Cooking Ribs

John · November 2006

When cooking ribs, do you stack them on top of each other or stand them up somehow? If you stand them, how doe you accomplish this task?

RRP · November 2006

John,
I believe most all of us use some sort of a rib rack such as this:

Then you can flip it over and use as a V-rack for a roast or turkey:

Unknown · November 2006

John,
here's how i do it... v-rack in action![p]indirect, plate setter, legs up/drip pan/grid/v-rack
3/1/1 method[p]i've seen pix on this forum with slabs stacked... i assume they would have to be turned and switched from top to bottom... but that is my assumption only.[p]enjoy!

Eggecutioner · November 2006

John,[p]This is how I do 3 racks at a time.

Unknown · November 2006

John,
you can stack the ribs on top of each other as a last resort but make sure you do change them from top to bottom often (every half hour or so depending on temp) so you dont burn the bottom ones before the tops are done due to the direct heat.

tach18k · November 2006

John,

UGAVET · November 2006

John,
this is the start of about 9 racks i think on the large

[p]

UGAVET · November 2006

tach18k,
Is that a regular grid on top of a grid extender that has every 3rd rung or so removed to hold the ribs?

RittmanRod · November 2006

tach18k,[p]Thats slick!

Unknown · November 2006

John,[p]My setup will do 10 slabs at a time and do them all very well. This picture shows a 6 slab cook on two layers.[p]Dave

George · November 2006

Old Dave,[p]nice setup! do the ribs on the bottom grid get burned at all by being too close to the platesetter?

Unknown · November 2006

George,[p]I don't use a platesetter in any of my Eggs for any standard cooking but do use one for all my baking. The unit I use in my large is called a Contraption and I have a picture of it while I was loading it up in the kitchen for that rib cook. I will include another picture of 10 large pork steaks which may show the setup a little better. [p][p][p]Dave[p]

bbqdiva · November 2006

Heya Old Dave,[p]Wow, looks great , even before cooking![p]
regards, [p]
thediva[p]

George · November 2006

Old Dave,[p]thanks! the pix really helped. i don't use a platesetter either, and i'm planning on using a similar setup for this weekend's rib cook of 10 racks of spares. this is my planned setup: [p]1. i have a 14" inverted cast iron (i.e., with the handle facing the coals) lid sitting atop Sandbagger's ingenious Spider as my heat barrier...which is my "poor-man's platesetter. [p]2. then, i have a small cast iron grid that sits right on top of the inverted cast iron lid. i put as many ribs as can fit on this 15" grate, which, i'm hoping is at least 3 racks, that may have to be cut in half so that they don't overhang past the cast iron lid.[p]3. then, i use Sandbagger's other ingenious device...the Woo Ring, to elevate my 18" large cast iron grid to the felt line, where i'll put 6 ribs in a rib rack, and lean a 7th rack that's been cut in half on either side of the rib rack.[p]my only concern is whether the 3 racks that are inbetween the elevated 18" grid and the cast iron lid will burn??? i'm a little worried, since those 3 racks will be so close to the cast iron lid, which gets pretty hot.[p]do u find that any of the racks you have in the middle (i.e,, between your heat barrier and elevate grid) get burned? Do these rack not get enough smoke since they're not sitting up high where the smoke circulates???[p]any advice you can give would be much appreciated...

Unknown · November 2006

George,[p]Would be difficult for me to answer as what to expect with the setup you are using but I can answer for mine and how it works.[p]With my setup, you are heating from the top of the cooker and there is nothing very close to the food like a platesetter or and other mass to heat up the lower level in the cooker. My lower grid runs about 25 degrees COOLER than my upper grid in most cooks. [p]If you look on the very lowest level, you will find a deep dish taper sided drip pan and this is what my fire, smoke, and heat sees! This pan forces most all the heat and smoke equally to the sides of the cooker where it then travels up the sides to the top and then back down on my meat. This setup cooks very even and I don't move or turn anything during the cooks.[p]Be nice if you could use a couple of thermometers to wire up your levels to see just what is going on in the cooker.
This is the only way to learn what to do with the cooker. [p]Good luck with you cook and do have fun!![p]Dave

Unknown · November 2006

bbqdiva,[p]Ribs...Good!!![p]Dave

George · November 2006

Old Dave,[p]thanks for the info. i think we have very similar setups, actually. the only real difference is that i don't use a taper sided drip pan as a heat deflector, but rather, i use a cast iron lid that sits atop the Spider. but it's the same idea.[p]do you usually use the 3-1-1 method? when i'm cooking only on the top grid when it's even with the felt line, i use the "1-1-1" method...basically the same as 3-1-1, excpet that it's at higher temps. with 1-1-1, i keep the dome at about 350-375 for one hour, then foil at the same temp for another hour, then sauce. with 3-1-1, it's 3 hours at a lower temp, like 250-275, then an hour in foil, then sauce.[p]with a set up like yours, do you think it's better to use the lower temp/longer time 3-1-1 method...or the higher temp/shorter time 1-1-1 method???[p]i'm thinking that b/c there's so many ribs, many of them will be in the "danger zone,"....the area near the sides of the egg where the heat deflector (i.e., cast iron grid for me, or metal drip pan for you) allows the direct heat to run up the sides and circulate around the dome. at 350 degrees, it might cause some of the ribs ends to burn...[p]do u ever find that the rib ends that stick out past the metal drip pan burn???

Unknown · November 2006

George,[p]I use the original 3-1-1 type of method for my competition ribs as it does work well. This is the recipe by Texas Rib Rangers that was posted in about 2001. However, I don't usually foil at home as I really don't need a perfect color in my finished product just as long as it tastes good. [p]I prefer the lower cooking temp (250 degrees) for my products at home and no, I don't have any problems with anything hanging over the drip pan at this temp. However, at poultry temps (350 degrees), I do get some of this and do try to keep my poultry on the lower grid within the diameter of the drip pan.[p]Dave

Cooking Ribs

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