Had to try this! FROZEN RIBS???

[SecondHandSmoker]

Al, those ribs look absolutely great. I am certainly giving this method a try. I've always been in the leave the membrane on camp too.

 

[jcam222]

Yes I am a member. It only costs $30 a year for unlimited free overnight shipping. Also I have ordered 10-15 different items from their site & everything that I have bought was way better than anything I can get locally, including Sam’s & Costco. The quality & price is crazy good!
Al

Have you ever ordered their ground prime rib?

 

[Steve H]

They look delicious! I'm wondering. I've cooked hamburgers from frozen. And thought they were. Juicer and better. Could it be what others have mentioned that perhaps by starting out frozen it gives it a souse vide effect?

 

[crazymoon]

AL, Wow, Awesome experiment and it is great to know that I can have last minute ribs from the freezer! Thanks !

 

[goldendogs]

Thanks a lot Al, after viewing all this I had to go to the wildfork site and drop $100.00.Boy they have some nice stuff there. I can't wait to try your frozen rib method on the camp chef.

 

[denny]

OK, last night I watched a video on YouTube that did a comparison cook.
They took 3 filet mignons & 1 was room temp, 1 was refrigerated, & 1 was frozen.
They cooked them exactly the same & took them to the same IT. The takeaway was that the frozen steak was more tender & juicy than the other 2, and the room temp steak was a bit dry & chewy. So I thought why not pull out a rack of ribs from Wild Fork Foods that I had in the freezer & put it in the smoker frozen. I thought if this works it would sure be a lot more convenient if you had a spur of the moment idea to smoke something. No thawing out, just fire up the smoker & throw it on right out of the freezer. Now I know your saying that there won’t be any flavor from the rub cause I’m putting it on a frozen piece of meat, but you’d be wrong. There was plenty of flavor! So here we go!!
Here is the rack I have:

View attachment 525801

And here it is out of the cryovac, notice these ribs DON'T have that big piece of loin meat on top.


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I put mustard on the ribs, because I thought the S&P wouldn’t stick to frozen meat. And S&P is the only seasoning I used.


View attachment 525799

Went on the Lang sitting around 250, with mesquite & hickory splits.


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Two hours in.


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Checked the temp & the IT is around 160 degrees.

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Another few degrees & into the foil they go. It's Valentines Day & Judy likes her ribs FOTB, so today we wrap them.
I'm using a combo of Apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, honey, bbq sauce, and butter.

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OK, meat side down, and since it a cold day down here we decided to do the foil part in the oven, so we could heat the house up.
And yes I left the membrane on, because IMHO, the ribs retain more juices.

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Out of the oven. nice color!

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Now to sauce them & then onto the gasser at around 600 degrees to burn the membrane off & set the sauce.

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All done & ready to slice!

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Man o man, just look at that smoke ring!!
I only had the ribs in the smoker for about 3 hours, so the conclusion that I have come to is the meat takes on a lot more smoke when it's cold.

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Judy said they were the best ribs she has ever had. I agree, they were very good. And there was a noticeable difference in the tenderness & juiciness.
Have at it girl!!

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We ate a few ribs at the cutting board, but finally made up a couple of plates & sat outside to enjoy our Valentines dinner. Judy made our favorite coleslaw, and some handheld cherry pies ( I do like extra icing on mine )

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Well as I have said throughout this thread, I was amazed at how tender, juicy, and what a smoke ring that I got from a totally frozen piece of meat.
I can't wait to try this on some other cuts!!
Thanks for looking guys & I hope you all had as wonderful a Valentines Day as Judy & I did!!
Al

Fantastic! Definitely will try soon. Thanks for posting!

 

[Bearcarver]

Makes sense to me, because those frozen Quarter pound Beef Patties we buy are best when made right from frozen.
They don't dry up---Plenty juicy!!
And they don't even stick to the grill, like they can if you thaw them first.

Bear

 

[DRKsmoking]

Al , The ribs look great. Thanks for the new lesson on frozen meats in the smoker

Love Judy's Sweatshirt,
looks like she is all set for the Ironman Challenge, normally up here
it is hotdogs and blueberry pies for the competition, Not ribs, LOL .

Did you go to the competition in Penticton BC, my son was working there when that was going on .
The town doubled in size for a couple weeks he said.

David

 

[tanglefoot]

Thanks Al! I think I just got an education...and better yet, a few ideas!!!

 

[DougE]

I never would have considered smoking frozen ribs, but they look like a winner to me, Al.

On larger cuts, I believe it would be safe, provided it's solid muscle, not previously injected, or otherwise molested. So long as the outside hits 140* in 4hr, it would be safe, unless I'm mistaken, but I believe this is correct.

 

[civilsmoker]

Very cool Al. I do partially frozen ribs, bird parts, and burger quite often but never done them solid frozen as I usually set them on the kitchen granite for 30 min while the smoker is getting hot and that sucks the cold out quick, then on the smoker or grill.

 

[Lawyer Bob]

You have things like convection currents that play a role in this process

Why would frozen sausages defrost faster in water?

My mom uses frozen sausages for a soup. She defrosts frozen sausages by submerging them in water (room temperature I believe). She claims this makes them defrost faster. She learned this from some

physics.stackexchange.com

https://www.witpress.com/Secure/elibrary/papers/9781853129322/9781853129322003FU1.pdf

With posts like that you should change your handle from smoke blower to mind blower. I did find an error in the equation on page 15, however.

 

[OldSchoolWTB]

Great thread and info (on Wildfork as well!) Will be trying!

 

[SmokinAl]

I'm close to the Tampa store so delivery is same day. Their prices would save me the $30/year.

