Tom Fisher
New member
Hello TVWBB,
I'm making some spare ribs this weekend but I have some time constraints that make it tricky. Here's the situation.
My in-laws - 3 adults and 2 kids - are coming to see my kids' soccer game tomorrow. They're going to come to my house, we will all go to the game together, and then we will retire to my house for food and refreshments. They said they want to eat ribs and I'm happy to oblige. Presumably we would all eat the ribs - plus some sausages and hot dogs for the kids - around noon. Trouble is, the soccer game is from 9:00-10:00 AM, right when I'd be working on the ribs. I'm using a kettle with SnS so I can't just leave it unattended while I go to the game, nor do I have one of those digital temp controllers for set-and-forget.
So it's a matter of timing. I want the ribs to be the best they can be, which is right after they finish cooking. The only way to make sure of that would be to start after the soccer game, but then we wouldn't eat until almost dinner. So that's a no-go.
If I were making pulled pork I'd be comfortable with starting early, leaving the kettle alone while we go to the game, and finishing up when we get back with no concern about temperature fluctuation, but ribs demand a bit more attention. So that leaves me with one option: Start and finish the ribs before we leave for the kids' game at 9:00 AM.
The question is what to do next. I don't think ribs benefit much from resting in a cooler - in fact, I'm afraid they would get mushy. I see two options: 1) Leave the ribs in the oven at 170 the whole time after they finish, or 2) put them in the refrigerator when done, then warm them back up in the oven at 170 after we return from the soccer game.
Surely someone has had to serve ribs after a 3-4 hour break while keeping them tender and juicy yet not mushy. What is the way?
I'm making some spare ribs this weekend but I have some time constraints that make it tricky. Here's the situation.
My in-laws - 3 adults and 2 kids - are coming to see my kids' soccer game tomorrow. They're going to come to my house, we will all go to the game together, and then we will retire to my house for food and refreshments. They said they want to eat ribs and I'm happy to oblige. Presumably we would all eat the ribs - plus some sausages and hot dogs for the kids - around noon. Trouble is, the soccer game is from 9:00-10:00 AM, right when I'd be working on the ribs. I'm using a kettle with SnS so I can't just leave it unattended while I go to the game, nor do I have one of those digital temp controllers for set-and-forget.
So it's a matter of timing. I want the ribs to be the best they can be, which is right after they finish cooking. The only way to make sure of that would be to start after the soccer game, but then we wouldn't eat until almost dinner. So that's a no-go.
If I were making pulled pork I'd be comfortable with starting early, leaving the kettle alone while we go to the game, and finishing up when we get back with no concern about temperature fluctuation, but ribs demand a bit more attention. So that leaves me with one option: Start and finish the ribs before we leave for the kids' game at 9:00 AM.
The question is what to do next. I don't think ribs benefit much from resting in a cooler - in fact, I'm afraid they would get mushy. I see two options: 1) Leave the ribs in the oven at 170 the whole time after they finish, or 2) put them in the refrigerator when done, then warm them back up in the oven at 170 after we return from the soccer game.
Surely someone has had to serve ribs after a 3-4 hour break while keeping them tender and juicy yet not mushy. What is the way?