Previously Frozen Ribs?


 
D

Dick Buchanan

TVWBB Member
I am planning on spending my vacation smoking ribs and am on the lookout for some less expensive ones to experiment with. I noticed the supermarket near where I'll be advertised "previously frozen ribs"--I saw these in a supermarket a few years ago and was not tempted to buy. Does anyone have any experience with these?
 
Yep, that's what all of the ones that I buy have on them, and vacuum sealed. Some are still partially frozen when I get them, especially if they're in the back of the meat case. Most of the time, I'm buying them on sale in bulk and putting them all in the freezer when I get them home. Been buying them for years, no problem.

Charlie
 
Same as C Lewis, a lot of the ribs I buy have been previously frozen. (in Cryovac packaging) I haven't found any difference in the end product quality. The same goes for most proteins. Steaks and pre-ground burger meat are the exceptions.
 
Depends what is sealed in with the meat. I use to buy previously frozen but not anymore. I got some that tasted more like ham then ribs and the rub is the same so it was salt or something in with the ribs. No more ham ribs.
 
Previously frozen meat is ok. Just don't freeze it again before cooking. I unknowingly made that mistake once for ribs and they were absolutely horrible.
 
M Craw said:
Previously frozen meat is ok. Just don't freeze it again before cooking. I unknowingly made that mistake once for ribs and they were absolutely horrible.
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I think it depends on the product. I’ve had Creekstone Farms ribs arrive thawed and have never had a problem with putting them in the freezer. They taste the same whether I eat some when they first arrive or after being frozen.
 
Jeff Boudman said:
I think it depends on the product. I’ve had Creekstone Farms ribs arrive thawed and have never had a problem with putting them in the freezer. They taste the same whether I eat some when they first arrive or after being frozen.
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So let me get this straight... You've bought frozen ribs, thawed them, froze them again, and then cooked them and they've tasted ok? Cheers to you then, mate!
 
M Craw said:
So let me get this straight... You've bought frozen ribs, thawed them, froze them again, and then cooked them and they've tasted ok? Cheers to you then, mate!
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They thawed in transit but were still packed in ice and cold and firm. I cooked one rack the following day and put the other racks in the freezer. I have done this three times with ribs and once with Tri-Tips.
 
Jeff Boudman said:
They thawed in transit but were still packed in ice and cold and firm. I cooked one rack the following day and put the other racks in the freezer. I have done this three times with ribs and once with Tri-Tips.
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Same as the previously frozen ones that I mentioned earlier. I bring them home and put them in the freezer and refreeze, never a problem.

Charlie
 
I share this for confession rather than debate. Here in our household it's not uncommon that other responsibilities take priority over a meal. For illustration: we have aging horses, Shelley breeds rabbits, we're caring for my late MIL's 16 year-old dogs, and we give home to stray cats who wonder to our property. These contribute to on-the-fly crisis' from time to time. The cat recently became blind and is on blood pressure medication, three baby rabbits lost their mother after birth and we are hand-feeding them, and the dogs are not entirely self-sufficient. And I'm still not ready to talk about Chucky whom we desperately tried to help for a month before he succumbed to his illness. And when we lose these creatures they have a burial site on our property, so the shovel gets regular use.

It is not uncommon for me to move meat from the freezer to the fridge, and then refreezing because of changed plans and availability. Heck; a few weeks ago I smoked a rack of ribs that I moved back to the freezer twice before we were able to enjoy them.

It's understandable that some folks would refuse that plate but our priorities are simply different and we don't have any desire to distinguish between a fresh cut of meat over something not so fresh and of a higher grade. Heck; we eat some of our meals so late in the evening that so long as it nourishes our bodies we feel grateful.

Honestly, I've eaten a piece of meat that was not good for reasons other than having been refrozen.
 
When I buy ribs I get them on sale only (Exception being Costco BBs) and freeze them for future cooks. Some are still frozen some are thawed when I purchase them. Really haven't noticed any difference in the texture or flavor when cooked.
 
