space concerns with my Weber and ribs

[bgaviator]

I am going to be buying the 22 inch Weber Gold maybe this weekend or next.  I have never made ribs before, but it is definitly on my to-do list.  I am worried about space issues though....I plan on using some fire bricks to hold my charcoal off to one side of the grill, but from pictures and videos i have seen, it looks like you can maybe only get one full rack of ribs on the non-charcoal side of the grill.  I am normally cooking for 6-7 people, so I would think I would probably need at least 2 racks of ribs for a dinner.....I have seen a few different things....I have seen people roll the racks and secure them with a wood skewer......, I have seen people use an additional grill grate that hovers of the main grate....and I have seen rib racks.....which of these methods would be the best for multiple ribs, and are there advantages/disadvantages to any of the methods.  Thanks. 

 

[little smokey]

You should look at rib racks, I have one but rarely use it.  It holds the racks on their side so you can fit more.

 

[kathrynn]

Ditto!  Rib Racks are worth it if you are tight on space.

Kat

 

[cricky101]

I get 3 slabs on my old Weber Performer in a rib rack no problem. I think there are 5 or 6 slots in the rib rack. I usually give it a spin (just pick up and turn the whole rib rack with the slabs in it) half-way through my smoke. Works great!

 

[fwismoker]

smokenator charcoal basket.jpg

• fwismoker
• Apr 18, 2013

Here's a concept i came up with but the brick set up is fine and has done me well.  I could pit ribs on the bottom grate, the cooking grate and also on "hover grill" grate if i wanted....that would give you 3 levels of cooking but remember it's a little cooler on the bottom grate which is fine, it's just slower cooking. 

 

[jirodriguez]

Keep in mind since you are using a Kettle you are still getting direct heat in the area above charcoal rails - so this limits your indirect heat area even more. If you do use rib racks you may have to rotate the ribs that end up over the coals with ones in the middle to try and keep them from cooking to fast and/or burning.