3 racks of St Louis on a 18.5?


 
Last time I did #3 racks of St. Louis's I put #2 on the top and one on the bottom so they would all lay flat. Or use one of the above suggestions - all will work.
 
Yeah...and if you lay them flat you can put some foil under them on the edges so the end don't overcook...
 
You can curl them and place a skewer to hold them like this.

This is what I intend to do for my three racks today. I have a rib/roast holder that I purchased awhile back, but after fiddling around with it I have determined that for three whole racks of spares, it's not going to really do the job.

Actually, I've determined that I didn't purchase the holder I should have-- it's just too big, actually. Can't fit it on my top cooking level, and really have to cram it in to fit on the lower one. Probably wouldn't be a size issue if I had a 22" WSM.
 
I smoke 3 racks of st Louis spares on the top rack of my 18.5 all the time. I usually cut about 2 inches off the rack small end where there are no bones. You have to sort of curve the outside racks a little and they touch the lid but doesn't make a difference to me. I use the 3-2-1 method. I try to buy the racks under 3lb each but if I get some big ones that need to overlap I put a couple foil balls between to let the smoke circulate. I don't like to use a rib rack cuz I'm too lazy to clean it. :)

I've also done 4 racks with 2 on top 2 on bottom rack. I don't like ribs on the bottom rack to get too close to the edge to avoid a lot of heat coming around the water pan.
 
Great advice guys.
Tony T don't forget to take pics and let us know how it worked out.
 
I do three racks of ribs all the time on my Weber 18.5" WSM. I use a rib rack from Walmart that holds six half racks and just cut them in half. The ends are cooked the exact same rate as the center with this method. I've never had better ribs than this allows.

I've not had to do more than three racks at a time, but if I did, I could put another rib rack on the bottom grate.

FWIW
Dale53
 
For foiling and offering a variety of flavors I usually cut my full racks in half anyway so laying them out to begin with or placing them in a rack is of no concern to me..
 
I do three racks of ribs all the time on my Weber 18.5" WSM. I use a rib rack from Walmart that holds six half racks and just cut them in half. The ends are cooked the exact same rate as the center with this method. I've never had better ribs than this allows.

I've not had to do more than three racks at a time, but if I did, I could put another rib rack on the bottom grate.

FWIW
Dale53

Do you think you could do more than 3 on the top rack? I think I could squeeze four on but part of me wants to try 5. It all depends on how far they need to bend on the sides.
 
Three racks on top (actually, six halves) is all I would want to try. If I were doing more, as I stated, I would just get another rib rack for the bottom grate. I can see no problem with that whatsoever...

FWIW
Dale53
 

 

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