Cut Ribs in Half?

[babyhewi]

Tomorrow am I start my most ambitious project yet.  I'm cook 5 St. Loui's and 2 Baby Back racks in my 4 rack OBS.  I can't fit them all on the supplied racks so I bought generic rib racks.  I did a trail set up and the racks don't exactly fit but I can make it work.  I can either bend the ribs or cut in half.  Will cutting them in half have any adverse effect?  Any other advice is always welcome.  I will post pics either way.
Babyhewi

[FLBentRider]

It will work either way. I would probably cut them.

That is quite a load. expect it to take longer than 3-2-1 probably more like 3-3.5-1

[Redneckinthecity]

I agree - and remember that that if you put that much meat in cold, it will take your unit longer to come up to heat.  If you're eating those tomorrow night, I'd recommend starting them plenty early.  You can always hold them in FTC if they get done before you're ready.

[TestRocket]

Good Luck and a PIC (or two) of all those rib bones squeezed into a OBS would be nice!  ;D

Don't forget to rotate!

[ArnieM]

Cutting the racks in half won't hurt.  Remember, they're dead.

As the responders have said, it may take a while for the OBS to get up to temp.  Watch the BB's, they'll likely take less time than the St. Louis ribs.

I think you need a bigger smoker.  ;D

[babyhewi]

Thanks all!  Cut they will be!  And def pics!  As for the bigger smoker-not unless I want to live in it cause I will be in the dog house if I spend any more on this "hobby"!! lol

[GusRobin]

Thanks all!  Cut they will be!  And def pics!  As for the bigger smoker-not unless I want to live in it cause I will be in the dog house if I spend any more on this "hobby"!! lol

Based upon my experience, they complain about you buying the toys until they start tasting the food.

[SouthernSmoked]

I would cut them in half.

Dang that's a large load for a 4 rack...

Maybe a Rib Grilling Rack would work here?

Not sure, I've never tried this maybe someone else has and can let us know.

Remember FTC is your friend.

[Slamdunk]

I agree with the other comments about quite a lot of meat in there!! Are you sure you need that much? How many people are you expecting and how large is their appetite?

Tossing out a question here to anybody, but what is the "expected" amount of racks that "normal" people eat? In-other-words, when you're planning a dinner for a group, how do you figure out the number of racks to smoke? 1/2 rack per person? 1 rack per person? Or, if it's just your buds coming over to watch a game - 2 racks a person (- except for the guy we all know who doesn't bring his own beverage...he gets leftovers.) ::)

[Redneckinthecity]

You may also be sacrificing the number of Bradley trays you can fit (to something less than 4) in order to have the head room you need to use a rib rack that stacks them somewhat vertically (like so:  ////// ).  I also have a 4 rack DBS.  I can cook 4 racks of ribs (1 per tray; each cut in half).  It is probably 1.5 times the time it takes if I cook 2 racks with half a rack per tray.

I'd also recommend rotating and turning (maybe once every 45 mins to an hour) to try to cook evenly.

[Habanero Smoker]

I generally only cook spareribs. What I do is trim off the last three ribs off the small side, that is enough to get the rest of the rack to fit. Then for the trimmings I place them all on a separate rack. Generally I can smoke three racks using four trays; the fourth being used for the trimmings.