M Craw said:
Previously frozen meat is ok. Just don't freeze it again before cooking. I unknowingly made that mistake once for ribs and they were absolutely horrible.
Click to expand...

M Craw said:
Previously frozen meat is ok. Just don't freeze it again before cooking. I unknowingly made that mistake once for ribs and they were absolutely horrible.
Click to expand...
It's not the refreezing that ruins meat. It's the manner in which it was thawed and the conditions it was subject to before refreezing.
 
I'm reasonably sure the previously frozen ribs I saw several years ago were not branded. And that supermarket did not have the best meat. But the one I will be visiting had always had good butcher department and I've been happy with everything there--so I'll take a good look at them but it seems like they're a good buy, as long as they are not "enhanced" with salt/water solution. After all, it's all for science.
 
Dick Buchanan said:
I'm reasonably sure the previously frozen ribs I saw several years ago were not branded. And that supermarket did not have the best meat. But the one I will be visiting had always had good butcher department and I've been happy with everything there--so I'll take a good look at them but it seems like they're a good buy, as long as they are not "enhanced" with salt/water solution. After all, it's all for science.
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Enhanced are the devil’s work.
 
I constantly buy meat on sale whether I need it or not just to keep it in stock.
Sometimes it frozen sometimes not.

I will actually thaw out a multi pack of ribs just to separate them into meal portions then vac seal it and refreeze because lots of times it is just the wife and I.
I don’t notice one bit of difference from doing this.

We keep meat in a couple of meat freezers.
This year at our cabin we loaded up on a bunch of Dungeness Crab that we caught.
We vac sealed, froze them and drove back to California (14 hour trip) and refroze them (I used 1 gallon frozen water jugs) for transport.
Not one person thought they were anything but fresh when they ate some.
I couldn’t even tell the difference from fresh caught/cooked and I am very picky.
 
What happens as you thaw stuff it runs the moisture out and dry's the meat, vac sealed is better as it doesn't lose the moisture to the air so it tends to not get as bad as other packing methods. you do lose some quality when you do it but maybe not enuff to notice it. reheated some chicken and rice for dinner yesterday that I had vacked several weeks back, it was quick and easy after a hot day at work and thought to my self, why don't I make xtra stuff with the intention of having another full meal some time later. Thinking chili and maybe beef/deer stew that gets forgotten about until cool weather rolls around. The only reason I don't buy the frozen most of the time as they are 3 pack and you cant separate them without thawing, its not often I need 3 racks at the same time
 
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Thanks everyone. I live in small NYC (Greenwich Village) apartment so my only freezer is the one in my refrigerator. It works great and we smoke ribs and butts when we are out of the city and bring home the results in vacuum sealed servings so our little freezer in full. FYI, here in NYC we do not find ribs and butts in our supermarkets like I see when I am everywhere else, so we have no opportunity to buy in quantity, freeze and save $$. I buy ribs and butts from the butcher around the corner, Ottomanelli's. Several years ago they began to carry Berkshire pork, from Heritage Farms in Iowa and D'Artagnan and I got hooked on the Berkshire pork chops. This was pork like I remembered from growing up in WVA. Over time, I felt more and more that supermarket pork chops were simply bland and gave up on them until one day I decided to give the Berkshire chops a try and was blown away by the rich flavor. Never looked back.
I know everyone in the rest of the country likes to hear the prices. we pay in NYC for stuff, so here you go--the pork chops were $9.99/lb and they recently went up to $10.99. Same price for tenderloins and 1 lb bacon. This is way less than the uptown butchers charge. Don't remember what I paid for the butts. All this is more expensive than many would pay, but, for us, it's still cheaper than eating such fare in a restaurant which is what many, many NYorkers do and, besides, the bbq here is not that great. Most folks here have no idea what real BBQ is,
 
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