Product Review – Rib-O-Latorfeatured

Please note…in the efforts of full disclosure I wanted to make sure that one point was clear prior to reading my product review. I purchased this product myself after much research and thought. I have not been given anything from the company in question and I am not affiliated with them in any way.

First let me explain what a Rib-O-Lator is. The Rib-O-Lator is a rack and tray system that you attach to a standard grill rotisserie, which then allows you to greatly expand the amount of cooking space on your grill or smoker. The Rib-O-Lator allows heat on both sides of the food and keeps the food in constant motion, which promotes even cooking. If you do not have a rotisserie kit for your grill or smoker, the manufacturer also sells a full rotisserie kit that can be used with either batteries or an AC adapter.

You can visit the manufacturer’s website Rib-O-Lator website to find out more about the product.

Alright on to my opinions…

Pros

• One of the greatest benefits of this product is that it allows you to rotisserie foods that normally would not be able to be put onto a traditional rotisserie kit. The benefits of rotisserie cooking is that it elevates the food away from the heat source and keeps it moving at an even speed. This allows the food to cook very slowly and evenly, which results in a more even cook and more moisture retained.
• The Rib-O-Lator allows you the benefits of this type of cooking with foods like fish filets, drumsticks, ribs, veggies, burgers, etc. Almost anything that you can fit on the trays can now be cooked rotisserie style. The possibilities are literally endless.
• The Rib-O-Lator greatly increases your amount of usable cooking area. Any avid griller can attest to a time when their grill just wasn’t big enough. I have had many times that I have to cook the different elements of dinner, in separate batches in order to get everything on the grill. The Rib-O-Lator allows you to cook your protein, starch and vegetables all at the same time.
• The product is built to fit onto any standard rotisserie spit, which means that you do not have to invest in a duplicate product.
• The Rib-O-Lator can be used on both the Weber kettle Grill and the Smokey Mountain. This further attests to the versatility of this product. On the website, there are very clear instructions for measuring your existing grill to ensure that the Rib-O-Lator will fit.
• The trays are very easy to clean. I usually first rinse them under warm water to remove the easy stuff. Then I soak them in warm soapy water and after a few minutes of soaking, I do an initial scrub with the dish brush to remove some more of the baked on stuff. Then I leave them soaking overnight and they’re perfect in the morning.

Cons

• My biggest complaint with the Rib-O-Lator is the amount of trimming that I have to do on my ribs in order to get them into the trays. I purchased the expandable trays, but even with that additional length, I am limited by the overall size of the grill. Depending on size of the rib rack, it’s possible to lose even 3 or 4 inches of meat. You are also limited by the width of the trays. There is additional meat loss from the width of each rack. If you do not trim the racks sufficiently, the trays will catch on each other during the turning process and cause one or more trays to flip over. This results in your ribs ending up at the bottom of your smoker or grill.

• If you do not properly counter balance each of the four trays, you will likely find yourself in another scenario that results in your ribs finding a new home at the bottom of the grill. If you are only cooking two racks of ribs, this is not a huge dilemma but unfortunately the warehouse stores often sell ribs in packs of three. Usually I use the trimmings to fill the fourth tray. At least that way I’m not wasting all that extra meat and it keeps the Rib-O-Lator happy and balanced!

If you are considering purchasing the Rib-O-Lator, I would definitely recommend getting the adjustable trays. In any situation I always believe in investing in the product that provides the most amount of flexibility. We have had a lot of grills over the past years, and it would have been very frustrating to limit our use of the Rib-O-Lator just because we might change our grill out.

The other essential piece of advice about the Rib-O-Lator is to install an “oh crap” rack under the food – if you are using it in a Weber Smokey Mountain or other barrel-type smoker. I always put one of the grilling grates into the lowest grate holder; this protects the meat from falling directly into the water pan.

In the end I firmly believe that the benefits of this product greatly outweigh the negatives. This is a great addition to any avid grillers arsenal of products. So far I have been very impressed with the quality of the product, the versatility that it brings to my grilling adventures, and the ease of which to use it.