Father's Day Spare Ribs

[matt zad]

So instead of traditional boring hamburgers and hot dogs for father's day this year I'm going to surprise my dad with spare ribs! I got 4 racks in at 0500 this morning. I might even buy him a smoker.

I need to transport these ribs about 1.5 hrs away. My plan is to pull them at 10, let cool, pack into foil pan, double wrap, the in the cooler with them on ice. Then reheat on hot grill and apply bbq sauce. This sound about good? I don't want to deliver dried out ribs.

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• matt zad
• Jun 16, 2013

 

[kc5tpy]

1.5 hours ain't a long time.  I might be tempted to foil wrap with some liquid,  wrap in towels, into the cooler and GO!  Other than that, maybe pull 'em early and finish on Dad's grill.  Maybe someone will come along with better advice.  Great you are lookin after Dad.  Good luck.  Have a great day with Dad.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[matt zad]

Thanks for the advice, I forgot to mention we probably wont be ready to eat until a couple hours after being there.

 

[kc5tpy]

Pre-heat the cooler with hot water and then wipe dry.  Warm some towels in the microwave and I think you can get buy with 3-4 hours.  Those bones will hold some heat.  Or finish em there.  I haven't tried holding ribs for that long but I THINK it should work.  Good Luck. Let me know how all came out.  Good luck.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[themule69]

I would go with what Danny said. I have never tryed to hold them that long. But i do think it would work fine.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[mdboatbum]

I guess it all depends on what you're looking for for a final product. If you're looking for "fall off the bone" texture, then holding them at 140˚ or above should work for a few hours. However, unlike something like a brisket or pork butt, ribs don't have the mass to hold heat for all that long. The preheated cooler/towel trick will work for a while, but it's no guarantee.

If it were me, I'd follow this advice:

"My plan is to pull them at 10, let cool, pack into foil pan, double wrap, the in the cooler with them on ice. Then reheat on hot grill and apply bbq sauce."

In other words, you had the right idea the first time. I don't know what temps you're smoking at, but 5 hours should get the ribs pretty close to the "tender but with a bit of pull" style that I happen to prefer. A quick chill and reheat on a grill will maintain that for an indefinite period of time. Once chilled, there's nothing happening to the ribs, so any delays you might experience won't cause a problem. If you were trying to hold them hot, the clock is ticking the whole time. In addition to safety concerns, the meat is also continuing to break down the whole time. For my money, I'd rather be able to relax and know the food's happily on ice and will be ready for a reheat whenever needed.

 

[matt zad]

I ended up taking the advice of Danny. The ribs stayed warm and everyone loved them after I reheated them on the grill. I however found that they dried out a little and the consistency of the meat was alittle soft. The meat still pulled away from the bone rather then fall off. I prefer a little pull so I was happy there and the flavor was good. All in all, a good rib cook but if I did it again, I'll go with my original plan. Thanks for the feedback! Here's a pic of the ribs before they came out of the smoker. I forgot to snap some of the end product.

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• matt zad
• Jun 16, 2013