what to do if I can't finish a smoke?

[motsco]

howdy gang -

I made the drawer lager for my trailmaster L. I wanted to test it out but didn't want to waste fuel so I cut a rack of ribs in half and put both halfs on the smoker, starting temp was about 279 @ 6pm. once o turned the ribs and mopped them I'm @ a steady 261. these are at the grate temps.

i just found out I can't finish them tonight because of work so I will pull the ribs off the smoker around 9pm. and try to reheat or grill them at work tomorrow around noon.

my question is what do i do. pull the ribs wrap in tin foil and refrigerate? let them sit on the counter?

please help :)

thanks,
Tom

 

[s2k9k]

How long did they cook? Did they reach 140*? I definitely would NOT leave them sit out on the counter! If they got over 140* you can probably put them in the fridge but you want to get them below 40* asap, and when you finish cooking them get them back up over 140* asap. If they never reached 140* I would be very wary of them and probably just cut my losses and toss them over taking the chance of getting sick.

 

[motsco]

they have been on since 6pm. I can keep them on until 9pm. they would have cooked for three hours. when I pull them off @ 9pm.

I'm still @ 261*. on the smoker grate.

the ribs are still on the smoker at this time. eastern standard 7:28.

 

[s2k9k]

I forgot to ask "what kind of ribs are they?"

I think they will be OK, they should hit 140* in 3 hours at that grate temp with no problem. I would pull them at 3 hours and let them sit for a few mins then wrap them up and into the fridge. When reheated/cooked they might not be the best ribs but I would think they will be edible.

Hopefully someone with a lot more experience than me will see this and give their expertise!

 

[motsco]

they are spare ribs.

and they are smelling awesome right now. I think I'm om my best smoke for ribs yet and have to pull the plug in a hour.

thinking I will wrap them and get the heat up to 270 or 300 and see what happens. .


thanks
tom

 

[s2k9k]

they are spare ribs.
and they are smelling awesome right now. I think I'm om my best smoke for ribs yet and have to pull the plug in a hour.
thinking I will wrap them and get the heat up to 270 or 300 and see what happens. .
thanks
tom

That will help and the higher temps really don't hurt ribs. The safe temp for any pork is 145* so I don't think you have any safety issues to worry about.

 

[motsco]

well the ship is sinking temp dropped to 235. I can't start another chimney now. I got the smoker wide open with a small piece of apple wood. it is what it is. I will try to ride it out but I think the ship is sinking to fast.

cheap charcoal just dosnt last. I have cowboy lumps but every time I put the cowboy in the fire box raw I get a bad taste.

T

 

[s2k9k]

Do you have a therm you can probe the meat and check the temp?

 

[jarjarchef]

At work we mark things all the time for banquets. The product never hits the final temp. We do a quick blast chilling to get it below 40 in less than 2hrs. With a cook temp of 260+ for 3hrs. I would feel pretty sure you will be over the 145 temp. For the quick chilling I would not wrap them, it will keep the heat in and take longer to cool. When you decide to finish cooking them start at the second step of the 3:2:1 method. You may need to add a bit of time due to them being cold for the start. For large groups we have to do things like this all the time. Just make sure you are watching your temps and times. When you are passing through the TDZ try to do it as quick as possible.

 

[scarbelly]

You can always throw them into the oven - is there anyone else there to tend to the oven?

 

[jarjarchef]

Yes if you can check the temp. If your over 145 you are golden. You should be close if not over by now.

 

[s2k9k]

Yes if you can check the temp. If your over 145 you are golden. You should be close if not over by now.

Thanks Jarjar! I'm glad I was on the right track, but kept waiting for someones else to chime in!

 

[linguica]

The  guide line here is to avoid the time the food stays in what the food industry calls "The Danger Zone", that is 40 deg F to 140 deg F. this is the temperature range which bacteria grows very quickly.
 

 

[motsco]

ok checked temp of meat I'm over 145. they look good I will take pic. worked called and I am cleared not to go in but on call. picking at the ribs they taste awesome.

should I just refrigerate them and re heat tomorrow ?

thanks

tom

 

[jarjarchef]

I would cool them and start on step 2 tomorrow when you can enjoy them.

 

[s2k9k]

Well that sounds good that you're not on a time restraint at the moment! You could foil them with some liquid like apple juice or something you have around and put them in the oven or back on the smoker if you want to get more coals going for a couple of hours for part 2 of the 3-2-1 and if you don't get called in go ahead and finish the last hour back on the smoker or if you have a gas grill that is also good to finish them up. Happy to hear your little crisis turned out!

 

[motsco]

I zipped locked them a put them in the frige I am so tempted to eat them the small dry pieces are MONEY. just awesome.

I can tell you all that mustard and sweet rub of mine works great!!!

thanks for the help I will let you know how the over night wait works out.

thanks
Tom

 

[motsco]

well I think I just found a new way to do ribs!

they turned out great. took them to work and wrapped them in foil fired up the wobbly one legged 2 burner webber that sits behind the shop. after a good cleaning and hot burn on the webber I put the ribs on lo n slo. about 10:30 I opened the foil add my favorite sauce. pulled them at 11 am.

they where awsome. to bad I could only ate 3 ribs the guys at my shop devouered them.

now they all want me to smoke them some lunch every week.

thanks against for all the help gang,

Tom

 

[dragonmaster194]

motsco, glad it turned out for you, too bad the guys scrounged most of your ribs.  Teach them how and have them bring goodies in to share.  Steve

 

[s2k9k]

Tom, I'm Happy it worked out!