Frozen meat on the smoker

Grizzly6

Grizzly6

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A couple of weeks ago I was in a "hurry" to get some ribs done. I had taken them out of the freezer the day before and had them in the fridge, however when I had to cook them they were still somewhat frozen. I had no choice on this, but I prepped them with the "Slap yo' daddy's rib rub" (not the best for my taste by the way) and put them on the UDS at 230 degrees. Three hours, 1.5 hrs in the foil, and then finished them at about 325 for glazing. The ribs turned our great other than the rub. Texture and moisture were the best ever (IMHO).

Has anyone else had to do this or put meat on somewhat frozen as a technique? I have done this with steak over High Heat before and the results are great. But all you hear about is let it sit until room temp and then put on the heat.
 
I've never cooked nearly frozen before, but I think the bring to room temp is to let the meat ease and let the rub/seasoning work it's way in easier. The only issue with it being frozen/cold is it'll take a longer to cook overall.
 
That is what I was thinking, but this proces produced some quality ribs. Again the rub, was not was I wanted it to be and was rather dissapointed. With that being said, I would not hesitate to do this again.
 
I just had the same experience with a couple butts last week. They were frozen in the middle. I injected, sort of, and broke one needle. Probably thawed about 1/2" into the meat. When I put them on, the meat probe read 29 degrees. Man, they turned out great, though they did take about 2 hours longer than normal at 275. Total cook time was 8 hours.
 
Outnumbered said:
I just had the same experience with a couple butts last week. They were frozen in the middle. I injected, sort of, and broke one needle. Probably thawed about 1/2" into the meat. When I put them on, the meat probe read 29 degrees. Man, they turned out great, though they did take about 2 hours longer than normal at 275. Total cook time was 8 hours.
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So this worked on big meat? Good to know. I am a horrible planner a lot of times and deciding to smoke something is usually a last minute decision.
 
I don't usually let meat come to room temp. I'll season, put back in the fridge and throw it on the cooker when I'm ready. I haven't seen that it makes a difference one way or the other.
 
I thought I remember reading on here a while back that the colder the meat the more smoke it takes in....Some people were posting they only cook ribs starting frozen and they always had massive smoke rings.
 
There's a very popular local BBQ restaurant here in Shreveport that throws there ribs on frozen......completely frozen. For restaurant Q it is very good to. So they must be doing something right.
 
inv3ctiv3 said:
I thought I remember reading on here a while back that the colder the meat the more smoke it takes in....Some people were posting they only cook ribs starting frozen and they always had massive smoke rings.
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I was wondering the same thing. I am planning on smoking some baby backs this weekend and I might have to give this a try. I am planning on prepping the ribs as normal but I think I might throw one rack in the freezer for a couple of hours before going on the smoker.
 
Bamabuzzard said:
There's a very popular local BBQ restaurant here in Shreveport that throws there ribs on frozen......completely frozen. For restaurant Q it is very good to. So they must be doing something right.
Click to expand...

Saw a shirt in College that said "Where in the Hell is Shreveport?"

Always reminds me of it...

:blah::blah::blah:
 
I think the only issue with partially thawed meat would be the timing issue. How long to cook if its a little more frozen that you thought. If your using say the bend test or the probing for tenderness or your using a meat thermometer, the patially frozen meat should not be a issue.

Good luck!
 
I just can't imagine frozen meat would be able to accept the rub as well
 
I did both butts and beef clod last week both was frozen in the middle turn out great.
 
Saw an episode of Triple D a while back where the owner/cook puts his turkey breasts on the smoker 1/2 frozen.
 
Grizzly6 said:
So this worked on big meat? Good to know. I am a horrible planner a lot of times and deciding to smoke something is usually a last minute decision.
Click to expand...

Totally unplanned as I had a similar experience to you. I had it in the fridge thawing for a couple days and it just wasn't thawing. So I figured WTH, I'll try it. It worked fantastic.
 
Cack said:
I just can't imagine frozen meat would be able to accept the rub as well
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You're right. Cack, it won't. But with mine anyway, it was thawed about 1/4 inch into the meat (I put in water to get it that far), so I had a slight base to work from. The rub was on there pretty good, but it certainly didn't penetrate too far.

The thing that was noticeably different for most cooks was the bark was really set on it and there was a terrific smoke ring, but not bitterness at all. The fire was hot and clear...no smoke until the meat started dripping on the coals in the UDS.

And then somebody on here told me once that if I leave the meat in the fridge until I put the meat on, I'd get more of a smoke ring. With it frozen, it really helped.
 
I think I might try it this weekend with a Butt. Freezer tonight, thaw tomorrow night and start in the morning. I have time for once this weekend and think the experiment will require some beer with the blue ribbon...

I will try to take some pics and post it when completed.
 
I've taken butts from the freezer and went strait to the pit on a last minute whim a few times however I wouldn't recommend it on a UDS you might put out the fire.
 
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