2-2-1 Ribs - preventing grease fire


 
L

Louis NYC

TVWBB Member
The last time I made ribs, I wrapped after 2 hours with brown sugar, juice, butter. When i tried to life the wrapped up ribs from the bottom rack, the juice all poured out, causing a grease fire (juice must've been very greasy with the fat rendering out and the butter.)

How do u guys get a rack of ribs out from the bottom without spilling / causing a grease fire?
 
Louis,
I have two handles on my bottom rack and lift out the rack. There are several examples in the modification thread.
 
What year and size WSM? I thought they added handles on the lower grate years ago?
Anyhew whenever I wrap I only use the top grate. If doing multiple I'll stack or use a pan as noted upthread.
 
Louis NYC said:
the juice all poured out, causing a grease fire
Click to expand...
Were you cooking without the water pan in position, or was it there and the grease went over the edge?

If the water pan is in position, you can use scissors to snip the middle edge of the wrapping on one side, grab the slab by the ends and lift in a slight U-shape, allowing the liquid to drain through the hole into the pan. Then have a helper hold a sheet pan right at the top edge of the cooker and transfer the ribs onto that.
 
thanks for all the replies -

Yes my lower grate does have handles. i should've just lifted the whole grate. DIdn't think of that, or was rushing.
I used regular reynolds wrap, way too thin, but i did double wrap. but its still thin.

When in the wrap stage, i think its best to just lay both on the top rack.

Mine is the 18.5in WSM, so i can't fit a tray or anything down there as the rack of ribs is already taking up the entire diameter (18.5in) in length. Due to the size (length of ribs and size of WSM)) it gets tight down there and i risked burning my forearms so i that contributed to spilling the juice.

In any case... now due to my fear of grease fires, whats the best thing i should be doing if theres a grease fire? just shut all the vents? what if theres crazy smoke / fire coming out from all parts of the vents/crevices?
 
Chris Allingham said:
Were you cooking without the water pan in position, or was it there and the grease went over the edge?

If the water pan is in position, you can use scissors to snip the middle edge of the wrapping on one side, grab the slab by the ends and lift in a slight U-shape, allowing the liquid to drain through the hole into the pan. Then have a helper hold a sheet pan right at the top edge of the cooker and transfer the ribs onto that.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this.
The water pan was in place, but i think a good chunk of the juice went over the sides of the waterpan causing the fire.
 
Big grease fires aren’t common, but safety first. Remove meat if you can do it safely, replace lid and close all vents. Don’t use water to attempt to put out the fire.

At this point, you need to be really careful. If you have a well-sealed cooker with all the air inside consumed, you can get a backdraft fire if you mess with the lid or vents. I’d let the fire burn out and the cooker cool before opening it. I’ve only heard of a couple of WSM backdrafts…they also happen on BGE and other kamado grills.
 
Just don't use the bottom. It runs quite a bit hotter than the top and you will overcook ribs till they're falling apart there if you're not careful
 
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