# can i smoke ribs and finish in oven?



## julie12345

Here's my? question. My Traeger grill isn't big enough for 4 racks of ribs. Can I smoke 2 racks of ribs, wrap in foil, smoked the other two racks, and finish all in the oven. I guess what I'm saying is will the first two racks of ribs turn out okay if they sit before I finish


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## mike5051

Welcome to the forum!  That sounds like a good plan to me.  

Mike


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## julie12345

Thanks.  I guess I'll try it! I will keep the first batch warm to prevent tightening.  Hippie it works out. Christmas party dinner eeeek


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## smokingmymeat

Not sure about that. Finish the first pair in the oven and do the others all the way in ur Traeger. When the ones in the oven are done, wrap in foil, then in a towel and put in a cooler until the others r done. Otherwise, if u have time u could do one set a day or to 
ahead and reheat while ur smoking the others. :grilling_smilie:


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## cliffcarter

IMHO you should put them all in the Traeger, it won't matter if they overlap and touch. Just rearrange them once or twice and you will be fine.


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## phatbac

You might want to get a rib rack from Amazon and you will be able to fit more in your smoker. Search Amazon for rib rack. Cost 12-30$ depending on style.

Hope this helps,
phatbac (Aaron)


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## hillbillyrkstr

Yup rib rack is the answer here.


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## marctrees

In addition to the above, like setting somewhat vertical, if you have a rack, or some spacing manner is best.

Even just  empty beer/ pop cans between to prop up and separate for air space.

Otherwise, 

Under, over, tightly wrapped in the many multiple layers of towels.  

Laid fluffy multi like 8 layer + on top.   Marc


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## marctrees

Thing with a cooler is you need to warm up theairspace w the food.

The towels I described is the best IN a cooler if you have one.

The towels do most of the work.

The closer and tighter the insulation, the better.

NOT just in an insulatedchamber.

Foil and towels first barrier, airspace in cooler totally secondary barrier.

Think about it.  

The first cooked ribs will be great, but still should be able to cook all together, spinning around changing places half way through cook.


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## wade

The rib rack is the best idea but if you don't have one then there are a couple of ways of saving space...

Wrap the rib rack into a ring and fasten the ends together with a skewer, Cook them on their edge with the ribs vertical. You can fit more on your cooking grate that way
Cut the ribs in half and place one half on top of the other (double decker). For the first hour swap them top and bottom every 20 minutes to let the inner surfaces get smoke and then cook as normal.
Both methods work well in a limited space


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## madjax1720

Wade said:


> The rib rack is the best idea but if you don't have one then there are a couple of ways of saving space...
> 
> Wrap the rib rack into a ring and fasten the ends together with a skewer, Cook them on their edge with the ribs vertical. You can fit more on your cooking grate that way
> Cut the ribs in half and place one half on top of the other (double decker). For the first hour swap them top and bottom every 20 minutes to let the inner surfaces get smoke and then cook as normal.
> Both methods work well in a limited space


Wouldn't you lose a lot of heat if your opening door every 20 min? Just curious


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## wade

Yes you lose some but you only do it 3 times in the first hour. After that you leave the lid closed. The saying that "if you are looking you are not cooking" is true, however the temperature in the Traeger grill will soon recover when you put the lid down. Ribs are very forgiving too when it comes to the cooking and it may add a few minutes onto the total cook time - but it probably won't. This method is actually taught by Weber in their masterclass courses for use on their Gas BBQ range but I have used it successfully on pellet smokers too. When I give BBQ training courses I usually also demonstrate this method for people who only have small gas or charcoal BBQs at home. It works well.


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## julie12345

Wade that is a great idea...I do have a rib rack on order and thank you for the wrapping tip. Makes sense to me!


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## julie12345

​Marctrees_ I will try the propping with can's idea until my rib rack gets here... Thank you! If that doesn't work out for me I think I'll try the rib wrapping idea...and maybe cut one in half.  I'll get those babies in there! thanks for the help.


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