Kroger Ribs

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bman62526

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Sep 30, 2008
534
10
Decatur, IL
Hey all,

Kroger has their baby backs on sale this week/weekend. I've never bought them, as they get to the store frozen and they have that solution added. Question is: what do you all think of their ribs? I ususally buy Cub Foods (never frozen) or Sam's club. However, for me it's quite a haul to go to either one of those stores, and Kroger is only 1 mile away.

All I need is a couple slabs of B.B.'s for tonight...no other groceries on the list, so I was thinking about hitting Kroger. All things considered, how do their baby backs compare??

Thanks.
 
I have 2 places I can go Walmart and Kroger. I have got Ribs form Kroger a lot and they seem to be good. However my self for some crazy resone am not to crazy about buying them frozen myself. Some times at my Kroger they have some that are not frozen..But over all after I put the rub on them and smoke them they have turned out real good..Another thing that sucks is you have to allow the thawing time.. So I think you will be ok if you go with Kroger. But like I said Am like you if I can get out of buying frozen meat I will. Hope you have a good smoke..
 
It CAN be a bummer when you have a last minute craving for a rib que, and the only b.b.'s on the shelf are frozen. I think since all I need is a rack or two, I'll give Kroger a try!
 
I've bought ribs at Fred Meyer, our local Kroger off-shoot, and they were the same ones with the solution added. I greatly prefer BB's from Costco with no solution but might as well give them a try.
 
We mainly buy our spares and have bought BB a few times from Smith's/Kroger. If they are frozen and you want to smoke them up in the next few hours, just drop them into a cooler of tap water, and give them a turn and stir whenever you think about it. They'll be thawed out in no time.

If I'm planning on smoking them the next day, I use the same thaw method (excluding tending) for overnight when temps are cool in the evening. If it's warmer/hot weather, you may need to add a little ice to the cooler, or keep it indoors.

Eric
 
Just be careful of buying "enhanced"ribs if you plan on putting a rub on them that is high in salt. The "pumping solution" is mostly sodium based which may lead to a saltier, or drier end product.
 
I went early this morning and bought 100 pounds of spares and two racks of BBs and have 6 racks spares and the BBs on now. I dont have an issue with them myself and dont have a problem with them frozen. I put the extra ones in my freezer so I dont ahve to chase any down later or pay the high price
 
The last one I did was from Kroger and were bought frozen, then stored in my fridge for a month or so. I pulled them out in the morning and laid them out on a cookie sheet and set my oven to 'warm' (170°) and thawed them in about 35 minutes, then rubbed and right in the smoker. They came out great!

Pops §§
 
Howdy, I'm not fond of any ribs in solution from the store. I don't care for the Danish ribs I see offered at Krogers either. It seems to me they have an "off" taste. I was stationed in Scotland in the late 70s and learned that they feed "fish meal" (ground up bones and "stuff") to pigs and chickens and you could taste it in the meat. I tasted that same flavor in the cheap Danish ribs (in solution) I got at Kroger and we've never bought them again. As far as frozen goes, I'll buy them if that's all that is available but I prefer fresh.
 
I have done both with water and with out water.

As long as you have your methods down both have turned out great.

With the water ones I like to let them rest over night in the fridge on a cooling rack so that a lot of the water will come out. I rub them up the next day and throw on the smoker.

I have to say I wish that they would quit adding in water and junk to meat.

I hate knowing that up to 15% of what I am buying is just water!
 
That's exactly why they do it... to 'enhance'.... their profits, that is! It's like the wet spray in the produce departments to 'keep the vegetables fresh...' baloney! I was in the groc. business when this system came out and it was primarily to soak up water into the weight products and the manufacturer was unabashed telling how it would pay for itself by selling tap water at premium price! Then the weights and measures guys got ahold of it and squashed it, so only 'per piece' items were sprayed, but for several years unbounded profits were made on water soaked veggies.
 
Just saw Target's Sunday circular. Seems they are giving back ribs and briskets (packers) away this week. $1.99 & $1.49 respectively (give or take a dime from what my memory serves me).

Looks like I'm going to have to stock up.
 
Interesting! I'm a big dummie, I guess
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I knew about the "enhancement" solution being very salty...but what I never thought about, is that I'm paying for that weight! Oh well, I guess if no other place has them on sale and I need 3-4 slabs in a hurry, I'll try the Kroger. However, I will do like someone suggested and first let them sit in the fridge on a rack overnight to drain...good idea.
 
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