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Best Practices for Freezing & Thawing Ribs

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GWizBrewing
GWizBrewing Posts: 23
in EggHead Forum

The Meat Market near my house is currently running a buy 1 get 1 free on racks of ribs.  Given the discount, I would like to stock up on racks that I will use throughout the fall and summer.  I have space in my deep freezer, just unsure how the meat will turnout when I eventually cook them.  Anyone have any in site/best practices for freezing and thawing racks of ribs?  I don’t think I would need to freeze them to long, maybe four months at the longest.

Give a man a beer, he'll drink for the day. Teach a man to brew, he'll be drunk the rest of his life. - Anonymous.
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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
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    I have had good luck cooking ribs from frozen.  If they are packaged in cryovac you can just throw them in the freezer.  I have a food saver so if they are not aready vac packed I will use it. 

    Defrosting them only takes about 24 hours in the fridge or if you need them sooner you can do a cold water thaw in the sink or a big container.  If they are not completely defrosted they will actually cook fine- just take a little longer. 

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
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    Never had a problem freezing either.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,759
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    my butcher gets mine from the freezer and then i put them in the freezer, my guess is thats the standard procedure, they are or were frozen
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • swordsmn
    swordsmn Posts: 683
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    My local meat market vac seals stuff on request..  recommended if a possibility
    LBGE, AR.  Lives in N.E. ATL
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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,231
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    Freeze

    Thaw

    Egg

    Eat! 
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
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    My local butcher shop gets them in frozen. If I plan to freeze them, I ask them to get some from the freezer.

    If they are vacuum sealed, they will last a long time in the freezer. I tend to defrost my freezer once a year and try to thin out the meat portion before defrosting. I wouldn't think twice about meat that has been the freezer for a year (assuming the vac seal has held).  
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    also, they freeze and reheat really well after cooking too.  i'll often cook an extra rack or two, then cut into individual ribs and freeze.  they defrost in the toaster oven really well. dang now I'm hungry for ribs.

    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
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    Ribs - yum.  Luckily I have some chicken thighs on the egg right now. They are at 156º - won't be too much longer before dinner.
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    The down side of freezing meat is that if large ice crystals are formed, the crystals break down the muscle tissue. Large crystals grow during slow freezing.That means it dries out more quickly as the water evaporates during cooking.

    If you have some liquid nitrogen on hand, freeze away. The food will freeze so fast that the ice crystals are too small to break the cell walls.

    Blast chilling is very common, but you have to have a big fan, and really dry cold air. Nothing I have.

    I chill the meat down as best i can in an ice bath, and then place it on some "blue ice" packs in my freezer to bring the meat to freezing as fast as possible. The results are OK.



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  • Mikee
    Mikee Posts: 892
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    When freezing meat, do it in portions. No need for liquid nitrogen. One layer at a time.

    Buy one get one free is not always a great deal. It's the final price that matters. One week the price of the cut is $3.99. The next week it on sale for $2.99 a pound. The following week its buy one get one and the price is $7.99.  

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