How many slabs of ribs can you fit on a 22.5" Kettle ;)

[jfmorris]

Ok, I've been on a cooking hiatus due to my neck surgery, and still have a 10 pound lifting limit, but our 29th anniversary is on Sunday, and we want to celebrate my having our kids and all their husbands/wives/boyfriends to dinner. While I may enlist some help from my son or son in law, I've decided to cook ribs and chicken. Mostly ribs, but I will throw two split chickens or some chicken parts on the new Weber Genesis due to a picky eater (youngest daughter's boyfriend) who pretty much only eats chicken. Plus it means more left overs for next week!

So, here's the dilemma. I cannot easily use the offset, as I moved it before hurting myself, and its in a bad spot for using right now, especially with the rain predicted for Sunday. Heck. I am in a hurricane level of rain right now, and its about flooded between my office and the house. Anyway, that means ribs have to go on the kettle with the SNS, rolled up under the pavilion out of the rain. I want to buy two of those 3 packs of loin back ribs from Sam's Club, which gives me 6 slabs of ribs, which along with 2 chickens is a ton for 8 people!

So, the question is, how to cook 6 of those slabs of meaty loin back ribs. I have one of those Weber rib racks that will hold 5 slabs on edge. I also have a hover grill I can put on top of the Easy Spin grate. And of course, SNS, DNG and Easyspin grate.

My favorite way to do ribs is blasphemy, but that is out the window, as it means more fiddling than my back and neck can probably handle, plus I can barely fit 3 slabs of cut up ribs onto the kettle using the main grate and the Hover grill. No way 5 or 6 slabs will go on there cut up. So I am resigned to doing whole slabs.

Right now my only thought is that I put 5 slabs of ribs on the main grate with the rib rack, and I put the 6th slab below them on an elevated grate above the Drip 'N Griddle. Then rotate it up about mid cook, and put the one that was closest to the fire down below. Plus rotate inner and outer slabs, flip them over so the bottom edge is now top edge, etc.

I will probably toss them all over to Genesis at the end to set and caramelize some sauce. That 4 burner is pretty huge compared to the kettle, so should be up to the job.

So - thoughts? Comments? Should I try to pinwheel these things with wooden skewers instead? Anyone ever fit 6 on the main grate doing that, with the SNS?

Thanks for your advice, BBQ brethren!

Jim with a Sore Neck in Flooded Huntsville Alabama

[RonB]

Is there any way you can attach the slabs end to end and make a big circle spiraling towards the center? That would probably give you the most space between the slabs.

[jfmorris]

Maybe, but with the SNS taking up 1/3 the grate space on the Performer, probably not practical for 6 slabs of ribs.

[BRic]

virtualweberbullet.com/best-ribs-in-the-universe-by-mike-scrutchfield.html
This gentleman rolled his ribs and pinned them shrewers .

[jfmorris]

Yes, I’ve seen that method, but was curious if anyone here had done it and how many would fit.

[Attjack]

Bamboo skewer and a rib circle configuration?

[jfmorris]

Interesting, if it cleared the SNS. We really have a cut off circle with that in the kettle.

[Attjack]

Rib half moon (thereabouts) configuration?

[klflowers]

I don’t know, the only time I have ever cooked that many slabs was on the wsm using both grates. What you describe sounds doable. The real reason for this post is to ask what time I should be there

[jfmorris]

Haha, I hear ya! You are probably not too far off.

[bep35]

I would get all I could onto the kettle and do the rest on the Genesis. Nothing wrong with ribs on a gasser. Add some smoke with a foil pouch or a pellet smoker tube on the Genesis which would also help the chicken feel less inadequate.

[mnavarre]

That was my thought Mr. Bones, Smoke until the bark is good and then on to the gasser, wrap and then cambro, A long Cambro hold can turn things mushy, but I think you've got some room to pull early and let them finish getting all tenderd up in the cambro.

[Murdy]

I do ribs on the gasser a lot with one of those metal boxes, mostly because, that was my only option for a long time. They come out good, but a milder smoke no doubt.

[jfmorris]

Ok this idea has the most merit as I’ve not considered doing the main cook of the ribs on the Genesis. I may very well rotate them through the Genesis but let them all get smoke on the kettle.

[Dadof3Illinois]

If it helps I’ve gotten 7 racks on a 26” kettle if I roll each of them up and secure with skewers.

