I would freeze, thaw, reheat. But I just looked at a package of Lloyd's ribs and they have instructions for reheating straight from the freezer, so maybe that could work for you, too.

I'm sure Sun-Thur would be just fine in the fridge, but personally I wouldn't do it.

Sounds like a lot of work....can't you trade with someone for Tuesday's dinner?
but if you must...I would cook the rips before...put on a dry rub and cook in the oven until the ends of the bones are showing that the meat is pulling away....then freeze solid.
Pack with lots of ice and keep frozen as long as you can...and in the refrig when the ice has melted.
Then night of the dinner, finish them on the grill with the sauce which you ahve frozen separatly.
Could be done....but sounds like a lot of trouble.
How about a whole pork loin...with BBQ sauce and they could pretend to chew on the bones??
Linda C

Here is the perfect recipe. The actual cooking can be done well in advance. Cut the ribs into 2 or 3 bone sections, into a zip top bag and into the freezer. Then thaw and finish on the grill.

STEVEÂS RIBS IN THE OVEN

2 Racks Baby Back Ribs
Rib Rub
Apple Juice, Water, Chicken Stock, Beer, etc
1 Tablespoon Liquid Smoke
BBQ Sauce

Take two strips of double wide heavy duty foil and place one rack of Ribs on each sheet. Coat each rack generously with the Rib Rub. Seal the foil tightly, leaving one end open for your liquid of choice. Pour in about ½ cup of the liquid, and seal the end.

Place the foil pouches on a baking sheet and place in a preheated 325 degree oven for an hour and a half. Walk away!! Remove the Ribs from the oven, at this point they should be tender to the point of a knife inserted between the bones.

Remove the Ribs from foil and set aside. Pour the juices inside the foil in a saucepan, remove most of the fat. Simmer until the juices are reduced by half. Add the Liquid Smoke and the BBQ sauce to taste. Finish the Ribs on a low grill, basting with the Sauce and flipping frequently until bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Steve

I'd cook and freeze then thaw and finish on the grill. There is no issue with refreezing given you have the cook step in between.

Have a great trip!

okey dokey - that sounds easy enough. I will cook, then freeze - and put in the freezer of our little refrig in the cabin til Thurs AM.

Linda, I have the first night - and I could probably switch and do them the first night, but it is so tiring, packing up and unpacking and we can't check in until 3 PM, that I decided hot dogs and hamburgers, that everyone cooks themselves will be the first night's fare. And Tues, one of the other girls' parents will be coming up and bringing us pizza...so Thurs is my night. sigh.

And I just might use bottled sauce instead of making my own. I know there are a couple without HFCS.

And Steve, thanks for the recipe - that sounds scrumptious. I am copying and pasting!

Thanks for all the help everyone...

Stacy

Stacy, have a good time.

I'm late to this party but I'd also cook, freeze, thaw and reheat. As a matter of fact, I do that with ribs that Elery puts into the smoker, he does a lot at a time and I freeze them in packages so I can just haul them out of the freezer after work, thaw and heat.

Annie

thanks Annie, you're not late! It's nice to hear another that it works for...:-)

Sounds like you have the rib question answered, so I am just going to say have a great time and hug your guys for me!

Alexa

Stacy i also wouldn't worry too much about the thawing time. They could be frozen rock solid before you leave and then thawed for a day or two in the fridge before grilling.

thanks Sharon! And Alexa, - I will - although my big guy is leaving the park early for a business trip....concidence? I think not. He is not a camper.

We camp like that all the time.
They will taste great no matter the sauce, method or whatever.

I am certain beer, taken internally, keeps mosquitoes away from me. You may want to try that.

LOL...I hope the same goes for wine???? thanks for the great advice metaxa...:-)

What they said Stacy. They should be fine cooked ahead frozen and then finished on the grill/fire. Have a great time on your camping trip!

You can always hop, skip, and go naked to fight of those skeeters too. LOL! : ) Think it's time to mix up a batch of those for a pool day.

David

(skeeters: I bring band-aids and lots of hydrocortisone. Cover each bite with a dab of cream and a band-aid, and taht takes care of the itch. Replace twice a day)

(skeeters: Last week my 6 year old son came home from camp with a cluster of mosquito bites on his temple. The next morning in the car out of the blue he said, "Papa, I don't mind that mosquitos bite me."

"Why not?"

"Because they have to."

I love that kid!)

Speaking of camping, now that we have the ribs all covered...

If you are truly camping (using ice, no store) and want a nice green salad on day 3 or 4 use a juice jug, the 2 litre ones you mix frozen juices in.

Lay the salad in there in layers, hardest stuff on the bottom, graduating up to the light stuff. Everything cored, seeded and chopped into whatever are salad sized chunks for you.

Now make a slightly lemonized water, fill the jug and let it soak a bit. Pour the water off (use again if you are doing two) and drain well. Cap it with the jug's cap and place into your cooler. Holds well for up to four/five days.

When you want to eat salad, dump the contents into a bowl, toss, dress it and eat.

