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Frozen ribs?

cookingdude555
cookingdude555 Posts: 3,185
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I have a weird question for you all. Anyone ever throw ribs on the egg frozen? I always buy the three pack of ribs from Costco and freeze one or two racks. I have one rack cut into two that is currently frozen in a foodsaver bag (I mean -15F kind of frozen) that I want to cook on the small, cause I want ribs soon.

My thought is to put them on the small at 250ish and then put some rub on after they thaw/cook for a while. I know this sounds weird, but I grill frozen chicken breasts from frozen all the time. Has anyone done this with a low and slow before? Am I crazy? (well, I already know that answer, I mean in this instance) ;)

Comments

  • Cruezn
    Cruezn Posts: 317
    I've never tried it, but I suppose it would work ok, but it would increase your cook time by quite a bit. I would think it would be faster to thaw them in the fridge overnight and then cook like you normally would. I recently cooked a spatchcock chicken that had been frozen prior to cooking. I thawed it out in the fridge, but it still had some ice in the cavity when I cut it open. I know that cook took 45 minutes longer than it should have (normally only takes about 60 minutes). My only assumption is the bird was so cold it took longer to cook. Just my $.02 worth.
  • if you have them sealed in foodsaver bags, I would just cover them in water.... Fill the sink with water and immerse the ribs still sealed. They will thaw pretty quickly and I figure they will turn out better. I have tied this method and it has worked well for me. While I haven't tried cooking ribs or butts from frozen, I recently read an article concerning how this practice may make for a tougher piece of meat..... so take that for what its worth, which may not be much....
  • I second this. Whenever I want to thaw meat, I always use cold tap water. Cover it, change the water every 30 minutes until thawed. I thawed some bacon yesterday, and it only took about 20 minutes in the water. I would imagine that ribs would only be 30-45 minutes... if they're not completely thawed by then, they'd be pretty darn close and you could toss them on the egg.
  • CBBQ
    CBBQ Posts: 610
    Your plan will work fine. I spent a week with Mike Mills who is considered by many to be the greatest bbq'er of all time. At his restaurant he put frozen ribs, butts and briskets in the smoker along with thawed ones. We blind taste tested them and you couldn't tell the difference. Only the brisket took any longer because meats with high fat content soften up and thaw much faster than lean cuts. When I get a shipment of ribs/butts from a supplier the ones on the outer edge of the box may be thawed while the ones in the center are still frozen. They all go on at the same time and are done at the same time.
  • Thanks for the replies everyone. Plans changed and my bro in law and I did some steaks on the small instead. So the ribs are thawing normally in the fridge right now. Now I have to decide if I am going to smoke them tomorrow during the snow, or wait ... nah, I cant wait, its ribs in the snow for sure. :blink:
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    you won't ever have more stable temps than you will egging in the snow. least in my experience...
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante