First 2-2-1 baby back ribs, too much for WSM 18.5?

thatguy99 · Mar 3, 2013

Hi all - long time lurker here. Love all the articles and helpful tips on the forum. So I finally got a day off work tomorrow and in a rash moment bought 6 racks of baby back ribs for the family plus leftovers. I'll be using a borrowed WSM 18.5 smoker. I put together a dry rub with brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne and will use apple wood chips for the smoke.

I was planning to do 2-2-1 with Paul Kirk's memphis bbq sauce on the side (my favorite). Just wondering - is 6 racks too much to fit in the 18 inch? If it is I'll freeze two of them - but it seems to fit based on the picture on the Weber website:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wsmcapacity_photos/18ribs1.jpg

Or maybe I should get a couple of rib racks in the morning?

I'd appreciate any tips! This is my first time doing 2-2-1 - I've always cheated and braised in bbq sauce in the oven before putting on the smoker before. I'm hoping to get a nice crust and smoke ring and drink plenty of beer during the process. Thanks!

hambone1950 · Mar 3, 2013

hi guy. welcome to the forum. the WSM will hold a lot more than you think , but since youre going to foil them and you want them to lay flat i dont think rib racks will help much. i would just rub them all and try to fit them on as best you can. if some dont fit you can freeze them all rubbed up.

but even if you have to overlap them a little , its not the end of the world....you can just rotate them so that all the surfaces get browned up.

my only advice is to check on them periodically because sometimes theyll fool you and get done quicker than you plan.

are you using water in the pan or going dry....or clay saucer maybe ?

pgsmoker64 · Mar 3, 2013

You won't get 6 racks of ribs on an 18.5" WSM unless you are a wizard!

Course, we have a few wizards on the SMF!

Bill

fpnmf · Mar 3, 2013

I have done 3 racks on the top grate so you should be able to do 6...

I use a rack ... and cut them to fit..

I read a great idea that I am going to try next time I do ribs...

Use two skewers, stand them up on edge and skewer them...

Craig

thatguy99 · Mar 3, 2013

Thanks guys - sounds like it's a maybe. One last question - what if I use a soaked skewer or toothpick to put the ribs in a V shape and then just overlap them a little bit in the foil stage?

If not I'll just toss two racks in the freezer!

pgsmoker64 · Mar 3, 2013

fpnmf said:
I have done 3 racks on the top grate so you should be able to do 6...

I use a rack ... and cut them to fit..

I read a great idea that I am going to try next time I do ribs...

Use two skewers, stand them up on edge and skewer them...

Craig

...see...wizard #1

thatguy99 · Mar 3, 2013

Craig - I posted before I saw your response. I think I will try that skewer technique if I can't get them all on flat. Thanks!

thatguy99 · Mar 3, 2013

Hambone - I was going to use water in the WSM water dish. I've always done that but is there a benefit to using a dry dish?

pgsmoker64 · Mar 3, 2013

I use sand in my water bowl and have found that the temperature holds rock steady the entire time...couldn't say that when I used water.

I tried using an empty water bowl once...not good! No temperature control whatsoever!

Bill

fpnmf · Mar 3, 2013

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/135116/how-i-start-and-use-my-wsm

thatguy99 · Mar 6, 2013

So here is what I figured out on my (mostly) 2-2-1 rib cook.

1. 6 racks of baby back is not a problem on the WSM 18.5 inch.

2. Next time I will try to remove the second rack from the smoker to replace the ribs after the foil stage (hard to carefully place them down in there).

3. My rub was brown sugar heavy and it seemed to caramelize a little in the foil. Next time I will try a rub with less sugar.

4. I need to figure out exactly how much wood chips to put in. I think I could have used a little less.

5. The water dish seemed to work great with boiling water added - very steamy and no dryness to the ribs in spite of ending up with a 3 hour first stage due to poor temps.

6. The ribs were awesome! Thanks for the tips everyone.

Here are some pics of each stage:

DSCF0055.JPG

thatguy99
Mar 6, 2013

DSCF0056.JPG

thatguy99
Mar 6, 2013

DSCF0079.JPG

thatguy99
Mar 6, 2013

DSCF0095.JPG

thatguy99
Mar 6, 2013

dward51 · Mar 6, 2013

Here is a tip for full length ribs laid flat in a 18.5" WSM.

First few times I did this, I had some issues with the outer edges being more done due to the way the heat flows around the water bowl/flower pot base (or whatever) in a WSM. I found that if I double a section of aluminum foil and put under the outer edges of the ribs as a heat shield, they cook about the same as the rest of the rib.

I also cut them in half and use a rib rack for the cut sections like other posted. We usually end up cutting the full rack to serve them anyway.

thatguy99 · Mar 7, 2013

Thanks for the tips Dave. I did have a problem with the ends of the lower rack getting a little too done. I think it might have also had to do with a couple of flare ups I had that took a few minutes to regulate. I'll try the foil tip next time. Actually another thought I was having was just doing 3 racks on the top and a chicken on the bottom...

hambone1950 · Mar 7, 2013

thatguy99 said:
Hambone - I was going to use water in the WSM water dish. I've always done that but is there a benefit to using a dry dish?

Hey guy

i have given up using water. I just go with gravel , believe it or not , rock steady 250 degrees all day.....never got that with water

. Yeah , the dry pan is only good when you do chicken

hambone1950 · Mar 7, 2013

scootermagoo · Mar 7, 2013

Hambone1950 said:
Hey guy

i have given up using water. I just go with gravel , believe it or not , rock steady 250 degrees all day.....never got that with water

. Yeah , the dry pan is only good when you do chicken

LOL, good one!

First 2-2-1 baby back ribs, too much for WSM 18.5?

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