• Enter the TVWB 27th Anniversary Prize Drawing for a chance to win a Weber Traveler Portable Gas Grill! Click here to enter!

Foiling a whole lotta ribs


 
Brett Fields

Brett Fields

TVWBB Fan
This weekend I will be doing 14 racks of ribs in my WSM22. I've done it before and I typically foil. As you can imagine, that much foiling is a hassle for all the obvious reasons.

Has anybody ever foiled by lining up the racks in a foil pan and just covering it all with the foil. I was thinking one pan on top and one pan on the bottom, 7 racks each.

Thanks,

Brett
 
Although I have not done it I have seen it done many times. If your reason for foiling is to limit the amount of smoke on the ribs then it should be fine.
 
Steve, my foiling goals are towards tenderization, moisturization, and extra flavor. To that end, I give a schpritz of the mop mixture, a schmear of honey, and an extra dash of rub before I wrap.

Brett.
 
wrapping for tenderization purposes is based on the rib "steaming" within the foil. I will assume this would still happen in a foil pan but maybe someone with real experience can validate this. I still think you will be alright Brett.
 
Yep. Your effective time in foil will be longer than if they were individually wrapped, I also "stir" them after 45 minutes or so. You could also suck the juices up in a turkey baster and wet them that way.
That's how we do all the trimmings from out comp ribs.
 
20130802_235957_zps6983d149.jpg


Its 11:00, 12 racks prepped, vacuum packed, and on ice. I have a lot of rub left.... maybe I'll do some chicken wings tomorrow.
 
20130803_002411_zpscc8335f6.jpg


P.S. - I added a new toy today. I've been wanting to add a sink to my play space. It's fed with the garden hose and drains into a 5 gallon bucket. I put an aquarium pump in the bucket to push the water out to a drain. Very handy and I don't get in my wife's way.

Livin' the dream, baby!
 
20130803_141014_zpsd7d44b29.jpg


So my intent was to line up six racks in each of two pans, foil over the whole thing and put them back in.

I chickened out. I ended up foiling individually like always. I guess I'll try it as experiment before I have to do it in prime time.

Brett.
 
Nice work, Brettski! Just curious if you wouldn't mind sharing how your cook went. Did you do 14 racks at once, or were they spread out? How did you do them, in terms of how many racks at a time, and how many racks on each grate? Did you roll the ribs, use a rack, so some other method to maximize your cooking space?

I will be doing my first "whole lotta ribs" cook this upcoming weekend. Thinking 3-2-1 spare ribs. Would love to leverage some info from your cook if you wouldn't mind.

Thanks & congrats,
FM
 
Last edited:
Frank Mahovlich said:
Nice work, Brettski! Just curious if you wouldn't mind sharing how your cook went. Did you do 14 racks at once, or were they spread out? How did you do them, in terms of how many racks at a time, and how many racks on each grate? Did you roll the ribs, use a rack, so some other method to maximize your cooking space?

I will be doing my first "whole lotta ribs" cook this upcoming weekend. Thinking 3-2-1 spare ribs. Would love to leverage some info from your cook if you wouldn't mind.

Thanks & congrats,
FM
Click to expand...

Wow... where to start....

Before you do anything else, make sure you have a prep table high enough that you don't have to bend over while prepping your food. I remove the membrane on all my racks. It takes time. If you gotta work hunched over, you'll be REAL SORRY the next day. Most people do the PVC pipe on the table legs thing. I built a table for myself at an appropriate height.

20130612_172854_zps3d73e2fe.jpg



Next, have storage space available for hot food. I have the two Cambro's that you see under my table. Many of us use coolers.

Third, Rib Racks. Two of these fit on a grate with the bases over lapped.

Weber6406_zpsc6a9e9be.jpg


With two of these on each grate you can do 14 racks without a sweat.

Third, have plenty of your favorite rub. I used a store bought rub and it was really salty. Never again!

Last for now, 3-2-1 is a guideline. Adjust foil time for the degree tenderness.

Set up well, have fun.

Brett
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the guidance, Brett. Very generous of you, much appreciated by me. Thank you, sir!

Brett- Just curious how you used the water pan. Full of water? Dry? Also, did you have to shuffle the meat between to the top & middle grates to even out the temperature of each level?

Thanks again, very helpful!
 
Last edited:
Sorry for the late reply....

I use a foiled planter saucer thing in the water pan. I find that the temp of the cooker evens out pretty well if you don't open it. With all the other stuff you'll have going on simultaneously, you'll likely not want to start messing around with rib positions.

Brett.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top