How many ribs will I need?

[jrbBBQ]

Like everyone else said, ribs would be pretty ambitious to pull off with your smokers. I have two 22" WSMs and cooked 145 pounds (2 cases of butts) last weekend and it worked out so well that I'm doing it again next week for a fundraiser. They approached me about doing ribs and chicken, but with my equipment, it's SO MUCH eaiser and profitable just to do pulled pork. On a side note, I have created more levels in my wsms before, I had to smoke 400 pork chops and I called a couple of my buddys who had 22" weber grills and borrowed thier grates, I then took three small ramekins on the outside of each level and just sat the other grate on top them. I ended up with 4 levels in one and 5 levels in the other one. It was a pain in the *** to remove the meat, but it worked for that. If you layed them down flat you may get 4 racks on each level.

 

[btcg]

How bout 50-50? Half ribs, half pulled pork?

Make sure to cut the ribs and serve them individually, so one or 2 guys don't scarf up too many.

Cheaper, and much easier.

Making your own sausage migh be cool, too.

 

[AMoore]

KC Mike-that is a great spreadsheet. Thank you for sharing

 

[Jason TQ]

I agree with the pulled pork and then maybe some appetizer type stuff. With pp the meat can be done 2-3hrs before serving and rest in a cooler while you get the moinks, abts, whatever else ready. Either way good luck!

 

[Gore]

It has been my experience that no matter how many racks of ribs you have, you will always need one more. Making ribs for even a gathering of 2 people is impossible. Of course, you didn't say if they were all vegetarians.

 

[btcg]

It has been my experience that no matter how many racks of ribs you have, you will always need one more. Making ribs for even a gathering of 2 people is impossible. Of course, you didn't say if they were all vegetarians.

I'm not surprised: I'll bet your ribs are great.

Doin my 2 $16 per slab Kentland's Whole Foods ribs today. My first cook since getting back.

 

[Untraceable]

If you ARE set on ribs, I usually plan for 3-4 people to 1 rack of ribs. Especially if there will be a lot of sides. So for 90 people, if it were me cooking, I'd cook from 22-30 racks total. IF you use rib racks, you'd still be hard pressed to get all those onto your 2 WSM's. You could, but they'd be packed FULL!

Its suprising how far a rack of ribs will go when there are a bunch of people. add in PP and I would say maybe 12 racks would cover the party. Even the biggest eaters tend to fail when there are alot of sides, snacks and beverages

 

[Canadian Badger]

Thanks again everyone. This is awesome info. I will take some pics and let you know how it all turned out.

 

[Meat Burner]

Thanks again everyone. This is awesome info. I will take some pics and let you know how it all turned out.

If you are set on serving ribs, you can pull it off by precooking some of them. It will not hurt the flavor. I have often heard a lot of folk think it enhances the flavor by freezing and then reheating. With your equipment, it would have to be done in stages, IMO. Go for it if you are up to it. Let us know what you decide.

 

[Canadian Badger]

Is there a way to bulk foil? Can I wrap more than 1 rack or is it better to put them in a pan and cover the top with foil? Basically I need to cut the time down by foiling. I pre smoked 9 racks and froze them. At the event I am going to do 21 racks on the 2 smokers from start to finish and when foiling I will add the defrosted racks. Pics next week.

 

[kcmike]

Is there a way to bulk foil? Can I wrap more than 1 rack or is it better to put them in a pan and cover the top with foil? Basically I need to cut the time down by foiling. I pre smoked 9 racks and froze them. At the event I am going to do 21 racks on the 2 smokers from start to finish and when foiling I will add the defrosted racks. Pics next week.

You're gonn'a be busier than a one-legged cat in a litter box... Good Luck!!

Quality will suffer a little by bulk foiling them in pans, but given the quantity you're doing with the limited space, I think it's probably a risk worth taking. Most folks won't know any different anyway.

 

[NorthwestBBQ]

I would cook 20 racks. 12 on the 22 and 8 on the 18. Very doable with rib racks.

 

[Big slick]

I would do the PP and ribs. Cut the ribs into individual ribs and you will stretch them out that way. Also put the PP before the ribs. Have you ever thought about brisket or smoked turkey? Turkeys and chickens cook quick and can feed a lot. You could more than likely fit 10 beer can chickens on the 22.5".

Which ever route you go please let us know how it turned out and what you ended up doing.

 

[DirtyDirty00]

i BBQ for about 50 people every year. I go nuts and make brisket, pulled pork, ribs ect. I make about 6-9 racks of ribs. Now thats not that much but usually i end up making WAY too much food. i usually end up with almost half my food left over. bottom line is... if your making other food as well then you dont need too many ribs. people will be picking and filling up on other foods as well.

especially if people are gonna be drinking beers. beer fills u up too.

 

[markdtn]

For our last 2 family reunions I have done ribs. In 2010 I figured 1/2 rack per person for 36 people (18 racks) and ended up with like 8 left over. This year I figured 1/3 rack per person for 28 people (9 racks) and we had about 2 left over. This was served with a full meal-corn on the cob, salad, bread, beans, tomatos, squash casserole (no alcohol). I think 1/3 rack per person is a reasonable estimate with a full meal.

 

[Canadian Badger]

I would cook 20 racks. 12 on the 22 and 8 on the 18. Very doable with rib racks.

This is essentially what I am doing. The Costco packs of baby back ribs come with 3 in each pack so I will be doing 8 on the 18" and 13 on the 22" WSM. I have done it this way a few times and it worked out fine.