First Time Hanging Ribs & Chicken on 18.5" WSM

[RemoGaggi]

I got the Gateway Rib Hanging Kit a week or so ago and finally had time to give it a try. 2 racks of Babybacks and 1 chicken split in half. I rubbed one of the racks with my usual salt/pepper/Obiecue Smoothmoove/smoked paprika and the other rack with Plowboys Yardbird. I also used the Plowboys on the chicken halves.

I got the WSM running with and with all 3 bottom vents open, the the dome was reading around 300. I put the ribs & chicken on and the chicken was done about 90 minutes later. I pulled the ribs shortly after that. Both came out great! - much better than I was anticipating. In particular, the chicken was probably the best chicken I had ever made outside. Both white & dark meat was very moist and the skin was simply amazing. It was the first time using the Plowboys Yardbird and it's my new favorite rub (along with Obiecue's Smoothmoove). Here's what it looked like about an hour into the cook:

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Great looking cook! How long did the BB ribs take?

 

[KevinJ]

The first time hanging chicken halves in the WSM I was hooked, no better way to cook whole chicken imo.

 

[Sjhill]

I’ve thought about getting one of these for my WSM. How many racks of ribs would you say it could max out?

 

[KevinJ]

I’ve thought about getting one of these for my WSM. How many racks of ribs would you say it could max out?

I don't have my 18.5 anymore upgraded to a Hunsaker Drum but I'd say you could do 8 racks in an 18.5 easy possibly more.

 

[Trunks]

You hang them right over the open coals? No water pan or heat deflecter.... closed lid?

Looks awesome

 

[Ruben Cortinas]

Those look aswome!!

 

[Ruben Cortinas]

Those look awesome

 

[RemoGaggi]

I’ve thought about getting one of these for my WSM. How many racks of ribs would you say it could max out?

I would say I easily could have gotten 5 racks on each side, so 10 total.

Great looking cook! How long did the BB ribs take?

One of the BB racks was thin and small - that one took about 90 minutes and I pulled because I was concerned it was going to be overdone.

The other BB rack was more "normal" sized and I pulled that one at about 1.75 hours. I probably could have gone another 15-20 minutes on that one, but it still came out very tender.

One thing I didn't do was rotate the meats. One of the halves of chicken was more done than the other. Next time, I will be sure to rotate the meats to ensure more even cooking.

 

[RemoGaggi]

You hang them right over the open coals? No water pan or heat deflecter.... closed lid?

Looks awesome

Thanks! Yes, the meat was hung right over the open coals. No deflector, no nothing. I was surprised at how evenly everything was cooked.