Possible to hold meat for a time?
 

I'm posting in cooking and in knowledge in hope's of doubling the chance of an answer. I bought some frozen "baby back ribs" (2 1/2 lbs.) yesterday and put them in the fridge to defrost. I had planned on cooking them tomorrow (Sun.), but hubby has to go out of town for work.

My question is: Can I cook them as I normally do (slow oven for a couple of hrs. and then the grill) and then freeze them until hubby gets home (wed.)? Or do I just have to eat a bunch of ribs by myself (oh, the humanity)?

I appreciate any advice! Thanks.

Ali

I think you have two options, either of which are fine.

You can cook them just as you proposed, then reheat later. You may want to hold some sauce aside for the reheating so they don't dry out.

You can also keep the ribs raw in the fridge for several days before cooking, without any problems.

Thanks for the advice Eribrav! I completely forgot to ask the question you answered, would they keep w/out cooking in the fridge. That's what I'm going to do, to have them when they're best, right off the grill!

I've kept bacon (even opened) for quite awhile with no loss of quality but that's somewhat cured unlike ribs so I wasn't sure. The ribs are vacume sealed so I'm sure they'll be fine.

Thanks again!

Ali

Yeah, the vaccume packed ones will be just fine. They should have a date on them, but if they have been frozen, they would be ok in the seal for at least 2 weeks. Of course ribs never last that long around my house.

And because I'm a rib snob... http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=90638 Looks like some of the pictures have gotten nuked, but you get the idea.

Mister Coaster, them's ribs look mighty fine. For someone who thinks BBQ is a food group, I'm ashamed to admit that I don't have the patience to tend to the coals for a true BBQ. My dream vacation would be a trip through the South just eating Q. Thank gods for meat and fire.:)

I think I'll use your rub recipe this time. I was using Alton Brown's but yours looks better. My favorite sauce is cheapo Hunt's Honey Hickory and I "have" to brush the ribs on the grill to get the gooey carmalization I love. I'll try one with your rub dry though.

Ali

I have seen that episode of Good Eats, and I must admit that if you don't have a charcoal grill or the patience to use one, that's a great recipe. Just make sure you keep the level of moisture up the way he reccomends, or they'll dry out in the oven.

info from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service:

Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through defrosting. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion.

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly.

There MAY BE a loss of quality? Speaking from experience, there definately is a big time loss of quality. Safe? Yes. Good idea? No. Many cuts of meat (baby backs ribs especially) are almost impossible to find truly fresh. They are almost ALWAYS previously frozen, defrosted and sold or sold still frozen. So if you know it has been defrosted already, don't refreeze.

Another thing to avoid is "enhansed" meat. Enhansed meat is injected with a salt/water solution which means you are paying $3.99 (or whatever the per lb price is) for water. Not only is it a rip-off, but if you are already cooking them properly, this salt water will make the end product way too salty. I think this practice originated from people who don't know how to cook these tougher cuts of pork (ribs, butt roast, picnic roast). You see it most often in the cryo-vac pork products, but I have seen other offenders like turkey and chicken. Legally in the US, if the item is enhansed, it must say so on the label.