Will this work??

[bobbybirds]

Hey all,

So I have been doing a lot of beef ribs lately, trying to perfect them, and I pretty much have them down to the point where it is all my friends and coworkers request these days...

This year I have been elected to host my company Christmas party, and beef ribs are the overwhelming request, of course. My issue is that my smoker only has enough room to make about half of what I will require.

I want to know if I was to do one batch on the smoker for about 3.5 hours, then wrap them and put them in my oven for another couple hours while I fire up the second batch on my smoker at the same time, then once the first batch are finished in the over I would leave them wrapped and toss them in a cooler to rest until the second batch is also done and been wrapped and cooked up to the same point, and then I would use both my bbq and smoker to finish them all off for another 30 to 60 minutes so I can serve both batches at the same time. Would doing them this way negatively impact the first batch resting for a few hours prior to finishing them or should it be just fine?

I know resting a brisket this long is zero problem, but I just wasn't sure with the ribs as the meat isn't as thick.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Bob

 

[bobbybirds]

Nobody? Dang...

 

[pdeputy]

The only addition I would make references the "FTC".  Foil, Towel, Cooler.  First wrap in foil, then wrap that in a towel and put the whole thing in a cooler.  I have done that before and it did a good job of retaining heat and moisture.  This is pretty much what you said, without the towel.

Note that I never put the meat back in the smoker, just let it sit until everyone was ready to eat.

 

[bmaddox]

Have you though about doing half the day before then reheating? I haven't done it with beef ribs but with pork ribs I will take them off a half hour early then reheat and finish them later. 

 

[chef jimmyj]

The first batch with the long rest in the cooler will be, at best, falling off the bone or falling apart completely, YUK! Do the first batch, smoker/oven, but let them cool on the counter lightly covered. When the second batch is done, rest on counter and put first batch wherever to re-heat/finish. After 15-20 minutes, add the second batch to the first and finish to desired doneness. Wrap and rest in cooler until service or cool and re-heat as needed...JJ

 

[bobbybirds]

The first batch with the long rest in the cooler will be, at best, falling off the bone or falling apart completely, YUK! Do the first batch, smoker/oven, but let them cool on the counter lightly covered. When the second batch is done, rest on counter and put first batch wherever to re-heat/finish. After 15-20 minutes, add the second batch to the first and finish to desired doneness. Wrap and rest in cooler until service or cool and re-heat as needed...JJ

You touched on my biggest worry... Resting them too long and making too mushy. I never even considered just allowing the to cool for a bit and reheating. Sometimes the most simple answers are the hardest to think of for some reason!

 

[donr]

Bob,

Do you have room to stand them up in a rack, use a, intermediate rack (like some of the jerky pans/racks, or hang them like slabs of bacon?  You may be able to fit more in this way?

Don

 

[mfreel]

I've cooked brisket before and reheated in my electric roaster oven.  If you added a little beef broth, I'd bet they heat up just fine.  If they fall off the bone...oh well.