribs diminishes the product very much. This is why I love making BBQ. After a little practice, it's hard NOT to make something delicious.
 
I often smoke more than we will eat at the time just to fill my smoker. I usually will slightly under smoke the extras so when they are reheated they are done perfectly.

Mike
 
Good question I was wondering the same thing. I bought the three rack package from Costco a few weeks ago and froze two of them. I think I'll cook the other two now and freeze leftovers. Much easier to do that and have ribs fairly quickly at your disposal with a thaw and reheat.
 
My wife and I live alone since the children are grown and mostly live far away. That can present a problem. However, the problem goes away when you realize that smoking a bunch and carefully saving the rest (in the freezer) will allow you to have many, more meals in a VERY short time. We have barbecue quite frequently using "left overs". That way is a very efficient way to enjoy our grill and smoker.

Just cook LOTS and save for later meals. Can hardly get better than that:wsm:.

Dale53
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top