Rolling Ribs for large party. Help


 
A

Adam F Brown

New member
Hello this is Adam and I need some assistance with ribs. I have an 18.5 WSM and I have done racks 4 racks of ribs laid flat on my WSM before, but this coming Friday I am going to be smoking ribs for a large group of people of about 20 or so. I am going to for the first time be rolling my ribs as I will be needing to smoke 8 racks there will be other meats available but those are being grilled. I am thinking of 4 rolled racks on top and 4 on the bottom rack.

1. Which lighting method would be best? (Minion, Standard)
2. Do I need to rotate the ribs from bottom rack to top? if so how often during the smoke?
3. and last but not least I sure could use any other helpful hints or tips so that everything comes off just right.

Like I said this is the first time I am smoking this many ribs on my WSM and the first time I am rolling them. I do not have a rack and I kind of like the idea of rolling these ribs. So I put this to all of you. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I would run your smoker the same way as your previous cooks. I would rotate the ribs because your bottom rack will be at a higher temp.

Stay tuned for some more help!!
 
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I did 13 racks a couple of weeks ago using both my 18.5's. Here is the one with 8 racks. I did not change their position during the entire 5 hour cook. I don't think you will be able to get 5 racks rolled on an 18.5 and if you do you will loose colour as well as be on the perimeter of the hot zone.
 
I've done 8 racks on my 18" WSM, and I would be hesitant to squeeze any more on there-- maybe one more set of ribs on the top rack, but as Gary noted, you'd want to keep your meat away from the perimeter on the bottom rack. I did rotate the ribs, both top-to-bottom rack as well as flipping them upside down (though that flip might have been overkill). I did the shuffle about halfway through the cooking time. It works a lot better to carefully remove the center section for this procedure (handles would be a really good idea), since leaving it in place forces you to reach down into all of that heat and smoke to move all the ribs around. Plus you need to work really quickly, as every second that goes by the fire is flooded with that much more oxygen and soon you have more heat than you'd like to cook with (plus burning your knuckles!). Add some Genie garage door handles to your center section before your cook (search the site for tips). Then when you're ready to shuffle your ribs, make sure you have a stable, non-flammable, cleanable (since water and fat and grease will be dripping down) place to put your center section. Close up the bottom vents, carefully remove your center section, then put the lid on the bottom section. Now you can take your time to tend to your racks of ribs, before you put everything back together, open up your vents and continue your cook to victory.

I used the minion method, for sure. I'm learning to start with just 20 or 25 lit coals poured over the unlit coals and wood chunks. Then let the temp come up to about 20 degrees F below your desired smoking temperature, at which point I choke off the bottom vents to slow down the rate and sneak up to my desired temp. If the temps get up too high, I have a difficult time bringing them down. But if I get things started where I'd like, that WSM is rock-steady all day long.

Have a great time on Friday, Adam. I predict you will be a hero with all of your guests.
 
When you roll, make sure no meat touches itself or other rolled meat. Contact will mean it won't develop bark (and will look funny ;) ) . It'll still cook normally but will not be uniform in texture/colour.
 
Ohhh Man you guys are awesome, I will definitely stick to the 8 racks instead of ten so the meat will not touch. Any other hint, tips or tricks? I start defrosting today and will dry rub wed night and refrigerate until Friday. I will also do a before and after pic of the smoke as well.
 
Another question I just thought of, with this many ribs what would be an ideal temp? and how long should this many ribs take to smoke?
 
Adam, I used my Brinkman water pan with about a gallon of water and my cook time was around 5 hours for the ones I showed in the photo. I lifted the lid only once at about 3 hours just to have a look until I started checking at around 4 1/2 hours. My temps were not quite at 275, more in the 250 range until I pushed them up a bit. I had cooked six racks before using the exact same method so I knew what to expect. I pretty much follow the beginner method just using a dry rub. I do not baste, spray or foil and we love the result. In all fairness others rave about the 3-2-1 method but then most of the cooks who do that also apply sauces, glazes or whatever. I like my ribs without so I have not done the 3-2-1. They are still very moist and tender. 260-275 is a nice range to be in for cooking. Don't go too low and don't take them off too early thinking they are done. I did that before and the members here helped me straighten that out. Also remember every time you lift that lid you are affecting the cook time. "Your not cookin when you're lookin" as they say. Sometimes especially when there are so many people involved, the K I S S principle is the best. Your ribs will be awesome, just stay on track.
 
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Adam, I have very loosely followed the BRITU method: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/rib1.html But I used Penzey's 'BBQ of the Americas' rub on St Louis spareribs.. I ended up cooking for about 5 hours.

Make sureyou report back your results, okay? I find myself getting stressed about smoke sessions, especially when I'm cooking for a crowd. But once the food hits the table and people start moaning and raving, I have so much fun. I'm sure your friends will be very impressed with the results, and you will too.
 
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