A costly rookie mistake

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trish6103

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 5, 2013
20
10
I took 3 racks of beef back ribs out of the freezer last night to thaw. I put them in cold water in the sink. I fell asleep for longer than I intended, and by the time I woke up, I had 3 racks of garbage. They were not even cool, and the water was just barely cooler than room temp.

I ended up running to the store and buying 3 racks of pork baby back ribs, which was the only thing they had that wasn't frozen. I am embarrassed to say how much I paid for that mistake. Hopefully they turn out really tasty, so I won't feel quite so bad.

I also have a Boston Butt, some brined chicken, macaroni and cheese (no-boil recipe found here) and Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans going. I am figuring out pretty quickly that the 3 racks that came with my smoker are not nearly enough.
 
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Sorry to hear about the ribs. Better to thaw in the fridge if possible. Hope to see your finished results. You dont by chance have a link to the "no boil" mac and cheese thread? Sounds like something I could be interested in.
 
Most of us have made the dreaded oops at one time or another . Learn from it and move on ,

Hope the BB's come out well and your sides sound like a winner.
 
Sorry to hear about the ribs. Better to thaw in the fridge if possible. Hope to see your finished results. You dont by chance have a link to the "no boil" mac and cheese thread? Sounds like something I could be interested in.
Here it is.

I'm not gonna lie, it ain't purty. But what it lacks in presentation, it more than makes up for in smoky, cheesy goodness. Enjoy!
 
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How long were they in the water for, I don't know what the temp is where you are at but I doubt they were bad, if they were froze and they thawed, I usually try to leave meat come to room temp before smoking or grilling anyway.

 
 
That's the problem, I don't know how long they were in the danger zone. I doubt they were bad also, but I didn't want to take any chances. The baby backs were awesome, so it's all good.
 
Letting many cuts of meat come up to "room temp" before cooking it isn't a very good practice from a food safety point.
 
 
How long were they in the water for, I don't know what the temp is where you are at but I doubt they were bad, if they were froze and they thawed, I usually try to leave meat come to room temp before smoking or grilling anyway.

 
Do you make ALL your meat Rare to Medium Rare? There really is no need to let meat warm that will be cooked well done or more. The point of warming is even cooking of meats that are medium or less. Warming allows even cooking, were cold meat will be well done most of the way through with just a pink center. Beyond this, warming to room temp is just Setting the Table for any Bacteria to eat, multiply and excrete toxins all over your meat. Now if you injected the meat or plugged holes with Garlic, it can be outright Dangerous to warm the meat because some of the nastiest bugs just love an oxygen free environment to multiply rapidly. It is ok to have meat at room temp to work on it and quick cooking items like Beef Steaks and Pork Chops can be at 70-80° for about 2 hours, 90°+ no more than 1 hour. You can even let a big hunk of Prime Rib warm for a few hours AFTER a nice rub down with Salt or a salty Rub...But Chicken or a Pork Butt or Brisket that will be cooked to 165° or more you gain nothing but a possible trip to the hospital...JJ
 
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