Rib Tetris

[Consiglieri]

I originally brought up this topic under the "First Pork Ribs" thread but thought a new topic might be a better approach.  Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Seems like when I fire up the smoker, a family get together turns into an extended family/neighbor/etc. event.  I've been reading some of the other posts to try and figure out some ideas for maximizing capacity of cooked food. 

Habenero Smoker suggested the crown/vertical approach. Standin up like that, seems like you'd be limited to 6 racks of baby back (two per BS rack in the 6 shelver) because you'd have to remove every other BS Rack. 

Using rib racks, it seems like you'd have a similar issue: a four slot rib rack will let you get 2 racks of ribs per BS rack (because the BS depth seems to require the BB to be halved) and you still have to remove every other BS rack.

If you can get 1.5 racks of baby backs on each BS shelf, as suggested in a much earlier post,then you can smoke up to 9 racks in the 6 rack BS.  I think in the same post some one mentioned a "double shelving technique;" I'd be interested in learning what that is.

Any other ideas?

[asa]

If you can get 1.5 racks of baby backs on each BS shelf, as suggested in a much earlier post,then you can smoke up to 9 racks in the 6 rack BS.  I think in the same post some one mentioned a "double shelving technique;" I'd be interested in learning what that is.

"Double-shelving" probably referred to the idea of getting a second set of racks, and inverting them on top of the original placement. So each rack will have an inverted one on top of it. In the original, it means that instead of 4" clearance between shelves, you have 2", usually enough for stuff like ribs or jerky. And I do get 1.5 racks of baby back ribs/smoker rack. So theoretically you could get 12 racks of ribs in the original on 8 racks (or I guess 18 in the digital). But I have not done a full load like that yet. For spare ribs, it is more like one rib rack/smoker rack.

Good luck,

[Consiglieri]

Man, that's space management.  No ribs touching, but no doubt extra smoking time. 

And at 1.5 racks per smoker rack, that's 18 racks of ribs!  At that volume, I'm pretty sure I've exceeded my wildest concerns. 

Then again, if I can get them to each bring a unique six-pack...

Oh hell, I'm getting ahead of myself again. 

Thanks much.

[asa]

Man, that's space management.  No ribs touching, but no doubt extra smoking time.

Not necessarily extra smoking time - I think 4 hours is probably enough no matter how many racks you have loaded (there should be enough smoke produced in 4 hours for all of those ribs). But it will take extra cooking time to get everything to temp so that the collagen breaks down into gelatin and the meat is tender and succulent. You can finish them in the BS as most do. Or frequently I prefer the indoor oven for temp control (at ~165-170). After smoking time is up, you can spray with apple juice as some do or spritz with a vinegar style sauce. Then wrapping them in butcher paper or foil is a good way to finish the cooking. I do it in the oven, others here will do the FTC method, and folks with a barrel and side-box type smoker will wrap and put them back on the grill with indirect heat blowing through. Either way, the idea is to let 'em finish cooking at ~ 165-170 degrees while the collagen dissolves and floods the meat. If you begin with a good rub, you may prefer eating them without any finishing sauce at all as I do.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out with a box full of ribs. Times for cooking in view of your ambient temp will be of interest to everyone else here, I'm sure.