I am looking for some advice on the treatment of a pack of ribs.
I have a pack of 6 racks of spare ribs in the freezer, all frozen together so I will have to defrost them all.
This is going to give me more than I can use in a day or two so I was wondering if anyone has experience of curing them before smoking to make them last longer in storage after cooking. I have thought about brining them in a basic cure mixture for two or three days then treating them like normal ribs with a 3-2-1 smoke.
Any advice, thoughts or discussion on whether this will work, how long if at all, it will improve the storage for and whether it is liable to ruin the flavour or texture will be greatly appreciated.
Waltz
That would work, but your ribs will taste like bacon.
I'd partially defrost what I was going to eat + some for leftovers, and vac-pack re-freeze the rest.
I have cured ribs on a few occasions. I call them Bacon On A Stick. They are alright, but nothing spectacular, and I can never get the texture to my satisfaction. If you do a search, I do have a post or two on this site, but I will also do a search later. If you are using a wet cure you will only need to cure no more than 8 - 12 hours for spare ribs.
Today's home curing you are not preserving the food; it's mainly for color and flavor; though you will extend the self life. After they are cured and cooked, I would not store them in the refrigerator for more then seven days. If you are going to store longer, I would vacuum seal and freeze.
Thanks for the advice. I will rub and smoke a couple of racks and cure, rub and smoke (and maybe vac-pack and freeze) the rest. I will let you know how they turn out when I can get them done - maybe a week or two before I get time.