A quick question about BBQ

It can be done day prior and heated before service in oven.  Pulled pork can be held in steamtable if needbe. not ribs, they get a bit soggy.

you should pull the pork night before as well, then heat them with the sauce.

when can you start cooking? And can you put the ribs out later in the event? Are you using a smoker? Gas or charcoal or wood? All these things make a difference. Ribs need to be fresh cooked to be good, Chef Ed is right, they really can't be held overnight, so depending on the size and method of cooking even with an 8am start you should be able to get them out by 12 or 1. You will certainly need to rent some equipment if your grill is only 36". Sadly you are in IL and there are no Meadow Creek BBQ dealers near your area, they usually have equipment rentals at their dealers...

If it was me, I would push harder for an early start, citing the food quality. As usual mngmt needs to be told how to best do a job. if not, look to do waves of food, so you can at least cook the ribs that day.

good luck

What about reheating the ribs in the smoker?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheflayne 

What about reheating the ribs in the smoker?

maybe in a water smoker, I have never tried it, but doubtful... most likely it will just dry them out....

Yeah I would probably include a water pan in my smoker but also I would do it just enough to warm the ribs gently then finish on the grill. Never done it that way, just surmising.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheflayne 

Yeah I would probably include a water pan in my smoker but also I would do it just enough to warm the ribs gently then finish on the grill. Never done it that way, just surmising.

I was thinking the same thing, but to bring back to temp, i would think you really wouldn't save much time overall. The smoker is gonna be at around 250 max, and at that temp you might as well cook them from raw. My water smoker keeps things more moist, and I also use it for flavor by adding fruits and herbs to the water pan. I am smoking some brisket this Saturday, so I will throw a fully cooked 1/2 rack of beef ribs, I will cut the other half into singles and put them on as well. Nothin to it but to do it they say. I will post the results for you. As I am writing this, I'm thinking i may take a few and put them in a pan with sauce as well.

I have held rib tips without issue in the past, but this is going to be a challenge to save the whole bone in ribs.

and for full disclosure, I mop my ribs with an apple based mop sauce. 

I'm wondering what you guys think as far as the reheat, should I foil them? May add a bit more steam/moisture

The original poster was asking about reheating possibilities, not about how I would do ribs. Reheating is not my strongest suit but I would think that my suggestion would be quicker than starting from a raw state. It is quite within the realm of possibilities that I am wrong however. At this point, my suggestion is pure conjecture on my part with no solid experience to back it up. Next time that I do ribs however, I will do some additional so that I can use them as a reheat test and that way I will know what I am talking about !

I run a BBQ trailer and pre-cook a lot of stuff.  I would cook  both Items ahead.  Reheat the pork in the oven in covered pans with liquid, I use sauce cut with water and beer because I like the sauce to be a side note.   I cook ribs in two steps; slow cook (smoker or wrapped tight in low oven), then finish on hot grill.  You could slow cook ahead and dedicate the grill to finishing/heating ribs in batches.

Have fun