Craig Wallace
TVWBB Member
This was my first go around with hanging ribs straight over the coals in my WSM modified pit barrel cooker. My equipment consist of a 22.5 WSM with a BBQ Guru 10 CFM fan, Craycort grill, and the Cajun Bandit Stacker and if needed the Cajun Bandit Rotisserie Ring. I saw the PBC on Youtube and was intrigued by the idea of hanging ribs. I almost bought the Pit Barrel Cooker but the last thing I need is another bbq, I already have a Joe, Performer and WSM. In addition, the PBC has a few drawbacks for an experienced chef, but it is definitely a good product for a beginner.
On the VWBB site I saw where a poster used the Craycort 22.5 grill ring to hang his meat, great idea. I knew the Weber extension was not going to hold 8-racks of spare ribs and I don’t have access to a welder so the Craycort idea was perfect. Thank you very much poster. I even suggested a heavy duty extension to the people at Cajun Bandit as a product line, but did not get a response. If I cannot find a heavy duty extension for the 22.5, I’ll eventually pick up a wire welder at HD and build my own extension to hang meat. Interim the Craycort works very well.
I’ve made tasty spare ribs lots of times, I usually cook 8-racks at a time. I Seal-a Meal the leftovers; when we’re not traveling, the wife and I have not gone out for breakfast, lunch, dinner or ordered take out since I purchased my WSM 5-years ago. The corporations with their low quality food cooked in unhealthy oils with their high prices can do fine without our business. It’s amazing how much money we save each week. I always have at least 30 meals ready to go in my freezer that always taste better second time around. It’s better than anything I could buy at any restaurant. In addition, all my cooks are sugar free, I’m carbohydrate intolerant and this includes flours, starches, apple juice, ect. I’m totally opposed to taking a quality piece of meat and injecting or covering it with high fructose corn syrup. (No offence to those that prefer sweet sauces and flavors on/in their food. It’s just not for me.
I have always been annoyed by the amount of work required for good ribs as compared to butts, briskets and chuck roasts. Ribs have a lot of surface area to season and they take up a lot of space in the que and the kitchen for the amount of yield. The standing racks with all their corners are a pain to clean; in addition, the grills and pan also need cleaning. I’d much rather just clean a few hooks.
My first hanging rib experience.
I did not use my water pan as a heat deflector. I have not used water in my pan since I started using the Guru many years ago.
The Guru was set for 220 and performed perfect as usual
The cook time was considerably less as compared to my previous method of using standing racks (45% less time)
This time I only did 6-racks versus 8.
I left the ribs in the WSM for 5.5 hours and probably over cooked them by a ½ hour. (They were still good, just a little over cooked)
I doubled up on hooks, caught the second rib with the 1st hook and then the 4th rib with a 2nd hook attached the 2nd hook to the first hook. Since the ribs were over cooked, I am really happy I had the second hook. It kept my ribs out of the coals while I was pulling them out of the WSM.
Results of the Cook:
The ribs got continuous smoke throughout the cook, I think this can be attributed to fat rendering directly on the fire. No one could taste it, but I could, a couple of the racks had a slight charcoal taste. This may be due to when I was pulling the ribs out, I had the lid off the WSM more than a few minutes which allowed the charcoal to flame up. The last two racks pulled out of the WSM sat under the flames for a few minutes while I was removing the hooks from the other rib racks. The sparerib racks, some were a little more cooked than the others, telling me the WSM heat was not distributed evenly. Next time I hang ribs I’ll use my rotisserie ring to get an extra 5” and use my foiled water pan as a heat deflector.
Note:
The WSM with the CB Rotisserie ring and the CB Stacker using a Craycort is exactly 22” to the top of the water pan. The sparerib racks I purchased were just under 22”. If you catch the 3rd rib there should be plenty of room to use a water pan while hanging ribs.
CraigW
On the VWBB site I saw where a poster used the Craycort 22.5 grill ring to hang his meat, great idea. I knew the Weber extension was not going to hold 8-racks of spare ribs and I don’t have access to a welder so the Craycort idea was perfect. Thank you very much poster. I even suggested a heavy duty extension to the people at Cajun Bandit as a product line, but did not get a response. If I cannot find a heavy duty extension for the 22.5, I’ll eventually pick up a wire welder at HD and build my own extension to hang meat. Interim the Craycort works very well.
I’ve made tasty spare ribs lots of times, I usually cook 8-racks at a time. I Seal-a Meal the leftovers; when we’re not traveling, the wife and I have not gone out for breakfast, lunch, dinner or ordered take out since I purchased my WSM 5-years ago. The corporations with their low quality food cooked in unhealthy oils with their high prices can do fine without our business. It’s amazing how much money we save each week. I always have at least 30 meals ready to go in my freezer that always taste better second time around. It’s better than anything I could buy at any restaurant. In addition, all my cooks are sugar free, I’m carbohydrate intolerant and this includes flours, starches, apple juice, ect. I’m totally opposed to taking a quality piece of meat and injecting or covering it with high fructose corn syrup. (No offence to those that prefer sweet sauces and flavors on/in their food. It’s just not for me.
I have always been annoyed by the amount of work required for good ribs as compared to butts, briskets and chuck roasts. Ribs have a lot of surface area to season and they take up a lot of space in the que and the kitchen for the amount of yield. The standing racks with all their corners are a pain to clean; in addition, the grills and pan also need cleaning. I’d much rather just clean a few hooks.
My first hanging rib experience.
I did not use my water pan as a heat deflector. I have not used water in my pan since I started using the Guru many years ago.
The Guru was set for 220 and performed perfect as usual
The cook time was considerably less as compared to my previous method of using standing racks (45% less time)
This time I only did 6-racks versus 8.
I left the ribs in the WSM for 5.5 hours and probably over cooked them by a ½ hour. (They were still good, just a little over cooked)
I doubled up on hooks, caught the second rib with the 1st hook and then the 4th rib with a 2nd hook attached the 2nd hook to the first hook. Since the ribs were over cooked, I am really happy I had the second hook. It kept my ribs out of the coals while I was pulling them out of the WSM.
Results of the Cook:
The ribs got continuous smoke throughout the cook, I think this can be attributed to fat rendering directly on the fire. No one could taste it, but I could, a couple of the racks had a slight charcoal taste. This may be due to when I was pulling the ribs out, I had the lid off the WSM more than a few minutes which allowed the charcoal to flame up. The last two racks pulled out of the WSM sat under the flames for a few minutes while I was removing the hooks from the other rib racks. The sparerib racks, some were a little more cooked than the others, telling me the WSM heat was not distributed evenly. Next time I hang ribs I’ll use my rotisserie ring to get an extra 5” and use my foiled water pan as a heat deflector.
Note:
The WSM with the CB Rotisserie ring and the CB Stacker using a Craycort is exactly 22” to the top of the water pan. The sparerib racks I purchased were just under 22”. If you catch the 3rd rib there should be plenty of room to use a water pan while hanging ribs.
CraigW
. I'll definitely hang more ribs in the future, but I'll use my water pan as a heat buffer (without the water). When I cleaned out the WSM, I was surprised how many briquettes I had left over. I also noticed the briquettes only burned on one side of the charcoal ring. I think a heat buffer will enhance the cook next time around and let the meat cook more even. 
