Spare Ribs: V-Rack or Flat On Grid?

Cullum

Which do you prefer?  In a v-rack or just flat on the grid? Foil or no foil?

lousubcap

I'm in the flat on the grid-no foil camp. The great majority of my BGE low&slow efforts are on the front end-fire prep, trimming meat, rub application.  Once it's game-time, I look for the simplest method to achieve great taste.  As you well know, the BGE has a pretty wide margin for error so I take advantage of that.  I may spray the ribs once or twice at the tail end of the cook, but I cook them Memphis style (dry with no sauce during the cook).

Chubbs

I lay the rack directly on the grid removed membrane side down. Generous coating of dizzy dust and cook indirect 250 dome. Cook for 5 hours. Then, coat Bone Suckin Sauce on them and cook for another hour. These are unbelieveable. No foil!!!

 

joe@bge

I have done both ways v-rack and flat - haven't really noticed a difference in the final product.  I cook them for 4-5 hours indirect raised and generally foil for the last hour - then baste with sauce after that and serve.  Perfect to my liking everytime.

tazcrash

For me a Crack was always to squeeze more ribs on there. If i can go flat, why have something else to clean (or not, right Stike?)

tazcrash

A rack. Don't put ribs in a crack.
Dumb auto complete and fat thumbs

Cullum

A rack. Don't put ribs in a crack.
Dumb auto complete and fat thumbs

That's hilarious!

Cullum

I lay the rack directly on the grid removed membrane side down. Generous coating of dizzy dust and cook indirect 250 dome. Cook for 5 hours. Then, coat Bone Suckin Sauce on them and cook for another hour. These are unbelieveable. No foil!!!

 

I've used the Bone Sucking Sauce RUB but not the sauce. Is it a bbq sauce?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

To me, the vrack is only to use if you have more ribs than will lay flat. No reason to rack unless you are cooking for a party

tazcrash

There is bone sucking rub, sauce, and thick sauce. I'm waiting to open that last one and give it a shot.
I love their products.

stike

did spares last weekend ( trimmed st. louis style). 

i cut three slabs of spares into racks of about four ribs each, and loosely piled them around the cooking grid. i knew there would be a couple layers, so instead of laying the first layer flat, i actually overlapped them a bit, tilting each one.  when the next layer went on ), i had a pile, but there were enough nooks and crannies to allow the smoke in. 

i'm not one for opening and fussing, but a couple hours in I opened it up and moved around any that were covered by another rack.

that was pretty much it until i sauced them.  ...we sauce here.
plenty of smoke, and done at the same time.
in fact, pre-cutting the slabs into racks allows me to pull off the thinner ends early, if needed.

these aren't the ones from last weekend, but they somewhat show the idea behind the 'loose pile' slash 'pinwheel stacking method of lazy man's accessory-free cooking



also, remember that thing that sounded like a sonic boom of 'cool' back when you were a pre-teen?  this is a photo capturing the phenomenon which caused it. when all the faux badassery of the 70s and early 80s combined and formed a center of coolness gravity so dense, we almost never escaped. BOOM

tazcrash

So Stike does it again. 

He proves that even if you don't have enough room, you still don't need a rack to get them on there! =D>

Those rib pics made me hungry until I scrolled down to the reminder of TV past. 

Whatchyou talkin bout Stike!

xraypat23

I've got the adjustable rig, so 4 or less go flat. More than that go in a rack, they come out the same either way. Either way they're going flat to sauce if I'm competing. eating at home I never sauce.

alynd

if you have an adjustable rig, do the drippings from the top ribs effect the ribs on the bottom at all?

The_Grill_Sergeant

I do inverted v-rack, no foil, 225, dry rub, and spray with apple juice on the hour, every hour, for about 6 hours.  My wife raves about my ribs for weeks after the meal is gone!

Sarge

Mighty_Quinn

if you have an adjustable rig, do the drippings from the top ribs effect the ribs on the bottom at all?

I have run into less crusty bark on the bottom, but I usually sauce the last hour so it's not a big deal.

Little Steven

stike I can't believe you kept that pic of you and me from high school

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I'm not gonna lie, that pic is awesome.

I have also used skewers to keep the meat apart a few inches so the smoke could get to everything

deeznutz

Well I'm pretty new to the whole egging thing but last time I did a lot of ribs, I just stood them up on there ends and used a swish kabob skewer to hold them together. It was easy, effective and cheap :)

Ragtop99

I'm in the flat on the grid-no foil camp.

same.  Having an XL makes laying them flat pretty easy.