That’s great!
Wish we had a local store!
But I’m close enough to the S. Florida store, so we get overnight shipping, and it is always still fully frozen when it arrives.
Al

putting a cart together now, I am getting a couple pieces of Tuna, but in general we are so close to the ocean that great seafood is always around.

I understand, I lived in Ft. Lauderdale for 35 years, and you do get spoiled with the fresh seafood.
Al

This is a great method, Al! Thanks for sharing, I , like all others am definitely gonna be doing this asap. Can't see any downside, and the idea of being able to do ribs at a moment's notice is amazing. I have also been using Wild Fork since Al mentioned a few years ago. I find their prices very good, and 95% of the foods are top notch.

Thank-you, and your welcome!
And I think you are right, this will catch on and become mainstream!
Al

Al, those ribs look absolutely great. I am certainly giving this method a try. I've always been in the leave the membrane on camp too.

Thank you, and more & more of us are leaving the membrane on. Once you try it you find there is a distinct difference in the moisture content of the ribs with the membrane left on.
Al

Have you ever ordered their ground prime rib?

No I have not, however I do buy several PR roasts during the holiday sales, and always grind a couple of them up. Great for burgers or beef sausage.
Al

They look delicious! I'm wondering. I've cooked hamburgers from frozen. And thought they were. Juicer and better. Could it be what others have mentioned that perhaps by starting out frozen it gives it a souse vide effect?

Thank-you Steve!
I’m not sure why it works, I am just convinced that it works & will continue to experiment with different cuts of meat.
Al

AL, Wow, Awesome experiment and it is great to know that I can have last minute ribs from the freezer! Thanks !

Thank-you CM, and yes I’m still excited about the results I got, I’m about ready to pull something else out of the freezer!
Al

Frozen Steaks Cook Better Than Thawed Steaks

Frozen Steaks Cook Better Than Thawed Steaks

www.iflscience.com

Thank-you!!
Al

Thanks a lot Al, after viewing all this I had to go to the wildfork site and drop $100.00.Boy they have some nice stuff there. I can't wait to try your frozen rib method on the camp chef.

Your welcome, and be sure to let me know how those ribs turn out!
Al

Fantastic! Definitely will try soon. Thanks for posting!

Thank-you Denny!!
Al

 

[Brokenhandle]

Thanks for sharing Al! Will definitely try this! You haven't led me astray yet! . We vac seal steaks 2 per bag...might have to season them before freezing and try it out.

Ryan

 

[TNJAKE]

Tasty looking ribs Al

 

[HalfSmoked]

Al Thanks for the like I appreciate it.

That is what so great about this forum someone is always trying something new and sharing it with everyone.

Yea weather been crazy here too. I have friends in Naples, and they report being in the 30's.

Warren

 

[noboundaries]

Definitely going to try this, AL! Thawing a whole untrimmed rack of spare ribs is a bit of a pain with my setup here at home. This would solve that problem. Thanks for posting.

BTW, I've done grilled frozen steaks. I prefer them thawed or right from the grocer, which are basically pre-thawed.

Grilling Frozen Steaks?

I had someone tell me that he grills his steaks frozen, and they turn out perfect. I've never heard of this. I would think it would develop a pretty good crust while waiting to bring up the internal temp. Although you probably can't season your meat initially. Has anyone done this? Whats...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[912smoker]

Interesting experiment with a great result Al!
It'll make the process a lot easier in the future. Thanks for sharing

Keith

 

[SmokinAl]

Makes sense to me, because those frozen Quarter pound Beef Patties we buy are best when made right from frozen.
They don't dry up---Plenty juicy!!
And they don't even stick to the grill, like they can if you thaw them first.

Bear

Thanks John!
It was an experiment that actually worked! There have been plenty that weren’t so good!
Al

Al , The ribs look great. Thanks for the new lesson on frozen meats in the smoker

Love Judy's Sweatshirt,
looks like she is all set for the Ironman Challenge, normally up here
it is hotdogs and blueberry pies for the competition, Not ribs, LOL .

Did you go to the competition in Penticton BC, my son was working there when that was going on .
The town doubled in size for a couple weeks he said.

David

Thanks David!
Actually I did the Ironman up there many years ago, and she still has the sweatshirt. First race I ever was in that had hot tubs at the finish & we drank chicken broth. Other Ironman races down here or in Hawaii were so hot that at the finish we would get a couple of IV’s & drink lots of Gatorade. Lovely country up there in BC.
Al

Thanks Al! I think I just got an education...and better yet, a few ideas!!!

Your welcome!
Hope you give it a try!
Al

I never would have considered smoking frozen ribs, but they look like a winner to me, Al.

On larger cuts, I believe it would be safe, provided it's solid muscle, not previously injected, or otherwise molested. So long as the outside hits 140* in 4hr, it would be safe, unless I'm mistaken, but I believe this is correct.

Thank-you!
And yes you are right, as long as it is intact it would be safe.
Al

Very cool Al. I do partially frozen ribs, bird parts, and burger quite often but never done them solid frozen as I usually set them on the kitchen granite for 30 min while the smoker is getting hot and that sucks the cold out quick, then on the smoker or grill.

Thank-you!
Do you find that using partially frozen gives you a better end product?
I wonder what the difference is between partially frozen & fully frozen.
Al

With posts like that you should change your handle from smoke blower to mind blower. I did find an error in the equation on page 15, however.

Ha Ha that is funny!
I’ll check out the equation
Al

Great thread and info (on Wildfork as well!) Will be trying!

Thank-you!
You won’t be disappointed with WF!
Al