need some advice.....

[pasmokey]

Me and the wife are having christmas eve dinner. I'm smoking 6 racks of spare ribs and also a bone-out ham. My smoker can only hold about half of the meat so i'll need to do 2 rounds of smoking. So my question is this, what is the best way to keep the ribs and ham that are done fresh? Should i refrigerate them and heat them back up or keep them in the oven on a low temp or something else? This is the first time i've had to smoke in mass quantity and i want everything to taste like it just came out of my smoker.

 

[SmokinAl]

You could do the ribs the day before. If they are spares just do the 3-2-1 method, only do the 3-2 the day before and refrigerate them then do the 1 hour the next day. The ham can be smoked the day before & reheated wrapped in foil in a 225 degree oven while the ribs are on the smoker.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Al has you covered except the USDA recommends reheating at 325*F to 165*F....I would do the ribs ahead and finish the last hour in the oven at 325* as recommended. The Ham I would do day of because you only need to get to 140-150*F during the first cook, it will be MUCH more moist than if you reheat it...JJ

 

[pasmokey]

thats good advice. however i work the day before and my wife will need the oven that day of. what about smoking the ribs with the 3-2-1 method and only do the 3-2 on the smoker in the morning and for the last hour i can throw all the ribs on my grill on indirect heat at 225 or so later in the day while my ham finishes smoking?

 

[pasmokey]

also, does anyone have an idea of what the internal temp of the ribs should be before you start the last hour of the 3-2-1 method? it seems like my ribs are always done in about 4 to 41/2 hours at 225. i think 6 hours of cook time is really gonna over cook them.

 

[SmokinAl]

thats good advice. however i work the day before and my wife will need the oven that day of. what about smoking the ribs with the 3-2-1 method and only do the 3-2 on the smoker in the morning and for the last hour i can throw all the ribs on my grill on indirect heat at 225 or so later in the day while my ham finishes smoking?

That's even better. If the grill is hot about 300-350 you will only need about 1/2 hour to finish them up & they will develop a nice crust on them. That's the way we like to do ribs here. Personally I think they are much better if you finish them on the grill.

 

[mballi3011]

It sounds like they have taken care you. I would also save a little time for resting the ham. If you wrap it in heavy duty foil you can leave it in the cooler for hours and it will stay really hot. That wy you can serve it all hot.

 

[raptor700]

also, does anyone have an idea of what the internal temp of the ribs should be before you start the last hour of the 3-2-1 method? it seems like my ribs are always done in about 4 to 41/2 hours at 225. i think 6 hours of cook time is really gonna over cook them.

  The finished IT of ribs is 190º but it's very difficult to get an accurate reading without touching a bone.

I just look for the ½" pull back on the bones, then finish for the last hour with sauce.

                                    

 

[chef jimmyj]

thats good advice. however i work the day before and my wife will need the oven that day of. what about smoking the ribs with the 3-2-1 method and only do the 3-2 on the smoker in the morning and for the last hour i can throw all the ribs on my grill on indirect heat at 225 or so later in the day while my ham finishes smoking?

That will work fine.
 

also, does anyone have an idea of what the internal temp of the ribs should be before you start the last hour of the 3-2-1 method? it seems like my ribs are always done in about 4 to 41/2 hours at 225. i think 6 hours of cook time is really gonna over cook them.

This one of those meats that I don't pay attention to temp...I have never had a rack of St Louis cut Spare Ribs cook under 5-6 at 225*F...I go by Bend test and poke with a Therm probe...JJ

 

[pasmokey]

i did a "test run" over the weekend, and they turned out amazing! i did them 3-2-1 with the last hour on the grill and they just fell off the bone. So i think i'll just smoke the ribs first and let em all sit and then throw em on the grill the last hour while the ham is smoking. I only smoked 1 rack last weekend though, can i assume the cooking time will increase with a full smoker?

 

[chef jimmyj]

It may take slightly longer depending on your smoker, outside temp, wind and what you mean by full...Four 6 slot Rib racks loaded up, maybe 30-60 minutes longer...One Rack of Ribs on each of 4 shelves, No extra time needed...JJ

 

[alelover]

It will take longer for the smoker to recover it's temp when you add that much mass to it. Get the smoker around 300 then add the 6 racks. It will be easier to come down to 225 then trying to get back up to 225.

 

[pasmokey]

Ok, here's my plan now i think. I got some rib racks and think i can squeeze all 6 racks in one smoke. I'm thinking the best plan might be to smoke the ribs first for 5 hours or so, then smoke the ham and then finish the ribs up for another hour or so in the smoker while the ham settles. But, is it ok to leave ribs wrapped in foil and in a cooler while the ham is smoking(roughly 3 or 4 hours)?

 

[alelover]

They should be OK. But they will get more tender and the bark will be soft. They will probably fall apart when you unwrap them after 4 hours.

 

[pasmokey]

hmmm, so should i unwrap them before putting them in the cooler? I like them to be pretty tender but they need some bark too.

 

[pasmokey]

Or should i do the ham before the ribs and then just smoke the ribs last?

 

[SmokinAl]

  The finished IT of ribs is 190º but it's very difficult to get an accurate reading without touching a bone.

I just look for the ½" pull back on the bones, then finish for the last hour with sauce.

                                    

Hey thanks Rap, I have wondered what the IT for ribs should be.

 

[alelover]

If it were me I'd do the ham 1st. I think it would fare better wrapped up for a few hours than the ribs would. I like my ribs fresh off the smoker. Someone may have a different opinion on the matter but I think it will be delicious either way you do it.

 

[pasmokey]

Ok, my last stupid question is this, i was thinking 3-4 hours to smoke my 11 lb precooked boneless ham. is this gonna be long enough?

 

[alblancher]

All you are doing is warming the ham, it is fully cooked.  So the smoke is just flavor.  Put it on the smoker until you need the smoker for something else.  A couple of hours will give it a lot of flavor.  You can finish taking it to the proper IT in the oven