Hanging ribs turns a Weber Smokey Mountain into something closer to a pit-barrel-style cooker: both grates and the water pan come out, and the ribs hang directly over the hot coals instead, with the drippings hitting the coals and feeding back into the smoke. It took me a few attempts to really dial this in — my first two tries were with meatier St. Louis style ribs and took 4.5-6 hours to get the timing right, while a later attempt with smaller baby back ribs came in at just 3-3.5 hours. The cut of rib matters here as much as the technique. Here’s the full story, including what went wrong along the way.

The Setup

To hang ribs on a WSM, remove both cooking grates and the water pan entirely — the meat hangs directly over the coals. I cover the bottom with a couple inches of unlit charcoal, then add about half a chimney of lit coals in the middle along with hickory chunks (a cherry chunk mixed in works nicely too). I remove the membrane from the back of each rack before seasoning. I slide a butter knife under one end of the membrane, which usually lets me peel it off in one sheet. Removing the membrane also lets the seasoning and smoke reach that side of the ribs directly.

 For the first attempt, I hung two racks of St. Louis style ribs (weighted a couple ribs deep) and monitored until the smoker settled at 225°F — top vent open, two of the three bottom vents open about a quarter turn.

  

 I sprayed with apple juice about once an hour, rotating the rack a quarter turn each time. The aroma from this method was noticeably different from a normal smoke, with the ribs hanging directly over the coals and the drippings falling onto the fire below. A couple hours in, I even hung a spatchcocked chicken alongside the ribs to make use of the extra space.

 Everything I had read said the ribs would cook faster using this method. At the four-hour mark, I removed two of the three racks and applied barbecue sauce. I left the third rack unsauced because that’s how my daughter prefers her ribs.

 I put the two sauced racks back in the smoker for another 30 minutes, then removed all three racks and let the chicken continue cooking.

 

 The chicken smoked for a total of about two hours, turned out great, and looked pretty neat hanging in the smoker.

I covered the ribs in foil and let them rest for a while before slicing.

 

 The flavor and aroma of the ribs were outstanding — better than anything I had prepared in years of smoking. The only downside was that they weren’t quite cooked long enough and needed a little more time. Believe me, we ate them anyway. They just weren’t as tender as I wanted them to be.

Attempt Two: Same Cut, Six Hours Instead of Four and a Half

Six weeks later, I went back to fix it — same St. Louis style ribs, same setup, but this time I planned for a full 6 hours instead of stopping early. “I positioned the ribs directly over the coals, held the smoker around 225°F, and rotated the rack a few inches left or right every hour or so. Starting at the 4-hour mark, I spritzed with apple juice every 30 minutes until they came off.

Getting them off the hanging rack without dropping anything into the fire took some care — I removed the entire rack with the ribs still attached and lowered it onto a large sheet pan, rather than trying to unhook each rack individually.

This time, it was exactly right — fantastic, moist, and tender all the way through. The extra 90 minutes made all the difference for this cut.

Attempt Three: Baby Backs, a Safety Fix, and a Much Faster Cook

On a later attempt, I switched to baby back ribs instead of St. Louis style — and being a smaller, thinner cut, they finished in just 3-3.5 hours, nearly half the time of the St. Louis cooks. I also made one important change to the setup: I added a grate at the bottom of the smoker, underneath the hanging ribs, as a safety catch in case a rack ever worked loose and fell. It’s a simple fix, but a rack landing directly in hot coals (or worse, somewhere it shouldn’t) is a real risk with this method, and it’s cheap insurance against it.

The results were just as good as the perfected St. Louis cook, in a fraction of the time — proof that the hanging method genuinely works well for either cut, as long as the timing is adjusted for size.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to hang ribs on a Weber Smokey Mountain? It depends on the cut. St. Louis style ribs (meatier) took 4.5-6 hours to get right — 4.5 hours undercooked them, 6 hours was correct. Baby back ribs (smaller, thinner) finished in about 3-3.5 hours.

How is hanging ribs different from smoking them on a grate? The water pan and grates come out, and the meat hangs directly over the coals. Drippings hit the coals and feed back into the smoke, and the aroma while cooking is noticeably different than a standard setup.

Is it safe to hang ribs directly over hot coals? It’s generally safe, but a rack can occasionally work loose. Adding a grate at the bottom of the smoker underneath the hanging ribs catches anything that falls before it hits the coals — a simple, cheap safeguard worth adding to the setup.

Do you need a special rack to hang ribs in a WSM? Yes — a hanging rack designed for the Weber Smokey Mountain is what makes this possible, essentially converting it into a pit-barrel-style cooker.

How many racks of ribs can you hang at once? It depends on the rack and smoker size. I’ve seen other Weber Smokey Mountain users hang 10–12 racks at once, although I haven’t personally loaded mine that heavily. In these cooks I hung two or three racks, with plenty of room remaining.

If hanging ribs isn’t for you, or you’re deciding between all four methods I use, check out How to Smoke Ribs: The Complete Guide.