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How to smoke two two shelves of ribs (3-4 slabs)

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    How to smoke two two shelves of ribs (3-4 slabs)

    Just finished two slabs of St. Louis ribs on my Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24. I’ve had the smoker for a few years and have gotten familiar enough with it to turn out pretty good cooks (note: use lava tape around 3 sides of the door). The next rib cook will require more than two slabs and I’m not sure how to deal with cooking two shelves with two slabs each. The racks on the smoker are 10” apart. My concerns are temperature differentials between the racks and the smoke distribution where the slabs are basically lined up one over another. Do I switch racks midway through? Add more smoke later in the cook? Greater spacing between the racks?
    Any pointers on multi-rack cooking in a smoke box would be greatly appreciated - I don’t want to wreck a cook with that much food and my reputation on the line.

    #2
    I wouldn't worry about the smoke distribution. I would want to get a sense of the difference in temps between the upper and lower racks. If they're significant, I'd swap halfway through the cook. I have a KBQ and there is some temp difference, but it's also running a convection fan setup, so it's not a big deal.

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      #3
      Do you have a leave-in thermometer? I'd suggest just placing two probes, one on each shelf, during your cook. If you have differentials over 25deg or so (just ballparking here, there's nothing magic about 25 degrees) between the two, then I'd suggest swap them maybe halfway through. If the differential is less, I'd let it run w/o a worry.

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      • texastweeter
        texastweeter commented
        Editing a comment
        the hot spot it at the top position, as with most vert smokers. Without meat it is not as pronounced. I would rotate.

      #4
      100% agree with Huskee….I do it all the time

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        #5
        I just smoked three racks of St. Louis ribs on two shelves in my Smoke Vault 24 yesterday. I used my Smoke to measure each shelf, one right above the other, on the 3rd and 4th slots. I also had a large disposable aluminum drip pan on the 1st (lowest) slot for messes. At first, the temp was about 30 degrees hotter on the upper shelf. After about an hour the difference was about 15 degrees. I had the top vent completely open and the two bottom vents completely closed. I smoked them for 6 hours around 225-235 degrees F.

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          #6
          I agree with Huskee. I've done that before. Another possibility is to get a rib rack so that you can have them all on one shelf.

          Comment


            #7
            Nice job, I cain't wait to see how yer ribs come out!
            I gots a couple racks BBR rollin right now, an, I Suwanee, I'll be postin up some pics

            Comment


              #8
              Just did 8 racks yesterday. I monitored the temps at the second rack and the fourth rack. The second rack (closer to the top) ran about 20 degrees hotter the whole cook. All 8 racks turned out fine.

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                #9
                i can tell you from experience that the top rack will recieve more heat. it is significant enough to make a difference. when loaded down with briskets, i flip the top one fat cap up to protect it, otherwise the bark on top will become armor. With ribs, i rotate.

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