Unclear about "Rolling or Coiling the Ribs"

[Guest]

I read the previous post about not using a rib rack and rolling the ribs, but I am still unclear on how this is done. Do you just roll one rib individually or all together? How do you keep them rolled? Do you lie them down or stand them up? Lastly, when you want to baste them, do you unroll them then roll them back up? Thanks in advance.

 

[Tom Chilton]

Here's what it looks like when I do it. There's a skewer through the rack to hold it together. I spray them with a baste and don't unroll them to spray them. For the last hour or so, I unroll them and put them in foil, then back on the cooker, then into a heated Igloo if they need to be held. They come out nice and flat.

 

[Dave Lewis]

Chris included an "InfoBullet" on rolling ribs in in the BRITU recipe under the "Cooking" section. Here is the text:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>TVWB InfoBullets
Rolling Ribs To Increase Capacity

To fit more full-length slabs of ribs in your cooker, try rolling them. Roll each slab into a loose circle, overlapping the ends a bit. Secure the rolled slabs using skewers or kitchen twine, then stand the ribs on edge on the cooking grate. Using this method, you can easily fit four slabs of baby back ribs on each cooking grate. Try this method with spareribs, too.

Bamboo skewers work well for rolled ribs and are very inexpensive. Due to the "low and slow" heat of barbecuing, you don't need to soak them in water before use. Once inserted through the slab, trim any excess with scissors for easier placement of the slabs in the cooker.

Rolled ribs tend to hold their shape after cooking, so you won't end up with nice flat slabs. If you try to flatten the slab, the meat will usually tear, so just cut the slabs into short sections or individual bones for presentation to your guests.

With rolled ribs, any areas of meat that touch one another during cooking won't have that nice brown color and smoke penetration like the rest of the meat. To avoid this, arrange the ends of each slab on the skewer so they won't touch during cooking. If you end up with splotchy areas of meat, just apply sauce generously to both sides of the slabs and no one will ever notice the difference. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[Pat Trammell]

Hi Chris,

I'm no competition cook, but I like to try my best. I roll my ribs exclusively now, for several reasons, not the least being they are very easy to turn, baste, and sauce this way. Also, if need be you can get many more slabs on. Turning ribs on the rib rack can be very difficult I've found.

I usually roll my ribs a little tighter than in Tom's picture, but that is just personal preference.

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Tom,
When you wrap your ribs in aluminum foil and put them back on the grill, do you just lie them one on top of the other or do you arrange them some other way. I'm curious as to what would you do if you had 4 or 5 slabs of spareribs on one grate.

 

[Kevin Taylor]

Chris.....

I always pile my wrapped ribs on top of each other. I put all of them on the top grate. You need to be sure the wrapped ribs are lying FLAT...this way, the juices are evenly distributed around the slab.