Best Way To Cook Several Racks Of Ribs?


 
JRAiona

JRAiona

TVWBB Gold Member
I need some advice. My wife wants to have her team over for BBQ and she wants me to do ribs. There will be 10 people. I have an 18.5 WSM and a rib rack as well as a Performer. I'm thinking of doing 5 racks of baby backs. What would be the best way of doing it? Can I do them ahead of time? If so should I do them day before or morning of and how would I then finish them off? I also thought about rolling them so I could fit all 5 on the top rack of my WSM but have never done them like that. If that's the best way what is the procedure for doing that as far as turning them and finishing them off? I'd greatly appreciate any advice/input. Thanks guys.
 
Rolling them will be your best bet. You won't be able to fit more than three racks on each grate, so you will have to use both the upper and lower. I have done six this way with a good result. I cook spares and put them breastbone side down and don't turn them. I put the meatiest part of the rack toward the perimeter of the grate. I'm not sure if that really makes a diff. Bamboo skewers are the way to go -- two per rack. I use side cutters to cut the excess off the skewers after setting up the rack -- it makes them easier to handle.

I use water in the pan and don't wrap. I typically let them go until they are about a half-hour from done and then spray them with apple juice/apple cider vinegar mix. When they pass the tear or toothpick test for doneness, I usually just unroll them and wrap them in foil, then let them rest in the cooler for 30 minutes. Since you have a Performer, you can fit two racks flat on the grate and use a finishing sauce for 20 minutes or so, if that's your style. (I serve them dry and put several different sauces out and let my guests have at it.)

Here's what the rolled racks look like skewered and trimmed. You can also use them for satanic rituals.

Ribs_of_the_Beast by Jeff Hasselberger, on Flickr
 
J Hasselberger said:
Rolling them will be your best bet. You won't be able to fit more than three racks on each grate, so you will have to use both the upper and lower. I have done six this way with a good result. I cook spares and put them breastbone side down and don't turn them. I put the meatiest part of the rack toward the perimeter of the grate. I'm not sure if that really makes a diff. Bamboo skewers are the way to go -- two per rack. I use side cutters to cut the excess off the skewers after setting up the rack -- it makes them easier to handle.

I use water in the pan and don't wrap. I typically let them go until they are about a half-hour from done and then spray them with apple juice/apple cider vinegar mix. When they pass the tear or toothpick test for doneness, I usually just unroll them and wrap them in foil, then let them rest in the cooler for 30 minutes. Since you have a Performer, you can fit two racks flat on the grate and use a finishing sauce for 20 minutes or so, if that's your style. (I serve them dry and put several different sauces out and let my guests have at it.)

Here's what the rolled racks look like skewered and trimmed. You can also use them for satanic rituals.

Ribs_of_the_Beast by Jeff Hasselberger, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Great advice! Now when ever I hear Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden I'm going to think of meaty 666 ribs
 
JRAiona said:
I have an 18.5 WSM and a rib rack as well as a Performer. I'm thinking of doing 5 racks of baby backs.
Click to expand...
You can easily do five rack of ribs in your 18" WSM or 22" Performer, all you need is this bad boy

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Weber-Original-Rib-Rack-6605/204787276

066405eb-182d-4956-9562-720717f4efa4_1000.jpg


You can put one rack on your top shelf and one rack on your bottom shelf of your WSM, and do 10 racks of ribs :)
 
JRAiona said:
I like that Chuck. I'm guessing I would want to swap them about halfway through.
Click to expand...
If you're using your WSM, you don't have to swap them around. If you're using your Kettle, you might have to. When I use my kettle, I swap the positions "inside out" and during the swap, I flip them so the the opposite side is out

Here's an action shot in my kettle

8E125311-0A60-4F9E-ADEC-CC5A5FA03864_zpsubrxcu9m.jpg
 
T MacGreggor said:
Those looks perfectly rolled and skewered. The one time I tried to do that I couldn't get them to stand up straight without falling over. I'm going to print out that image for future reference, even though I picked up a Brinkman rib rack after that frustrating first experience.
Click to expand...

I struggled with them until I discovered that if you put the skewers high-to-low in one direction and then high-to-low in the other direction, making an X pattern when you look at it from the side, you can get them quite stable. I usually curl the more flexible end to the inside and then line up the skewers as you see in the photo. Trimming the skewers makes the rolled rack easier to handle.

When trimming spares, I try to get a good straight cut on the breastbone side. That way you get a decent flat base when you curl them.

Just discussing this is making me hungry. I think I'll do a couple of racks this week.

Jeff
 
J Hasselberger said:
I struggled with them until I discovered that if you put the skewers high-to-low in one direction and then high-to-low in the other direction, making an X pattern when you look at it from the side, you can get them quite stable. I usually curl the more flexible end to the inside and then line up the skewers as you see in the photo. Trimming the skewers makes the rolled rack easier to handle.

When trimming spares, I try to get a good straight cut on the breastbone side. That way you get a decent flat base when you curl them.

Just discussing this is making me hungry. I think I'll do a couple of racks this week.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips!
 
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