[jfmorris]

I think the key is 26”. I don’t feel I can do it on the Performer, or at least am not confident enough to plan the cook that way.

[Dadof3Illinois]

Oh ok, I thought you had a 26” kettle with a SnS. But rolling the slabs up would still work with the 22” if you added a second grate. Then just rotate once in awhile to keep them even.

[Polarbear777]

I’ve easily had three of those Costco racks on there flat by using a hovergrill to elevate one and that is with the SNS in the side.

6 however (two Costco packs) won’t fit unless you spiral and then you’ll have to do something about the heat management will have to be controlled vertically.

I’d second the gasser but I’d start a set earlier in the charcoal wood Weber and move those to the gasser about halfway through then get the others going.

Heck you could probably keep the first set in a preheated cambro for at least a few hours.. the bark would suffer a little but you can always hold off on the sauce and do that on the gasser after the cambro.

I got a PBC just so I could hang 8 easily and simply.

[jfmorris]

Thanks - this cook makes me want a PBC by summer. I want a Grilla, but the PBC wins on rib capacity and cost.

[Polarbear777]

Think of it this way. If you got the grilla you could still do 6 racks split with the kettle.

Hanging stuff in the PBC is so easy I rarely bother the break down a chicken anymore.

[NapMaster]

1. Congrats on your aniversary. I'll make 34 years next month.
2. I have no clue how much you can stuff in the weber.
3. You need to run your daughters chicken eatin boyfriend off. I'll bet he likes tofu and kale. 🤨

[jfmorris]

Thanks! And no, he doesn’t like his veggies. I think your idea has merit, and i’ll Just throw down the ribs and skip the chicken. He can eat salad!

[jfmorris]

Thanks for all the advice folks. I had not considered moving ribs to the gasser until the end, but I guess I could easily get an indirect 250-ish on this grill with the outside 2 burners on low and the ribs in the center, and maybe rotate the ribs through the gasser and kettle to even out the smoke. That may be better than trying to cook down on the lower grate over the DNG due to lower temps down there. Plus I gotta remove the main grate to get to them down there. I’ve done a butt at that level before and recall it being 20-30 degrees cooler at the charcoal grate level.

So that gives me a plan, and I may just skip the chicken entirely. I’ll be sure to post pics of whatever I cook Sunday afternoon,

[Polarbear777]

If you used the lower rack and the upper at the same time you’ll have to rotate through that 75-100F difference between level 1 and 3.

Gasser rotation seems a lot easier and more foolproof.

[mnavarre]

See, this is why you need a PBC.

[Willard]

Wait. Not done. I’ll volunteer to be the silly one. Hows about your lovely wife of 29 years buy you a 2nd Kettle and SNS. I haven’t read all of the posts so hopefully no one beat me to it. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

[rwalters]

100% agree with toggling between the gasser and kettle. They’ll turn out great and relieve the stress that comes with cramming to much meat into a grill and killing proper airflow. Only other practical option I can think of is to find a neighbor that’ll lend you their kettle for the day. Who doesn’t have a kettle laying around... ?

[jfmorris]

Sadly I gave away my spare kettle to a guy who needed a grill last year when a couple of welds broke and his kettle fell apart.

[Polarbear777]

Spatchcock the chicken and roast in the oven on a half sheet pan with a cooling rack. Won’t have smoke but will still be really good. Everyone is happy and the ribs still get to rule.

[jfmorris]

The real answer would be to figure out how to cook on the offset, but it’s too muddy to move it with the rain we’ve had, I can’t move it myself, and it would probably sink into the ground up to the axle. If the rain stops by Sunday I may go cook on it instead.

[bep35]

Get that chicken eating boyfriend to help move the offset! Nothing declares commitment like helping your girlfriend's dad move his smoker!

[aladdin4d]

bep35 That was my thought. If you want to eat, you need to move the offset for me!

[Polarbear777]

Another option is to do three racks of regular ribs and cambro them then do the other half blasphemy style so they are done much faster while the first rack is in the cambro. You’ll get to try out two recipes too.

[jfmorris]

This is a good thought. The first 3 could cook while i’m gone to church in the morning, finish around 2, then put on the others.

[JeffJ]

Do you have a rotisserie ring for your kettle? Back when my aresenal was the Performer and a 3-burner Spirit I'd sometimes use the ring (without the spit) to create more room inside the kettle.

[jfmorris]

Nope