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Frozen Ribs in the Smoker

How to cook frozen ribs in the smoker without thawing them out first and have them turn out amazing!
Course Entree, Main
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 rack of frozen baby back ribs scale ingredients for additional racks; spare ribs may take longer
  • Yellow mustard hotdog mustard
  • Salt optional, with pepper instead of the rub
  • Pepper optional, with salt instead of the rub
  • 3 TBS Jeff's Original rub about 3 tablespoons per rack; add more for coverage if desired

Foil Wrap Concoction

  • ¼ cup Apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup Brown sugar
  • ¼ cup Honey
  • ¼ cup Jeff's Original BBQ Sauce
  • ½ stick Butter

Instructions

  • Remove ribs from packaging.
  • Apply mustard to top and bottom of frozen ribs.
  • Season the top, bottom and edges with Jeff’s original rub, or use Al’s salt-and-pepper option instead. You do not need to combine both choices.
  • Set up smoker for cooking at about 250°F (121°C) using hickory and mesquite wood for smoke.
  • Smoke at 250°F (121°C) until the meat reaches 160°F (71°C), roughly 2 hours for baby backs; spare ribs or St. Louis cuts may need closer to 3 hours for this first stage.
  • Lay out a large piece of heavy duty foil and fold up the edges just a little.
  • Into the center of the foil, pour the apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, honey and barbecue sauce and lay the pats of butter right on top.
  • Lay the rack of ribs meaty side down onto the concoction that you just added to the center of the foil. Pull up the sides of the foil and wrap it tightly around the ribs.
  • Place the wrapped rack of ribs back onto the smoker grate for 2 hours or until they reach 195°F (91°C) when tested between the bones. Note: You can also use the kitchen oven if you prefer.
  • When the ribs are finished, remove them from the foil.
  • Optional: If the membrane is still attached, use Al’s brief hot-grill finish with the membrane side down, watching closely, or peel it off after cooking. If the membrane was removed before freezing, skip that part; a brief grill finish can still set a coating of sauce if you want sticky ribs.
  • When the sauce is set they are finished.
  • Slice and serve immediately.

Notes

The foil mixture quantities are for one rack. Scale them for each additional rack, keeping the tested 250°F setup, 160°F wrapping point and 195°F finish. Al’s original method and photographs are included in the article.