Serving beef ribs a day later?

[Chris Mason]

I've seen people discuss the "day later" phenomenon (i.e. the fact that many smoked foods taste better a day after they are made) and I'm wondering if the same applies to beef ribs. I've never done beef ribs but I was thinking of doing some for a get together in a few weeks. And I'm thinking of doing something like the following:

1) Smoke beef ribs on Saturday.
2) Let them rest a bit.
3) Wrap in foil and put in fridge.
4) Reheat on Sunday when guests arrive.

So a couple questions:

1) Will the ribs benefit from waiting a day or is that more a pork thing?

2) What is the best method to do the reheat. I was thinking indirect in my kettle to get mostly up to temp and then a quick sear over the coals to firm up the bark a bit. Yes no?

As always, any comments are appreciated.

 

[Gary H. NJ]

Good question. I think that may be true for pulled pork and brisket, but if you smoke one day and eat the next with pork or beef ribs, you may end up sacrificing the crunchy outer texture/bark of the ribs. I always have some leftover bbq, but I think the whole "bbq rib experience" tastes best right off the smoker.
...then again you can always reheat those ribs quickly (so they don't dry out) in the oven or on the grill...

 

[Chris Mason]

Thanks for the feedback, Gary. I may have to rethink the plan then because what you say makes sense to me.

 

[Chuck_H]

I always cook a lot more food than we eat on the day of the cook because I love to have leftover BBQ on hand and I hate to have a half full smoker. I personally don't think that ribs are as good the next day but they definitely aren't bad. My wife thinks I'm crazy because I usually get caught at the fridge eating cold ribs for breakfast! One thing that I've done is to reheat the ribs on my grill on high heat. Just a couple of minutes on the grill will heat them up and get a little crispiness back. Make sure not to overcook them since you are only trying to heat them up.

 

[Lou Tarnay]

Vacuum seal the ribs after they have cooled a bit and refrigerate. Boil the ribs in the vacuum sealed package the next day and they will be great! Just don't boil them too long in the vacuum bag because it will affect the texture of the ribs (unless you want them softer).

Cheers
Lou

 

[Scooter B]

I too cook far more then I consume... and I also fall into the "why cook half full" camp.

For me the keep to reheating ribs is doing it in 2 stages. First I wrap in foil and place in the oven at low heat to warm. Then when they are warm I will remove foil, sauce and turn oven up to firm the outside a bit. You could also toss on the gasser at this point too.

I think half the reason i love Q the next day is that I can actually appreciate the flavour. Being around a smoker for 8-14 hrs tends to numb your nose.

And yes... cold ribs make a great breakfast!! haha