Best way to cook 5 racks of baby backs?

cliffturner04

making 5 racks tomorrow on my large BGE. I've done a 5 hour smoke (meat side up) and a 2-2-1 smoke before, both were good (bark was better on the 5 hour smoke). Don't think I could wrap 5 racks in foil and juice for a 2-2-1, would love y'all's thoughts on ribs for a crowd. 

SmokeyPitt

I would probably just do a straight smoke so I didn't have to mess with wrapping.  I would use a rib rack with 6 slots.  Cut one rack in half to put in the outer slots (4 full racks, 2 half racks).  Use foil to protect any ribs hanging over plate setter.   I like a sauced rib so I will add sauce the last 20 minutes or so.  It is kind of a pain with a rack so I remove the rack and just sort of jockey the ribs around a bit.  

I like to try to have the ribs done early, let them rest, then slice into individual ribs and put them in a foil pan.  Cover the pan in foil and hold it in the oven on low until serving time.  This will soften the bark a bit, but it makes serving them easy and frees up the egg if you want it for apps.  

Ragtop99

5 hour smoke them.  I'd put them on their side on the grill to get them to fit, assuming you don't have a Woo or other multilevel setup.  Tooth picks or a thin metal kabob skewer can be used to help them stay upright and separated.  Even if they lean into each other, that's not too bad.  Just rearrange them after a couple hours to ensure all the meat gets smoke.

DaveRichardson

Time to make a raised grid!  This will let the meat spread out and breathe in the smoky goodness better!

cliffturner04

Ragtop99 said:

5 hour smoke them.  I'd put them on their side on the grill to get them to fit, assuming you don't have a Woo or other multilevel setup.  Tooth picks or a thin metal kabob skewer can be used to help them stay upright and separated.  Even if they lean into each other, that's not too bad.  Just rearrange them after a couple hours to ensure all the meat gets smoke.

I have a raised BGE brand grid, with the feet that sit on the lower grid and a middle hinge so you can access the meats below.  Is that just as good as a rib rack, or should I buy a rib rack?  I'm thinking 250º for 5 hours, indirect.  Am I close there on temp/time?

KiterTodd

I agree with @SmokeyPitt.   Wrapping is a pain with a lot of racks.  Although, I do FTC before serving.   But I have even seen people simplify that by putting all the uncut slabs on a pan, wrapping the whole pan, and putting that in the cooler.  ?

In any case, it'll be awesome.  Look forward to the pics!