Can you cook frozen ribs?

Ribs are a popular summer meal. Not only are they delicious, but they can be made in abundance and are easy to prepare on the grill or smoker.

You can also make them in the oven or even in a slow cooker or roaster oven. Ribs are a popular dish for barbecues and other events, but you can serve them to your family any time of the year.

Ribs can be purchased fresh at most meat sections or butcher shops and can easily be kept in the freezer if you purchase and save them for later.

When it’s time to cook the ribs, you can easily thaw them the night before or even 1-2 days in advance, as long as you thaw them and store them in the fridge.

But can you cook frozen ribs?

Yes, you can cook frozen ribs if you follow the correct procedure. However, they may cook unevenly, so it’s best to thaw them first.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through cooking frozen ribs, explain what to consider before you decide to do so, and share our top tips for success.

Stay with us to learn how to cook frozen ribs and much more!

How to cook frozen ribs

Let’s face it: sometimes we forget to plan ahead or get something out of the freezer, and sometimes we just need a quick fix.

Cooking frozen ribs is actually very easy to do. Although there may be some general differences when using frozen ribs versus fresh or thawed meat, it is still a viable option.

You may need some extra care for the ribs and some extra time as well to cook them to the right temperature.

Ribs can be grilled, smoked, baked, or some other cooking method. You will find that most recipes recommend thawing it first and there are some quick ways to defrost meat that you can try using if that helps.

However, if you just want to take the frozen ribs and pop them in the oven, that’s fine too, so don’t give up hope just because of a few naysayers. Basically, the good news is that you have options.

We’re going to mainly talk about how to cook frozen ribs in the oven, but we’ve got some tips for cooking with other methods as well. We also have some quick defrosting tips if you decide you want to defrost the ribs first.

Cooking Frozen Ribs in the Oven

We recommend the oven when you’re going to cook frozen ribs because it’s going to take some time, but in the oven you have a different kind of heat.

You can cover them with aluminum foil and use a low heat to allow the ribs to cook to perfection.

The low temperature will slowly thaw the ribs and not dry them out in the process. Your ribs will turn out delicious and flavorful with a little TLC.

We also want you to know that you can use these same general processes for baby back ribs or any other type of ribs and good luck. You may have to adjust cooking times, but the concept will be the same.

What you have to anticipate is that cooking frozen ribs in the oven will take approximately 50% longer than cooking thawed ribs. This is where it really adds up as it will take quite a bit more time overall.

Here are some of the recommended steps for cooking frozen ribs in the oven:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with aluminum foil. Place the ribs on the tray.
3. Start by baking the ribs uncovered. We recommend that you cook them for approximately 1 hour to get them going.
4. Tightly cover the baking sheet and ribs with aluminum foil, making sure they are fully covered and sealed with the foil.
5. Bake in the oven at this temperature for an additional 2-3 hours for pork ribs or an additional 1-2 hours for pork ribs. If the ribs have been defrosted, you can reduce this time or skip the uncovered part of the process.
6. Ribs must be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 145°F. However, we recommend that you cook them at around 190°F, as this temperature will make them even more tender and juicy and help soften the fat in the process.

Keep in mind that this process is designed specifically for frozen ribs. You will not use this method every time you cook ribs in general. Also, be aware of the differences between regular ribs and baby back ribs.

You might also consider adding a bit of sauce to the ribs halfway through the cooking process, as this can go a long way in keeping them juicy and tender.

Defrost frozen ribs

Although you can cook ribs from frozen, there are also methods you can use to thaw them. It is always recommended to thaw meat before cooking if you can.

The only exception to this rule would be if you buy pre-packaged ribs that are purchased as a frozen food. These types of foods often have their own specific cooking instructions that you must follow to prepare them.

We thought it might be helpful to give you some thawing tips you can put into practice in case you decide you want to try thawing your ribs before cooking.

We inform you that this process can take some time, but not as long as defrosting them in the fridge or at room temperature.

How to Quickly Defrost Ribs

1. Take the ribs out of the freezer.
2. Fill a bowl or your sink with cold tap water. It is best if you can completely submerge the ribs in the water. You can also add ice cubes if the tap water doesn’t seem cold enough. The cold water will gently raise the temperature of the meat so that the texture is preserved. It will also help keep the meat fresh until it’s done.
3. Let the meat sit undisturbed in the water until it thaws. You will need to change the water to fresh, cold water every 30 minutes during the process.

With this particular process, you will most likely be able to thaw or nearly thaw your ribs in about 1-2 hours, instead of 8-10 hours or even more for moving them from the freezer to the fridge.

This will save you considerable time defrosting and will also save you about the same amount of time cooking.

As a general rule of thumb, cooking takes about 50% longer if the ribs are frozen. So for the ribs, if you have to cook them for 3 hours, you might have to cook them for 4.5 hours if they’re frozen.

Ultimately, you just have to decide if you can take the extra time to defrost or the extra time to cook the ribs. It eventually evens out with these methods, but cooking from the freezer can lead to uneven cooking.

Related questions

We hope you found this guide to cooking frozen ribs a valuable and informative resource in learning about your options.

Although we share an oven cooking method here, you can also cook your frozen ribs in the smoker or on the grill if you like. Just cook them on low, wrap them in aluminum foil, and consider drizzling sauce throughout.

We invite you to consult the following section of questions and answers for additional information that may be useful.

Can the ribs be grilled?

Broiling is intended for quick cooking or for finished cooking processes. We do not recommend grilling ribs as a complete cooking process.

However, you can cook the ribs until almost done, then brush them with barbecue sauce and grill them for a few minutes for the perfect finishing touch.

How long does it take to defrost ribs?

If you use the cold water method that we have shared with you in the guide, you can expect to defrost your ribs in less than 1 hour. If you have a lot of ribs, it might take 1-2 hours, but it usually doesn’t take that long.

If you thaw the ribs at room temperature, you should allow about 5 hours. If you thaw the ribs in the fridge, it can be more like 8-10 hours, or at least overnight.

Can you cook ribs to 350°F?

You can cook the ribs at higher temperatures if you prefer, which will reduce the time.

What we’ve found is that while lower temperatures tend to be significantly slower, ribs are more tender and juicy when cooked this way.