Perfect Ribs For Eight: Secrets From A Local Griller [UPDATE]

Can you make ribs, we have company coming over. Ah, sure. How many people? Maybe 8. Ah....sure, I guess.

Last year my I was the lucky recipient of a Trager 575 Wi-Fi Pellet Smoker. I've done chicken, Ribs, Pork Butt and a Brisket. But ribs for 8?  Those of you who know, know that the 575 isn't a monster of a grill, so I decided to get a 'rib rack' to help with my lack of square inches.

I stopped by ACE on Minnesota. And we looked at the rack choices and I picked it up and was on my way. While I was there I bought a little mini table that swings up on the grill to help with organizing a beer or whatever I need handy.

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I stopped into Fareway on Louise Avenue and picked up my ribs. For those of you who haven't vibed up on the meat department at Fareway, I strongly suggest it. [this is not a commercial]

Now, I knew I was going to short on time Friday afternoon so I did all the prep Thursday night. Peeled the silver skin, did a little light trimming, applied plain mustard as my rub and went with the rubs! I'd read that letting them sit and work their way into the ribs can help.

Then, I took a pic of what I did. So I could remember for next time. As you can tell, by the pic, I used, White Lightning [kick-ass!] on two racks, Holy Cow, the Gospel and another favorite of mine, the Rib Rub from Uncle Ed's. [If you haven't been to the new Uncle Ed's store you HAVE to!]

So, they were prepped, they were covered and refrigerated.

They come out of the fridge at 11:00 AM to come up to room temperature before I start the grill.

That's part One. I'll bring you the review and further explain my grilling process. Most of that process came from Chad Soulek of Freeman who has been a huge help to my rib making process!  Details coming Monday!

Here's the update on how the ribs turned out!

Ok, here are a few of the the things I noticed about using a rib rack for the first time. I could have cut off a bit of the ribs to make the racks a bit shorter for fit. I also noticed that the ribs tended to lean against each other so, if you were going to use different rubs, which I was, you get a little cross pollination of the rubs.

The other thing I noticed was if you were going to turn the ribs around, or take them off and wrap them in foil, which I did, It gets a bit tricky. It's also a bit clumsy to pick the rack up to check the bend to see how done they are. [ a trick I learned from a friend]

All in all, the Rib Rack performed nicely. It is a bit more work but worth it if you have a crew coming over that are ready to devour ribs! Up next, I'll turn the rib rack over and use it to make a pork butt.