how to keep/serve meat hours later at picnic/tailgate

Timothy M2

Hello, I am new to this forum, and shopping for a greenegg. My sister and brother-in-law come to my town to see the football games, and go over early to tailgate. I am willing to get up early to slow cook ribs or chicken, but do not know if I should keep the food hot, which worries me because it might overcook or dry out, or if I should refrigerate and eat cold, or regrigerate and reheat? If reheat, that would mean another small grille at the tailgate, which is not really feasible. I have seen pyrex containers that come with an insulated cover. Do you know about these, and how long is it ok to keep meat at what tempature? What about electric recharageable containers that would be like coolers but would be heaters?[p]Thanks, Timothy M2 (another Tim M)

Smokey

Timothy M2,[p]Welcome on board! A cooler does a decent job for some things, but food will not be pipeing hot life it just came off the grill. If you choose to reheat on a grill, wrapping food in foil will help maintain moisture.[p]Smokey

Nature Boy

Timothy M2,
Welcome to the forum. A warm cooler (fill with hot water for maybe 30 minutes), wrap the meat tight in foil, cover with towels, and close cooler. Ribs, pulled pork, brisket work best with this, as the chicken would tend to dry out. When doing this, I usually pull off the cooker slightly early (like a brisket at 185 instead of 200). It will finish cooking in the cooler, and should stay hot for up to 4 hours.[p]The thicker-walled coolers work best, and not too big![p]Hope that helps.
NB

Zip

Nature Boy,[p]I placed two 10# briskets and two 6 # butts in a cooler yesterday at 10 AM. The meat was between 180º and 190º and was down to 135º by 2PM. The key is preheating the cooler, surrounding the meats with towels, and not opening the cooler until it is time to eat. I preheat the cooler with quart Gatoraide bottles filled with boiling water and if there is room I leave them in there. [p]Ash[p][p]

Timothy M2

My email was wrong on my original post.[p]I bought my egg at lunch today, I called Atlanta and ordered some stuff that the store here in Gainesville, Florida did not have. I am nervous, and excited. I used to live in Atlanta in a high rise apartment, so could not get an egg then. Now my situation is different.[p]Thanks for your help everyone.[p]Tim.