We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of summer so that we may use our outdoor grill. Ribs are virtually always an option when the barbeque season starts.
The entire family is present, along with our cherished friends and our next-door neighbors. Everyone enjoys the delicious ribs that my husband cooks, and we all return home happy and satisfied.
However, after a few days, people stop eating ribs as frequently as they previously did. Once the barbecue season is over, we are left with ribs that must be consumed quickly before they spoil. Despite the fact that they don’t taste the same as they did the day before, my sons still like eating them the next day.
As a result, I wanted to figure out how to preserve them to taste just as good after they were removed from the BBQ grill.
I thus began my hunt for the ideal method to reheat them without losing their barbeque flavor. I have discovered a few approaches that have shown to be really useful, and I’m pleased to share my insider knowledge with you.
Best Way to Reheat Ribs
There’s nothing better than hot ribs from the barbecue. But what to do when they are not that hot anymore? The good thing is that ribs are easy to reheat and that there are few ways that you can reheat them without losing their barbecue taste:
Reheating The Ribs In The Oven
This method is the most effective way of reheating ribs without them losing their taste. Sure, it takes a little time to reheat them, but the results that it gives are worth the wait.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Aluminum foil: You’ll need two sheets of aluminum foil to cover the ribs for reheating.
- A baking pan
- Barbecue sauce
- Oven, of course
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- Before wrapping ribs in aluminum foil, pour some barbecue sauce over the ribs to cover them up.
- Wrap ribs in the aluminum foil and make sure that all pieces are covered properly. After you wrap them in the first sheet, wrap them in the second sheet.
- Once the oven has preheated, put the ribs in the baking pan and then place them in the oven. Make sure you have oven mitts to avoid getting any burns while putting the ribs in the oven.
- Heat them for 20-30 minutes; it depends on how many pieces you have.
- Take them out and let them sit for 5 minutes to cool off.
Note: Make sure that you don’t rip the foil. Otherwise, the meat will dry out. Enjoy!
Grill Reheating
Grill reheating is a great way to reheat ribs if you want your meat to taste like the first time you’ve put it on the grill. I like it because of those grill marks that stay on the meat once I’m done with it. And the taste is magnificent.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A Grill (Either if it’s a charcoal, electric, or gas grill, it doesn’t matter which grill you use, the taste is pretty much the same. Although If you want that smokey meat flavor, then it’s best if you use the charcoal grill.)
- Barbecue sauce
- Barbecue equipment
See also: Get That Perfect Smoked Meat Using A Meat Smoker.
Instructions:
- Before you grill those bad boys up, make sure that your grill is clean.
- You’ll need some barbecue sauce to cover up the ribs before placing them on the grill. The barbecue sauce prevents the meat from drying out, and it tastes amazing.
- Prepare the grill to medium heat and then place the ribs on the grill.
- Wait for 2-3 minutes and then turn ribs over to the other side.
- Repeat the process a few times until the ribs are done.
NOTE: To make sure that the ribs don’t dry out, you can put a small amount of barbecue sauce on them once again, just to be sure.
Further Reading: Barbecue Time – Grilled Ribs; Lump Charcoal for Smokin’ Hot Grilling
Microwave Reheating
This is the easiest and quickest way to reheat your ribs. Microwave reheating is a good method if you don’t have much time to reheat the meat in the oven or on the grill. But I would try to avoid it for this purpose.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A glass or plastic container. It’s important for the container to be microwave-safe before placing it in the microwave. See our thorough guide for this food storage essential.
- A microwave
Instructions:
- Put the ribs in the container and make sure that each piece is covered properly. Spread some barbecue sauce over the ribs to prevent them from drying out.
- Place the ribs in the microwave and set your microwave on medium heat.
- Heat them for 3-5 minutes and then take them out to see if they are done.
- If they are not done, place them back and heat them for additional 3 minutes.
Once they are done, place them on the plate and enjoy!
NOTE: Make sure that the microwave is clean and odor-free before placing ribs inside.
How to Make Ribs Nice and Juicy When you Reheat Them?
Reheating tends to dry out the meat. That’s why it’s important to keep ribs juicy and moist, almost like the first time they were made. The way to reheat them properly is to cover the ribs with barbecue sauce before putting them on the heat source. If you don’t have some barbecue sauce in your home, you can use butter instead.
Sometimes when you reheat food, it doesn’t get reheated evenly. You may find yourself biting through the meat to find a cold piece that heat didn’t get through.
To make sure that your food is heated thoroughly, you can use a cooking thermometer. It will help you determine the inner temperature of the meat that you’re reheating, and it will prevent it from coming out cold and undone.
In Conclusion
Even though microwave reheating is the fastest and quickest way to reheat the ribs, it’s not the most effective. Meat tends to come out dry from the microwave even though it’s been covered with barbecue sauce or butter.
Use this method of reheating ONLY when you don’t have much time to reheat the meat or when you are so hungry that you can’t wait longer. But try your best to avoid this method.
Grill reheating is the greatest way for ribs to stay juicy and moist like they were on the barbecue, but no one wants to fire up the grill just to reheat some meat from a day ago.
And what about the people who don’t have a grill in their homes? That’s why oven reheating is the most effective way to reheat ribs or any other kind of meat without them losing their taste.
It isn’t fast, but it doesn’t take that much time, and you don’t need to be present all the time when it’s reheating, unlike grill and microwave reheating.
How do you reheat ribs? Let me know in the comments section below! 🙂