Tie Two Racks Together Technique

[Dr ROK]

I was looking at a rib recipe by Cook's Country (spin off of Cook's Illustrated) and they tied two racks of ribs together, meaty sides out and the thicker end on top of the thinner end, and they did an indirect cook. The did it with a total of 4 racks, so they had two "bundles" on the grill. It was their way of cooking twice the number of ribs in the same amount of grill space. Anybody ever tried this?

[RonB]

Sounds interesting, but I'm thinking you might not get any bark on the inside. Maybe something like wooden matchsticks could be used to keep the racks far enough apart to allow bark formation.

[Breadhead]

Ron... Are you licking the bottom of the bones to get very bit of bark off?😆😆😆

[RonB]

Guest - they don't call me Woof for nothing...

[Breadhead]

Oh damn... You're eating the whole bone. What else can you lick.🤔

[Jerod Broussard]

Sounds like a definite space saver.
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[MBMorgan]

Here's a pic:

TEST KITCHEN TECHNIQUE: MAKING RIB BUNDLES

Most rib recipes for backyard grills make only one or two racks. Our ribs were so good that we wanted more. We tied racks of ribs together with kitchen twine (with the meaty sides facing out) to create two two-rack bundles that’ll feed a small party.
BUNDLE UP: With a little finessing, our two-rack bundles cook just as evenly as a single rack.

[Dr ROK]

I did fail to mention that they do rotate and switch positions of the racks to help with even cooking.

[Breadhead]

Interesting to know. That means with my Hovergrill I could do at least 8 racks on my 26" Weber kettle.😳

[DWCowles]

Interesting

[Spinaker]

I like it. Actually, this might just work out okay. I'd be interested to see some pictures of a pit member trying this.

[DWCowles]

You can be the first Spinaker

[Spinaker]

Ha, I was waiting for that.........

[Jerod Broussard]

I would have no problem with the non-meaty side. A quick post-cook sear with sauce would fix that.

[Steve Retherford]

So I helped with the BBQ for my nephew's wedding reception, we had 30 racks of spares that we trimmed and managed to get 28 into the smoker. It worked out much better than I expected, I didn't have to move a single rack, the home made reverse flow rig cooked even. I see how the tied ribs would have made shifting the meat around much easier.

[HawkerXP]

You know you just burst my brand new PBC bubble!
I was getting all uppity thinking about being able to do 4, 6, maybe 8 racks.
So, now if I tie them together maybe 16? LoL
This place is amazing!

[Potkettleblack]

Tied racks are much thicker... I'd guess not a whole 16, but maybe 12.

[Dr ROK]

So could you tell any difference between the tied ones and those that weren't tied?

[Breadhead]

My, my, my... That's a lot of ribs! Looks like a great cooker too.

[DWCowles]

Beautiful Steve Retherford

[Spinaker]

Steve Rutherford Holy shnikies. That is a thing of beauty. Let her rip, eh?

[Steve Retherford]

Thanks all,

It did work out well for a pile of scrap behind the shop.