# Pre-Smoking ribs for later charcoal finish



## polishmeat (Jul 10, 2009)

Hey all,

Going up to Eagle River, Wisconsin tomorrow with the wife and in-laws.  Was thinking about pre-smoking some spare ribs (1.49/lb at Jewel right now) and taking them up in a cooler to finish later up in Wisconsin, which is a 6 hour drive from here in Chicago.  

Unfortunately, the in-laws don't like smoked food all that much, so I was going to use minimal wood chips on them ribs in the morning, so I can transport them and finish up on the charcoal grill later on in the night.  I figure we're going to leave at 3PM and won't get there until 9pm, so I might smoke them that night or Saturday.

How long should I keep them on the GOSM, and should I wrap in foil and towels and in a cooler?  If we finish them up tomorrow, I should probably keep them out of the fridge, while they're still warm until we put them on the grill, otherwise I'm thinking of putting them in the fridge overnight once they cool so we can finish up on the charcoal grill. 

Any input guys/gals?

Thanks much!!!

Martin


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## ocsnapper (Jul 10, 2009)

I would cook them all the way, then when you cook them on the grill you can add some good lines as you reheat them.. Good luck.


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## ronp (Jul 10, 2009)

I would do a 3-2 method and refrigerate them and finish them on the grill when you get up there, as for smoke maybe if you do a good job they will be converts to smoked meat.

BTW my restaurant was in Minoqua Wi just a few miles from Eagle River, beautiful country. Enjoy your trip and be safe.


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## coyote-1 (Jul 10, 2009)

Vurtually all my smoked food is "pre-smoked". I don't have time to smoke every weekend, so I load up the smoker whenever I do get the opportunity. I then freeze most of it for later consumption.

Since most of that will be reheated on the grill, I leave it short of fully cooked. For example, I'll smoke some ckickens - and when I take them off, the thigh joint still shows a hint of pink at the bone. Then when I take it out of the freezer and put it on the grill, I still have to finish cooking it. I've found this method makes for much moister food.

The same can obviously work for refrigeration.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 10, 2009)

I have no advise on the presmoking, but thanks for the heads up on the spare ribs pricing.


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## bigsteve (Jul 10, 2009)

In the case of the chicken.......

Are you talking pieces or a whole bird?  How long does it take you to finish on the grill?  Glad you mentioned this.  Honestly, my guess would have been that the birds would have dried out using this method.


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## gnubee (Jul 10, 2009)

When I do mine ahead of time I finish them by caramalizing a layer or two of bbq sauce over a hot grill. Then chill in the fridge. To re-heat them I used to just nuke them for a minimum amount of time but that sometimes toughened them up a bit. The solve for that problem is to put them on a dinner plate with a second plate inverted on the top. Then nuke them carefully. Once you get used to the correct time on your microwave they never get tougher, in fact they come out nice, hot and moist.


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## polishmeat (Jul 10, 2009)

Whitesoxjim,

Where are you at in Chi-Town?   Thanks for the assistance guys.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 10, 2009)

I work in Burr Ridge,  and I live in Marseilles(sw of Joliet).  

Where are you at in chicagoland?

Im hitting Jewel on the way home for some spares.  I was up in the air between spares, and BB for tomorrow, and your post, and Jewels price made my decision easy.  thanks


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## polishmeat (Jul 10, 2009)

Jim,

I'm in Orland Park, so not too far from you it sounds like.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 10, 2009)

nope not too far.

good luck with transporting those ribs. etc up north.


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## coyote-1 (Jul 10, 2009)

I smoke the whole bird. I then cut it in half, and freeze the halves in 1-gallon ziplocs (2 halves per bag). I zip it almost all the way, then use a straw to suck out as much air as possible prior to final sealing (this works VERY well; I get no freezer burn even after 6 weeks or more).

When I thaw it, part it out, and put it on the grill, it takes perhaps 12 minutes or less to finish the thigh and inner breast. And because the juices were not completely cooked out the first time, it retains plenty of juiciness as I finish it.
As it happens we're out of chicken; I have to smoke a handful of 'em sometime this weekend. And I'll be using exactly that method for storing them.


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## mballi3011 (Jul 10, 2009)

When I do chickens and need them for later I smoke them all the way and refigerate them. When we are ready about 30-45 minutes before I take a pasta pot with stainer inside and stean them hot, the meat is very hot and very juicy. If I were you I would look for a good vaccum sealer ( I have food saver) and put your meat in them and you won't get freezer burn that you get with ziplock bags. I used that re-heating method on everything.


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