Looking for some advice on holding ribs in a cooler.

[smokin' jay]

How long can you safely keep smoked ribs in an insulated cooler? This is assuming they are tightly wrapped and a few blankets wrapped around them with a microwave hot pad for good measure.

The reason I ask is I have some friends that will be in town in 2 weeks. We are going golfing around noon or early afternoon. If I smoke the ribs (3-2-1 method) in the morning will they stay safe in the cooler while we golf? Generally it would be a 4-5 hour round? Or should I just smoke the ribs when we are done golfing and eat later?

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[bbq bubba]

They'll hold a while, but remember, the meat continues cooking in the cooler...
May end up with rib mush.
How about cooking the 3 and 2, putting in the fridge and grilling to warm up and eat fresh?

 

[rwc565]

Just foil when they are done. Refridgerate, and then your ready to eat put in the oven for 20-30 minutes to heat up. They will be just as good as they would be if you ate them straight off of the smoker.

 

[smokin' jay]

That's a good idea. My other thought was to partially or fully cook them and reheat them later but didn't know what the best method would be. I think finishing them on the grill would probably work. I read on another thread that people have had mixed results with the reheating.

 

[walking dude]

or start your round 8-9 in the morning......you will have plenty of time when you get back to start em.

just a thought

 

[smokin' jay]

I'd like to golf earlier but I'm woried about my friends ability to make a morning tee time. My guess is that they will have a few cobwebs in the morning from the copious amount beer we plan on consuming!

 

[walking dude]

if you golf like "I" do, i drink plenty during the round to clear out any cobwebs......lolol........maybe sneak in a thermous of Bloody Mary's..........LOLOL

 

[diesel]

I have put ribs in the cooler before after a 3-2-1. I wraped in foil and left over night. Got up in the morning and put in fridge. Then heated on the grill. Very nice. Worked out great. You should be fine. One question. If your buddies are going to have a hard time getting up for golf how are you going to get up and cook? I have tried that before and hangovers hurt more than they used to. Heck... cornbread and Ice tea took the place of pills and 90 proof.

 

[smokin' jay]

I may have a hard time getting up for work or church after a night of drinking, but I can pull myself out of a hangover for some BBQ!

 

[deltadude]

On July 4th I did 10 racks of ribs pulled out of smoker at 2pm and served at 6:30pm 70 miles away. At the end of the foil stage, instead of putting back in the smoker to firm up and glaze for 30min to 1 hour, I wrapped a 2nd layer of foil on the ribs, each packet had 2 racks inside. Then I wrapped each packet with plastic wrap, then I placed all inside a heavy plastic bag closed tight, next I put in cooler and laid 2 towels on top, finally I closed cooler lid and secured with tape to make sure it didn't pop open. I had put hot water in cooler before use, to get cooler to a warm temp before adding foiled ribs.
At my sister's when it was time to eat, I removed ribs and heated on gas bbq grill and sauced once more before serving. They were great!
Note: when I checked 2 of the foil packs during the foil stage of cooking, I tried to gage the ribs as being almost but not quite done, since the ribs would be in foil holding a decent temp for another 3 to 4 hours. This was a combination of tearing test on the end ribs and poking with tooth pick in thick meaty parts and rib bone exposure.

The ribs were firm, tender, tasty, and when girls go back for 2nds and 3rds you know you did good.

 

[seboke]

Here's what I just did - good or bad, it seemed to work, as no one got sick! Did my 4 July party ribs on 3 July. Well, a 3-4 July smoke. Got the ribs in the smoker around 10:00 PM on the 3rd. Did the 3 hours, foiled, then did the 2 hours. By then, I'm the only one left awake and I found myself talking to the potted plants. So, after the foil stage, I layered a cooler with a towel, wrapped three racks - still foiled - in towels (three times for nine racks), placed them in the cooler, and covered the ribs with another towel. Got all this done at 3:00 AM on the 4th. Father-in-law fired up the charcoal grill, unwrapped the ribs (still VERY warm!) and gave em a good drag over hot coals to complete the 3 of the 3-2-1.

I wouldn't recommend this method to anyone, but it worked for me.

I hope to not have to try that again!!

 

[1894]

If I get out to Iowa , or you get near Syr NY , lets go golfing , and do some smokin'

 

[walking dude]

your on Phil........which kinda smokin you talking bout.......LOLOL

 

[ronp]

That's what I'd do. Fire up the grill, sauce them and toast them till hot and fresh.

Good luck!!!

 

[1894]

Umm , errr , ah , I was thinking about the TBS

, but then theres them cancer sticks I shoulda quit when they reached $ 1.00 / pack

 

[walking dude]

ahhh..........coffin nails.........never mind...........

 

[jbchoice1]

I smell what your stepping in WD...

 

[smokin' jay]

This is perfect. Thanks everyone for the advice. This is a great community!