Frozen BabyBack ribs

[ebijack]

A last minute decision to smoke BB ribs for dinner. Problem, the 3 pack of IBP ribs were in one of our deep freezers.
I have never cooked ribs from frozen before, let alone a 3 pack frozen together.
Brick of ribs on my offset smoker


It took just over 1.5 hrs before I was able to separate the ribs. I had to rotate the ribs a few times during the cook to get them evenly cooked.
5 hrs in


Total time 7 hrs running an average of 290* I ran a bit hotter average due to my time constraints.
The rack on the left was the top rack of ribs that had gotten alot more color than the others till I got them separated.


We could not tell a difference in texture or taste from them being frozen.

 

[Stlsportster]

Interesting test! Thanks for posting this. In the past I have used the defrost in cold water in the sink trick for last minute cooks. Usually I just do that until I can separate the ribs into individual slabs.

 

[pjtexas1]

glad that worked. i have seen briskets and butts from frozen but i would have thought maybe being so thin that there might be an issue with ribs.

 

[auggie mathis]

when do you spice them when they are frozen?

 

[ulc]

when do you spice them when they are frozen?

You can add spice after an hour or two once it thaws. Or you can save the spice til the end or not spice at all. Lately, I've been cooking ribs with no spice in the drum. Smoke from fat drippings add plenty of flavor on its own.

 

[ebijack]

Thanks.
I did not have time for the water thaw. pure experiment. I would do it again if required without a problem.
I added my rub after I got them to separate.

 

[Smoke on Badger Mountain]

They look great! Glad it worked out. Thanks for posting.

 

[Mason Dixon Bowhunta]

That's really interesting. Good info