Ribs - advice needed

[SeanG]

Tomorrow is going to be my first attempt at smoking ribs (2 racks of St. Louis cut) on the kettle and I have some questions I am hoping you can help with!

1. Snake - I am going to build a 2x1 snake about halfway around the kettle and put some apple chunks on top throughout. Is this enough? Should it be a 2x2? Longer? Shorter? I'd like to run the kettle between 225-250.

2. Time - For spares like this, is 4-5 hours sufficient? Something like a 2-2-1?

3. Rib rack - do I need one? I am only doing 2 racks, so will I have enough room to lay the flat on the grate or should I stop by Lowe's and pick up a rack?

Thanks in advance!

[auto180sx]

I do my ribs with the coals on one side and the ribs on the other, top vent over the ribs and bottom vent just a hair open. 2/3rds of the chimney full and poured over 1/4 unlit chimneys worth when flames start peaking out. I smoke my baby backs anywhere between 3-4hrs depending on if I use a spritz or not and could easily see 5 hours if I needed to. I do my baby backs with no crutch FYI and they always come out great.

Sent from my Pixel using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[Darko]

Cook the ribs to around 195 degrees and you'll be good.

[lksdrinker]

What size kettle are you using?  I doubt you'll be able to lay out 2 full racks in a way that wont put them right over the fire.  Sounds like you got the right idea for the snake....but you're going to have to play with a it a bit to learn if that is enough/too much to keep it going long enough and/or if it ends up being too hot (probably wouldnt be too cold) for your particular application.  So many variables there from the type of charcoal to the weather you might see on cook day. 

[auto180sx]

What size kettle are you using?  I doubt you'll be able to lay out 2 full racks in a way that wont put them right over the fire.  Sounds like you got the right idea for the snake....but you're going to have to play with a it a bit to learn if that is enough/too much to keep it going long enough and/or if it ends up being too hot (probably wouldnt be too cold) for your particular application.  So many variables there from the type of charcoal to the weather you might see on cook day.

Cut them in half and use https://www.amazon.com/Weber-6605-Original-Rack-Grilling/dp/B00FLRB4OI?

[SeanG]

I have a 22.5" kettle. I laid out the snake and picked up a rack at Lowe's for use. The snake worked very well. I need to play with the vents to really get it dialed in but it stayed around 250 for 5.5 hours. While good, I think I did a few things wrong.  First they were slightly oversmoked. I will definitely cut back on the amount of wood I add to the snake. Second, I didn't wrap the ribs at the 3 hour mark and I think I will try that next time. I also think I would like the temp closer to 275.

All in all, they were very tasty but not as tender as I would have liked. Everyone else raved about them, and I can't wait to try it again.

[lksdrinker]

I have a 22.5" kettle. I laid out the snake and picked up a rack at Lowe's for use. The snake worked very well. I need to play with the vents to really get it dialed in but it stayed around 250 for 5.5 hours. While good, I think I did a few things wrong.  First they were slightly oversmoked. I will definitely cut back on the amount of wood I add to the snake. Second, I didn't wrap the ribs at the 3 hour mark and I think I will try that next time. I also think I would like the temp closer to 275.

All in all, they were very tasty but not as tender as I would have liked. Everyone else raved about them, and I can't wait to try it again.

sounds like a good first go at it for sure!  Wrapping will certainly help get them tender.....which you can also accomplish by likely cooking a bit longer at a lower temp as well.  But play around with your setup and your cooks.  Try not to change too many variables at once so you can pinpoint what effect each change might actually have.  I'd suggest trying to do the exact same thing next time but wrap the ribs at some point.  If you dont like that, then when you do your third cook maybe aim for a different temperature, etc.

[TXFlyGuy]

Ok, pardon me, but I’m going to paste my rib results right here, but it is on the SMF.
These are competition ribs, and are my best effort. You can do the same thing with your Weber.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/todays-smoke-st-louis-ribs.273528/