Can't believe I'm trying this..... Or, tell me where to put it!

[Rob O]

Hi there. So I can't believe I'm trying this but here goes. All opinions welcome including suggestions on where I should go to have my head examined /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

I've got a bunch of people coming over this weekend (parents, friends, relatives, ex-relatives!) and I'm trying to keep them all happy and... somehow it seems I've agreed to smoke..... a chicken 3 racks of ribs and , oh yeah, a duck.

So here's the question, how can I arrange the food on the racks to keep it all cooking properly? Seems the ribs should be done at about 225 to 250 but the duck needs to be done at about 275 to get the skin crisp. Anyone have any ideas?

How about finishing the duck on a gas grill?

Thanks for the help. Failure on my part could result in a small explosion complete with mushroom cloud in a backyard in Long Island this weekend.

 

[Russ Hazzon]

For safety reasons (to avoid contamination) put the birds on the bottom rack and the ribs on the top rack. This is not an option. Your best bet to crisp the skin of the birds is to finish off on another grill. The other option is to remove the ribs, remove the water pan, put the birds back on and open the vents to 100%. It'll get plenty hot in the WSM to crisp the skin!

 

[Doug D]

Even though I don't use it, this may be a time to try sand in the pan instead of water. If you are forced to do all at once, that is. The ribs should be on top, as you don't want poultry juices dripping on any other meats. The heat radiating from the foil covered sand may help provide the crispiness you seek, but truth be told, you may well not achieve crispy skin no matter how hard you try in the WSM.

Alternately, you could to the ribs alone first, and hold them wrapped in foil in a dry cooler while you refuel, and do the poultry with a dry water pan at the higher temps you prefer.

 

[Rob O]

Hi. Just wanted to say thanks Doug and Russ. I couldn't have done it without your advice. Tried the sand in the pan. The duck still came out soft. But.. 5 minutes on the Genesis with direct medium heat and it crisped right up.

Happy 4th!