Why does nobody talk about resting ribs in a dry cooler

I found out by accident last month when my pit temp dropped 40 degrees mid cook. I had to hold 6 racks of spare ribs for almost 2 hours while I fixed the fire. Wrapped them in butcher paper and threw them in a dry cooler with no ice or heat. They came out way more tender than any batch I've ever made, and the bark stayed crunchy somehow. Has anyone else tried holding their ribs like this or am I onto something weird?

2 comments

2 Comments

dixon.rose4d ago

Wrap it tight in butcher paper like you did, let it rest in a dry cooler for at least an hour, and you'll get that perfect tender bite without losing the bark. I've found that holding ribs this way actually lets the collagen break down more evenly than just pulling them off the smoker and slicing right away. It's a solid method for timing out multiple racks for a party or just fixing a temp issue without stressing.

the_taylor4d ago

Hell yeah, I gotta disagree with you on this one. Dry cooler rest works fine for me, but I don't think it's some magic bullet. I've done it both ways and honestly, ribs straight off the smoker taste better if you time it right. The whole collagen breaking down thing, that's just real slow cooking in general, not something special about the cooler. Plus the bark getting crunchy is more about how tight you wrap it than anything else in my experience. Keep it simple, man.

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