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Cooking ribs in the fairly new Sous Vide cooker seemed like a great idea, right up until the schedule changed and we can't eat dinner as a family tonight. Right now, the ribs are about done with the 36 hours of cooking time we'd planned on (a couple hours left). Tomorrow dinner is no good, so we're about 2 days away from being able to eat them. We know that you can cook longer than planned without any problems with Sous Vide, but an extra 48 hours seems like we might be tempting fate.

Are we better off

  • letting the ribs cook for another 48 hours, or
  • pulling the ribs out on time and refrigerating/freezing them for the 2 days, and then finishing them in the oven right before we serve them, or
  • pull the ribs out tonight, finish them in the oven, then refrigerate them for 2 days, and reheat them?

Any pro/con for those 3 options would be most helpful!

Edit & Follow-up:

Most. Tender. Ribs. EVER! As suggested, took the ribs out on time, chilled, and then tonight they were warmed in the sous vide cooker for about 30 minutes then finished in the oven. The meat was sliding off the bones, fork tender (for those who didn't use their fingers) and the whole family was raving about how awesome they were. This method is a keeper for sure!

Thanks for the advice!

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Pull them out on time. Cool them rapidly in an ice bath. The rapid cooling is for food safety reasons rather than any affect on the cooking. Reheat them for cooking however you were going to finish them originally.

I wouldn't leave them cooking for 48 hours. I think you run the risk of affecting the texture of the meat negatively.

If you're planning on finishing in the oven, I'd do that just before eating as your reheat method. You're likely to get some nice effect on the outside in terms of texture by doing that. If you refrigerate immediately after, you'll lose that benefit. So pull it out when they're done, chill, and refrigerate. To eat, let them come up to room temp a bit and then finish in the oven.

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    Long time no see! Welcome back!
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Mar 11, 2017 at 3:30
  • This answer is exactly how we'd have done similar things in professional kitchens.
    – Doug
    Mar 17, 2017 at 17:35

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