I usually plan on at least one pound of ribs per person (remember that about half a slab is bone), but I usually cook more so there will be leftovers. Some go home with my guests, and some I hoard. Here's how to freeze ribs and reheat leftovers.
If you plan to eat leftover ribs in a 3-4 days, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. If you don't plan to eat them in 3-4 days, freeze them.
To freeze meat and veggies, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or use a vacuum sealing device. When you plan to eat them, thaw in the refrigerator. This could take 6-8 hours.
When you are ready to cook, remove plastic wrap. Here's how to re-heat:
Indoor oven. Paint the meat with sauce on both sides. Wrap the meat in two layers of foil being careful not to puncture the foil. Place the foil wrapped fully thawed meat in a baking pan or cookie tray. Heat oven to 250F. Any hotter and the meat will shrink and get tough. Bake in foil on middle rack for one hour. Unwrap and broil on one side for 5-10 minutes with the door open and the light on until sauce begins to bubble. We leave the door open so the thermostat will not turn off the broiler. Do not walk away from the oven because sauce can go from bubbly to carbon black in minutes. Turn the ribs over and broil for a few more minutes until sauce is bubbly.
Gas grill. If you don't have a good oven thermometer, get one. Paint the meat on both sides with sauce. Heat grill to 250F with the lid closed. On a gas grill this is probably about medium. Bake in the foil for about one hour. Unwrap and grill directly over flames for 5-10 minutes on each side until bubbly. Watch them so they don't burn.
Charcoal grill. Start about 20 briquettes in a chimney, and when they are white, push them to one side for indirect heating. Same procedure as above.
This page was revised 1/27/2009
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. When you plan to eat them, thaw in the refrigerator. This could take 6-8 hours.
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