Bradley Rib Rack

Started by dalehohgs, May 23, 2015, 09:06:49 PM

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dalehohgs

I am looking for some rib racks that will work for smoking several racks per level on an original ten-year old Bradley Smoker.

tskeeter

I've tried several.  The one I like the best is a porcelain coated rack where the uprights are shaped like a squashed oval.  The coating makes the rack suitable for the dishwasher and it minimizes food stuck to the rack.

Habanero Smoker

I don't like cooking my ribs vertically, but if you don't have a rack you can coil your ribs and they will stand up. Just make sure you leave space between the coils, for heat and smoke to penetrate. Once coiled they should remain in place, but if you have a slab that is difficult to coil, you can hold it into place with a skewer. I haven't done this method in awhile, but I believe you are able to get two coils per rack.



     I
         don't
                   inhale.
  ::)

tskeeter

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on May 25, 2015, 01:03:35 PM
I don't like cooking my ribs vertically, but if you don't have a rack you can coil your ribs and they will stand up. Just make sure you leave space between the coils, for heat and smoke to penetrate. Once coiled they should remain in place, but if you have a slab that is difficult to coil, you can hold it into place with a skewer. I haven't done this method in awhile, but I believe you are able to get two coils per rack.


Habs, given your extensive experience, I'm interested in knowing why you don't like cooking your ribs vertically?

For what it's worth, I don't usually use a rib rack, either.  I've got enough room to cut the racks in half and do one rack on each tray.  Saves cleaning up a rib rack.  However, when I want to get a lot of ribs in the smoker, I'll use a rack or two to make better use of the space available.

Habanero Smoker

I prefer bite off the bone tender. Cooking vertically is definitely a space saver, but I just can't seem to get them to cook evenly that way. I've tried cooking both ways; the bone edge down, and tried bone edge up. I have to note, I did not experiment with this cooking method too long. After about three unsatisfactory attempts, I went back to laying them flat on the grates.



     I
         don't
                   inhale.
  ::)

tskeeter

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on May 26, 2015, 01:06:12 PM
I prefer bite off the bone tender. Cooking vertically is definitely a space saver, but I just can't seem to get them to cook evenly that way. I've tried cooking both ways; the bone edge down, and tried bone edge up. I have to note, I did not experiment with this cooking method too long. After about three unsatisfactory attempts, I went back to laying them flat on the grates.

Habs, my practice when using a rib rack is to try to use alternating spaces in the rack, to allow for better air flow.  (Those Costco baby back ribs can be pretty thick.)  Then, I flip the racks of ribs so the other edge is down about half way through the cooking.

Habanero Smoker

I may give that method a try in the future, but right now I'm getting the results I'm looking for. Everything is evenly cooked, except the one or two small ribs on the short end. These days; I rarely use the Bradley for ribs, and the equipment I'm using, I can get 4 racks of St. Louis style ribs at a time with plenty of room laying them down, 6 racks if I crowd the cooker. I generally get my ribs from Costco, and they do have more meat on them than most places. When I'm near a BJ's I will also pick up my ribs from there. BJ's also has thick St. Louis style ribs, and they package two racks per cryovac.



     I
         don't
                   inhale.
  ::)

Jim O

Habs - What are you cooking on these days and what is your "go to" cooker/smoker?
- smoking
-boating
- motorcycling
- how do I find time to sleep !

dalehohgs

Supposing that cooking six or more racks of ribs in a Bradley is the only option, what would the
recommended  method and rack setup?

Habanero Smoker


Quote from: dalehohgs on May 27, 2015, 07:00:57 PM
Supposing that cooking six or more racks of ribs in a Bradley is the only option, what would the
recommended  method and rack setup?

You will be able to cook more ribs at once if you use rib racks. I would follow tskeeter's method, if I had to cook that many. Another method is using hooks and hanging your ribs, but I would not recommend that if you like falloff the bone tender. You would invert a Bradley rack, place it on the top rung, and hang your ribs from there. I would suspect that the ends closest to the element will cook much faster. If this is an important event, I would not use the hanging method unless you practice it a few times. You can google "Rib Hanger" or "Hanging Ribs"; to get more information. Below is a link on how it is done in a WSM.
Hanging Ribs

Also if you need to have all six racks cooked to serve at one time, you can cook them ahead of time, and reheat them in a 225°F - 250°F oven. I do this all the time, and it works well. When I am cooking and serving a lot a ribs, I cook the ribs a day or two in advance. Then  when I refrigerate, I wrap them in plastic. To reheat; if they are dry ribs I reheat them naked, for wet ribs I will foil, then after reheating I may hit them with a glaze. I should mention I only cook spare ribs, if you are cooking Baby Backs I would also foil the dry rib, when reheating.

Quote from: Jim O on May 27, 2015, 02:36:04 PM
Habs - What are you cooking on these days and what is your "go to" cooker/smoker?

I'm using a 22.5" WSM and a BBQ Guru Onyx (which they have stopped making; at least temporarily). I don't want to hijack this thread, so I'll send you a PM as to why I wouldn't purchase an Onyx again, and what I have my eye on in the future :) ).



     I
         don't
                   inhale.
  ::)

Grouperman941

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on May 28, 2015, 02:11:26 AM

Quote from: dalehohgs on May 27, 2015, 07:00:57 PM
Also if you need to have all six racks cooked to serve at one time, you can cook them ahead of time, and reheat them in a 225°F - 250°F oven. I do this all the time, and it works well. When I am cooking and serving a lot a ribs, I cook the ribs a day or two in advance. Then  when I refrigerate, I wrap them in plastic. To reheat; if they are dry ribs I reheat them naked, for wet ribs I will foil, then after reheating I may hit them with a glaze. I should mention I only cook spare ribs, if you are cooking Baby Backs I would also foil the dry rib, when reheating.

I do this when serving ribs for a larger group, except I use my gas grill to reheat over indirect heat. I do them all dry and set the sauce when they start to warm up. I cook in the Bradley in batches.
I just spent $12 K on this Honda Accord! Why can't it tow my boat?!?