seems i forgot

[mics]

hey guys,was reading here tonite about doing ribs,seems like its been forever so i thought i would go thru the reading again before i smoke/.i seasoned the pork ribs with dizzys stuff and some icemans rub.i got done with them friday at noon and in the frig till midnite sat.but i read here where it said too long in the frig will ruin the ribs.something about salt.so herea my question.did i screw up by leaving them in the frige to long.had to work and sat at midnite was the earlyest i could get them in the bradly.any commentsoh,one more thing,when i put them in the frige,i stack the metal rack with the in em on top of each outher.does this hurt.

[LilSmoker]

Hi mics, well it really depends on how much salt is in the rub?, if you have a rub containing lot's of salt, and the ribs are left marinating for a long period, the salt will start to cure the meat.
This will give the meat more of a taste and texture of bacon, and will draw on the meat, making it drier than usual.

When i do ribs now, if i use a rub and marinate over night, i leave out the salt, and add it just before the ribs go into the smoker, or much of the time i'll leave it out completely.

It's also another one of those personal taste things, there are many members here who will marinate over night with a salt rub, and are very pleased with the results.
Much of the time now, i rub my ribs just before they go into the BS ;)

You may find your ribs turn out just fine for your taste

Regarding storing the  ribs in the fridge, i wouldn't use the metal racks for this purpose, and make sure there is nothing under the meat, so that the meat cannot drip onto any other food, as this can be a surefire way create food poisoning

Large plastic containers, or china dishes are better suited for marinating etc.

Anyway hope this helps, and i hope the ribs turn out nice for you, let us know how it all goes  ;)

LilSmoker

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Mics;
Welcome to the forum.

According to an article published in Cook's Illustrated, there is a "critical" time factor. Initially salt will draw out moisture from the meat, but after around 3 hours the salt will then reabsorb the moisture back into the meat; drawing in any soluble flavors with it. I believe the ideal time was 6 hours or more, so over night would be fine. During this time, the meat should be tightly wrapped in plastic.

[Wildcat]

When I did my first ribs I put Iceman's rub on them and straight into the smoker because I was in a hurry to eat ribs.  Since that time I have been more conservative on his rub but still do it the same way.  Sometimes, after the smoke and cook, I will slather some of his sauce on and put on a hot grill for a couple of minutes - just long enough to take some of the moisture out of the sauce.

[mics]

hey guys thanks for the replys,when i put the ribs in the frigde,they are in a tub but on the racks.its sunday afternoon,seattle time,so if you guys dont mind,i have a few more questions.the last thing any of us want to do is get anybody sick,so heres a question in that area.at midnite after work i cranked the smoker,pre heated to 240,had the meat out for about 45 mins.after i put the ribs in the smoker,it took about 2 hours to get back to 210.now some of this was my fault,the vent was closed to much,1/4 open,should have been 1/2 or 3/4 when smoke is on?then left the ribs in till they started pulling back off the bone,say 8-10 hrs.so is there there a danger of bad food when the box takes so long to get back to 210.it seemed like it stayed around 173-175 for ever.but it was really only about 2 hrs.so if i had the meat at room temp longer,and had the vent right,would the box have come back up sooner? and the big question is,if the  pork ribs  stayed at that temp for 2 hrs are they still good to eat.you can tell i dont do this alot so i hope  you guys dont mind the questions.

[Gizmo]

They will be safe to eat.  The 170 should have killed any airbornes.  It is typical for the BS to recover slowly after loading.  That is one of the reasons I pre-heat to 260 deg, and others put bricks in to absorb pre-heat heat and help with recovery heating.

[Wildcat]

I do not see a problem either.  I normally only preheat while I am applying rub.  I think you get more smoke flavor while the ribs are cold and in the BS getting warm - kind of like sitting around a campfire on a cold night.   ;D   I have the original in SS and put the slider just shy of all the way open until cabinet temp reading just below the meat reaches 200 - 210.  I then adjust periodically to maintain that range until they are done.

Click on the link below for the Recipe Site and you will find a post in there about food safety.  Also, keep the vent open enough so that smoke does not back up into the generator.  Have it even more open 2/3 to full open whenever doing something like chicken or turkey with the skin on to let extra moisture out.

[Habanero Smoker]

Having the vent 1/4 open is fine with ribs, as long as there is no smoke backing up through the generator. With whole cuts of meat, being in the danger zone for the period of time you state is alright, because smoke has antimicrobial properties, and along with salt (if you have that in your rub); extends the time you can keep meat in the danger zone.

[iceman]

The others have pretty much said it all. I think you're good to go without a worry.

[mics]

once again guys,thanks for the all info.its nice to know that theres a place to go where the old timer are happy to help along the newbies like me.ice,your stuff is awesome.popular with the work crew  that i shared with over the weekend.was told i need to add alittle more on the next bunch.  just plain good stuff. mics

[iceman]

Glad they approved mics. Nice when you can score points with the co workers.