Charcoal Companion Steven Raichlen Non-Stick Ultimate Rib Rack

After 1 batch of ribs(4), here's what to expect. Loading rack was easy, if fit on the smoker (Trager) with no issues once I removed the upper rack. Removing the ribs was a 50/50 problem/no problem. half the ribs were a little thick, so it took a little effort to remove 2 of the 4 ribs. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning. Cleaning. was able to easily remove the baked on goodness from the rack, however with all wire racks, there's a ton of places to clean in order to completely clean. Storage is what it is. does not fold up and store away. so if space is a consideration, well you know. Overall very happy with the rack.

I've given this rib rack 5 stars and it merits every one of them. First, it's substantial, unlike some lighter-weight products that can barely support even a small rack of ribs. Secondly, its non-stick surface does just that. You will not find your ribs glued to the rack at the end of a smoke, even with sauces containing sugar. Which reminds me to remind you that you want to sauce the meat only during the final 10-20 minutes of a cook. If you want to add moisture earlier than that, find a spray bottle and sprits the ribs with apple juice. Lastly, a number of reviews faulted this rack for being hard to clean. Not so. You can avoid this alleged problem easily if (a) once the ribs are out, immediately place the rack in a sink/laundry tub filled with very hot water and a handful or two of dish detergent. Leave it overnight. (b) After a day has passed, drain the tub and thoroughly rinse the rack. You will find most of the residue was dissolved by the dish detergent, and that you'll be able to wipe away any leftover bits easily. I just finished cleaning ours and I was able to get it as good as new with nothing more than a few paper towels. At this point you can toss the rack in the dishwasher and run it on disinfect cycle...which is probably overkill. I've yet to go that far, and I've not poisoned the family yet :)In short, the above cleaning tips took longer to type up than to actually do. It's a no sweat means of keeping your rib rack in top shape, so please give it a try. And do buy this model. You'll not be disappointed.Slainte!

Was very impressed in the quality of this rack BUT it DID NOT fit my 18" Weber Smokey Mountain. The rack alone fits, but the rack full of ribs does not. Thankfully I have a 22" Weber Smokey Mountain as it DOES fit that smoker.Another comment I'd like to add to this review is that the ribs will/may touch each other during the cooking process which in turn will cause you to have "soft/wet" spots. As in, your smoke/heat will not touch those areas of the meat. End of the world? Nope. But if you like yourself a good bark on your ribs, you may want to reconsider.Lastly, cleaning this thing is a chore. Your rub/sauce/marinade will get into places that your fingers won't. And that gets old quick...All said and done, it's a very solid rack that has a couple "flaws" (imho).

I ordered this because all other racks are too large in the cross section to hold a half rack of ribs. This rack definitely fits my needs: I BBQ half rack of ribs. I also spray a little Pam on the rack before placing the ribs on the rack. Only problem, which is only a little problem: because of the design, it's quite difficult to clean the entire rack by hand, and you're not supposed to wash the rack in the dishwasher. The reason it's so difficult is because the rack is built to hold a whole pig at one time (just kidding!). If your hands are large, then cleaning requires some circus contortions to clean. So, I just soak the rack in hot, soapy water for a little while; the rack almost cleans itself! Great product, well worth the $$.

I bought a cheapie at the hardware store that looked like it would work. Nope.....not long enough or tall enough to support several full regular cut racks of ribs. The ends of the ribs flop down on each other because they were only supported upright for a short distance in the center. So went back to the store and bought a Weber rib rack because it looked more substantial. Nope....same problem. If I put four 2 foot long racks of ribs in either of those devices, the ribs wind up laying against each other at the ends. Not optimum for getting the smoke flavor into the meat.So I go online to Amazon as I should have in the first place and start looking for the largest dimension rib rack I can find. BOOM! I come across this bad boy, ..the Steven Raichlen "works as it's supposed to" rib rack. Put four 2 foot long slabs in there and each one stood perfectly on edge. No flopping down on the ends. The rack is wide enough and tall enough to get the job done.Don't waste your money on the pretenders......this is the one. Buy it.

As a neophyte rib smoker, I bought a lesser product and struggled with its use — nowhere near wide enough to support racks of ribs, much lighter gauge metal. After using Steve’s BBQ Rib Bible, I gave his proprietary product and am very pleased.(No rack I have found is easy to clean — that is not in this line of products’ nature.)

I really want to love this rack. I mean, Steve is the man and everything I have used with his name on it has been solid. Until now. I read the reviews complaining of rusting. I shrugged them off thinking they probably put it on the bottom rack of the dishwater or did not read the care instructions. Boy was I wrong.Upon receipt, I washed the rack (as I would do with any thing I cook or eat with). I hand washed is in warm water with a mild plant based soap. Pretty much dunked it and then used the soft side of a scratch resistant sponge. After rinsing I hand dried and set it on my counter for use with three racks of ribs the next day. The next time I looked at it, every weld point was rusted. Crazy. I mean every one. What a disappointment.If you do not mind rust, the rack is very solid and the handles are nice. The coating appears able to hold up (except at the welds). If I had not read the package, I would have assumed this thing is dishwasher safe. It looks and feels like a tank when you take it out of the box.