Holding Ribs (Keeping Warm and Moist)

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Granny's Gang Barbeque

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Cooker ran a bit hot and the ribs were done an hour before I was ready for them. I wrapped the racks separately in foil and put them in the holding cooler with the Pork and Brisket. I added no extra liquid; I'm thinking that was my mistake. An hour later I pulled them for presentation, they had dried out. Not terribly so, but they were dry.
Does anyone have any suggestions for holding ribs and keeping them moist?
 
i'm gonna guess the heat from the pork and brisket inside the cooler continued to cook them and the moisture evaporated.

or, they were dry to begin with.
 
If you know the cooker is running hot, pull them out early and put back in later to finish.
 
boogiesnap said:
i'm gonna guess the heat from the pork and brisket inside the cooler continued to cook them and the moisture evaporated.

or, they were dry to begin with.
Click to expand...

Agree with this I have had too much meat in a cooler which ended up causing me problems
 
When we've had that happen to us, we vent then hold in the same foil/liquid we used to wrap (maybe baste with the liquid before closing back up), and then wrap a towel around them - to hold in some heat but not continue cooking them. This was ideal when we slightly overcooked our ribs and had to get them to firm back up a bit.
 
have left them out wrapped in foil with their own juices and let them cool, they will reabsorb some of their own juices as does brisket, half hour or so before turn in put them back on the smoker and sauce/glaze them for turn in, has worked good for me many times.
 
I held ribs in my Cambro last comp and was not happy when I took them out an hour later. Texture was just not good.......and I believe got worse in the Cambro.
 
I'm not a proponent of holding ribs for competition, but that's just me. They need to be where they need to be at turn-in times for us.

I believe that's why our Stoker and consistency of slab size is so important for us.

Best of luck dude.
 
Ribs and chicken are killers if they cook too fast. I would agree with taking them out and then letting them finish so they come off at the correct time, if you get in a pinch. The best thing you can do is just practice more (who doesn't love ribs!) so you can get more consistent with the times and temps. Best of luck!
 
I purposely rest my ribs for 1 hr on their own juices before they go back on the put 30 mins before turn in for the glaze. We finish them 1hr 45 min to allow overlap of procedures, wrapping, checking for tenderness, other turn ins etc. we are never in a rush and never have dry overcooked ribs now. Just set em on the table still in the foil when they are done till they go back on the pit.
 
jmoney7269 said:
I purposely rest my ribs for 1 hr on their own juices before they go back on the put 30 mins before turn in for the glaze. We finish them 1hr 45 min to allow overlap of procedures, wrapping, checking for tenderness, other turn ins etc. we are never in a rush and never have dry overcooked ribs now. Just set em on the table still in the foil when they are done till they go back on the pit.
Click to expand...

Pretty much what I said, must be a texas thang, :clap2:
 
Last edited:
RLTXBBQ said:
Pretty much what I said, must be a texas thang, :clap2:
Click to expand...
definitely! i love watching people scramble because their chit aint done, glaze didnt set, tough, overcooked, too hott when slicing and dry. damn i should delete my post :decision: naw lol, comp people should try it out, works great. definitley reccomend practice runs at this technique. i know my briskies set on the table till finishing IIIIIII mean slicing he he
 
Ice'em down

I have had ribs cook to fast also. If you're an hour or so ahead, don't be afraid to wrap them and put them in the cooler. Just give yourself enough time to finish them. I have done this and finished them on the grill with sauce. It's not the ideal thing but beats over cooking and ending up with dry meat. If you are nearing 195* in the ribs pull them.

Just another option.

Ron
 
My only question is how dang long do you have to cook them to come out dry? Mine would spit out bones and fall in the fire first.

As horrible as it sounds, 1 of my 3 racks typically spit out a couple of bones before I pull them off and the other two will be "on".
 
I gotta think the ribs were very lean and/or the smoker didn't have enough moisture in it. That being said.. wrapping and letting them cool a little with liquid would have allowed them to pull some of the moisture back in... but we like to err on the side of less done before we wrap to make sure the natural moisture is still inside the ribs. Always better to keep the moisture in rather than to add it back later IMHO. Same with all meats...
 
Hawg Father of Seoul said:
My only question is how dang long do you have to cook them to come out dry? Mine would spit out bones and fall in the fire first.

As horrible as it sounds, 1 of my 3 racks typically spit out a couple of bones before I pull them off and the other two will be "on".
Click to expand...

As the original poster, I'll clearify that the ribs were not dry when I pulled them from the foil. They were just further along the cooking process then I would have liked. Another hour or so on the cooker would have definately over cooked them. It was a competition, so I did not want that to happen. I pulled them and rewrapped in foil, with no liquid. 45 minutes later I unwrapped them, and found they had dried out.
 
At that point, I would have opened the foil and let them sit until they began to cool a bit then closed the foil back up and slid them into the cambro to hold. That's our normal process. The we put them back on the smoker for 15 minutes of sauce time before resting a and box building.
 
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