Works well with green or Greek but do watch cukes and tomatoes, both must be seeded well or they make everything mush. Both can be carried separately and added at use.

Nothing like a crisp salad on day 3,4,5 of a wilderness trip.

Probably way late, but 'twer it me, I think I'd consider a compromise and go with country style ribs. More meat in less space (cooler), cheaper per pound, can be frozen when you leave to keep the cooler, well, cooler, and no bones lying around to attract undesirable wildlife. Give 'em a rub, braise them a while and they're tender and delicious. Crisp them up on the grill if you like. They'd even cook nicely on the campfire.

I know in my camping days (OH, how I miss those days!!!) we'd always get a healthy appetite! A quick & dirty coleslaw and some baked or roasted taters and you got some serious good eats there muh-friend!

Otherwise, are you one of them thar sissy campers that has electikal service? Bring an electric roaster and fill it with ribs of your choice. Outside is fine, cover it in case of rain and use a GFI.

(Begrudgingly wishing you a great time... even though I'm not enjoying a camping trip!!) Have a s'more for me. No, have two.

David, I haven't had those in awhile, great idea!

Jessica, I never thought of that, I will definitely get some hydrocortisone cream. thank you.

FOAS, that is too cute - and so true!

Metaxa, that is definitely some good advice - but cabin camping is about as rustic as it'll get for us...

cynic - LOL! You have good advice, there are plenty of black bears at State Park and you definitely have to be sure to not leave bones around - this is definitely worth giving some more thought. and yes, I'm a sissy camper....it's a one room cabin with a small fridge and stove. :-) Well, actually, I'd be tempted to get one without electric, but my hubby would NEVER go for that...HE's actually the sissy. :-)

Thanks everyone. I'll let you know what I end up doing...

OMG Stacy - you are my hero for doing this.... I would be staying at a local B&B and stopping by the campsite for a visit. Bugs? Bears? No heat/AC?

Not for me thank you! LOL!

Alexa

see, I told you A - if your hubby and I hadn't nabbed you and Scott, you two would have been a match made in heaven - LOL!!!

{{gwi:1533893}}

This one is the previous year...'08

Great - now I have Jim Stafford's song "I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes" stuck in my head! LOLOLOL!

Here is a link that might be useful: I don't like spiders and snakes

"Because they have to."

AH HA HA HA!! Yeah, mosquitoes gotta make a living too!

I just wish that when I am sleeping, they'd latch on and take enough at one go instead of sipping here, sipping there, and leaving me to wake up at 3 a.m. itching in 5 different places!

What a great Mom you are! Will will have such wonderful memories and so will you.

Alexa, point me to the B&B and we can car pool to Stacy's Happy Hour....which she will be having !

Stacy, I'd be fine camping there, I usually camp in a tent with no electricity, but I did cave and start staying in campgrounds where they have shower rooms. The only problem I have is sleeping on the ground, that just isn't as easy as it used to be, so now I have air beds.

My favorite campground just put electricity to the sites a couple of years ago. Now it's always full and I have to put my tent between a couple of huge motorhomes with satellite TV and generators running at 2 am. Somehow, it's just not the same. Sigh.

And I'm not afraid of spiders or snakes, either, so I'd be out there with Will, catching creatures!

Elery, however, doesn't really like to camp. He'll go, and he doesn't complain much, but he doesn't really like it like I do.

Annie

Hi everybody - This is my first time posting here. I'm bringing baby back ribs to a family beach trip -- they'll be cooked on Friday in a smoker at home, and eaten on Sunday. The beach is about 3 hours from here, so we'll wrap them well and surround them with ice for the trip.

For reheating, I see some folks here suggesting just to reheat them on the grill. Could you give more specifics, please? How hot would you get the grill? We never reheat ribs -- never have any leftover!

I'm a bit concerned about putting them on the grill because they have so much...color already. We add a rub that has a bit of brown sugar in it, and the ribs usually end up pretty dark after 6 hours in the smoker. Should we leave out the brown sugar?

We usually serve the sauce on the side, but perhaps it would be better to heat the ribs on the grill, then drizzle with a little sauce for the last 10 minutes...?

Or, should we just reheat in the oven in a foil-covered pan, maybe 350F for 20 min, and finish on the grill for 10 minutes?

Thanks!

scootermom, since the ribs are already well smoked, I'd probably just reheat them thoroughly, add a bit of sauce for the final minutes. I don't grill, though, so I'd just do it all in the oven. If I did use the grill, I'd only use it for the last little bit, to avoid over cooking them and either burning or drying them out.

Annie

Thanks, Annie...I am afraid of drying them out, so maybe we'll reheat in the oven, covered, and then add the sauce for the last few minutes with the cover off. Thanks!

scooter, to be really honest, I'm never happy with reheated ribs, they can dry out so quickly.

If it were me I wouldn't cook them the full 6 hours in the smoker and would reheat, lathered in sauce, in a very low oven. They won;t be what you are used to but the sauce will keep them moist.