Ribs hanging 'round my WSM

Scottydont81 said:

Would love to see how this connects to the WSM up close. Is this on an 18 or 22 model?

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Q-Dat said:

I'm digging it, but I can't tell from the pic. What is holding the rebar upright?

I would love to try this on mine for IBCA chicken halves.

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This is using 3/8" rebar and mounted in a 18.5 WSM. The mount itself is alarmingly simple. I used a cutoff wheel on my angle grinder to cut a groove in the end of the rebar that would fit the tab that supports the top grate The slot from the cutoff wheel was actually too narrow so I enlarged it carefully to just fit the tab. I also angled it slightly as it seemed to me that the tabs point slightly up. I also bent the support so it is a couple inches wider than the opening which puts it under some spring tension when it is fitted to the tabs. This does not seem like it would be very sturdy but it was surprisingly so.

My original plan was (and still is) to make a second one. I'll notch them where they cross in the middle so they engage and provide additional stability. (Neat time I head to my son's place I will probably have him weld them together.)

Here's a detail picture of the attachment.



And a repeat of the picture from my first post for reference.



The last bit of useful information I think I can provide is that I cut a piece of cardboard into a semicircle that would fit the inside of the lid and then drew out and measured where I wanted this support to go so I could get it as far as possible up into the dome.

I'd consider making the same thing for mi 22.5 WSM but I'm not sure that 3/8" rebar wold be sturdy enough and I'm not sure I could bend 1/2" rebar without better tools. (Might impose on my son again - I could notch the bar to bend it and he could weld the notches closed to restore strength.)

NewEnglandQ said:

I have to say that meat over an open fire is a completely different flavor. Also, it is definitely a matter of personal preference. I cooked chicken, beef short ribs, and pork spare ribs this weekend on the PBC. My wife thought it was some of the best BBQ I have ever made. I personally did not like the flavor of the smoke created by the drippings. One thing that I think ruins BBQ is white smoke and to me, the "grease smoke" is in the same category. Again it is a preference thing....the wife loved it.

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I could not agree more. Techniques like this provide one additional opportunity for us to determine the flavor of what we cook to either meet our tastes or those whom we serve.

Carbon said:

Since we're on the subject of hanging meat I'm currently working on a mini-WSM, but using a 15 gallon drum. I completed work on the 27" tall drum body which will sit snug on a Smokey Joe with beefed up legs. I used a 3/8" stainless steel threaded rod and the meat hangers were made out of skewers I had laying around.
Hopefully I'll have this smoker up and running by the weekend.

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That should work great. My mini is made with a tamale pot so it is not nearly as tall but your 27" tall drum should provide more space than I have on my 18.5. :thumb:

I finally got around to making the second brace. As an aside, it is a lot easier to bend 3/8" rebar using a 14" piece of EMT (stick the rebar through the EMT and pull against that instead of the rebar itself.)



I'm sure I could fit 6 racks of back loin ribs on that without any difficulty. Maybe even that many racks of spares.

I notched the parts where they cross and bent such that there is a little tension on the joint for additional stability. It feels really solid!



To recap the keys to stability:

• light tension where the slots on the bars fit on the tabs that support the upper rack. Rebar is not spring steel so you won't get a lot of tension anyway, but too much makes it harder to install the pieces on the smoker.
• carefully ground slots for the tabs. These need to fig snugly.
• light tension where the pieces cross.

Now that I have a better strategy for bending rebar, I think I could make one using 1/2" rebar for the 22.5 WSM. :biggrin1: