Pick up the Spare

Growing up, I thought ribs were the height of culinary achievement. Of course, when I thought that I also didn't know what culinary meant or very much about food. I also believed the hype from all the crappy chain restaurants that their baby back ribs were the best. It is pretty easy to fall under their spell. I mean what could be bad about uber tender pork ribs slathered in a sugary sauce?

Somewhere along the way I ate good ribs and discovered that properly prepared spare ribs could be amazing. What was happening here that wasn't happening in the chains? Why did their ribs suddenly lack so much flavor that good BBQ had?

Mostly, it's cooking method. To make those ribs fall off the bone they boil them, pressure cook them and do all kinds of crazy stuff. Of course then all the flavor is floating in a stock pot and you are left with grey, flavorless meat that needs thick sauce to be edible.Come with me as we free ourselves from the tragedy of mega-chain ribs and discover the joy of properly prepared spareribs. Yes, it will take time. Yes, it will require effort. Everything good does.

We start with a full, uncut rack of spare ribs. A full

rack of spareribs is a pretty big chunk of meat and you have a decision to make. Some places like to cook the ribs as they are as a whole rack. This results in large but messy ribs. Others, myself included, prefer the St

. Louis cut treatment. The St. Louis cut basically involves dividing the main rib bones from what is known as the brisket. The brisket contains a seemingly random collection of bones, cartilage, fat and meat. The brisket is not, by any means, bad meat it is simply more complicated. The additional fat and bone actually makes for some incredible flavor.

Whether you divide and conquer or cook the slab whole, you need to first flip the slab over where you will notice a strip of meat running diagonally across the rack. Using your favorite knife, slice this off close to the bones.

You will also notice that there is a membrane covering the bottom side of the ribs. This membrane is great at keeping the pig's innards away from the meat but unfortunately it also keeps smoke and flavor out, too.

Getting rid of it is pretty difficult. You are going to have to treat it like a particularly difficult sticker that won't come off. Find a corner, pull slowly until it bre

aks and start again. There are a lot of tips out there and I struggle to make any of them work. You will be rewarded for your efforts in removing this membrane.

To make the St. Louis cut, you need to find where the main bones meet the smaller ones. One way to do this is to find where the rack will flex. Use your knife blade to feel out the joint and cut through it. Carefully work your way through the rack until you have two beautiful slabs of ribs. (If you are really uncomfortable, a good butcher would no doubt cut this for you.) Trim off any loose or excessive fat and dangling bits of meat.

Now that you have done the slicing and trimming it's time to season. I always start by rubbing everything down with a little yellow mustard. Then I break out some dry rub. Whatever dry rub you like will be fine. Where Adam likes to make his own rubs, I am lazy and buy my rubs premixed. Laugh all you want but they are actually very good. Wrap your ribs in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge overnight. You didn't want to eat ribs right away did you? Remember, good things take time.

About five to six hours before you plan on eating it will be time to st

ward the firebox or coals and close the lid.art cooking. Get whatever vessel you bbq in hot and stabilized at 225 degrees. It is very important with ribs not to get overheated as the thinner cut of meat will cook quickly in high heat. Take your ribs out of their plastic wrapping and arrange them on the top ra

ck (if you have one) as far away from the fire as they can get. Lay the thicker end of each slab to

While the smoke is making beautiful music with your ribs you need to think about mopping. No, not your kitchen. You need to mop your ribs. All that dry heat can suck the life out of ribs and ruin your day. Most mop recipes call for three basic ingredients: vinegar, something slightly sweet, and something really savory. Mops are a great way to add subtle and complimentary flavors to your BBQ as well as keeping it moist. As I am usually unprepared, I made a mop out of what I had in the pantry. I always keep apple cider vinegar around so that was the base. I had a can of pineapple so I added the juice. (Pineapple rings are a good snack for a hungry cook, too.) Then I happened to have some soy sauce around so I added a dash of that. Some freshly ground black pepper for spice and a touch of olive oil for no good reason at all. Some cooks say absolutely no sugar and they are wrong about that. You need to keep the sugar content very low but a little sugar will do lovely things in the low, slow heat of the pit.

So how long is it going to take these ribs to cook and should I use aluminum foil to speed it up and tenderize?

The answer to all of these questions is: It depends. It depends on what you want. There is a common method that goes around on BBQ websites called the 3-2-1 method. 3 hours on the smoke, 2 hours in the foil and one more hour out of the foil to finish up. Its catchy and easy to remember but it is also not a good recipe. Two hours is entirely too long to be in the aluminum foil and six hours may well too long to cook the ribs. Mine are usually at their peak at 5 hours. (Results will vary, of course.) If you foil your ribs for two hours they will get completely steamed and definitely fall off the bone. In fact, you won't be able to get them off the grill without them falling apart. I cook my ribs for 3-4 hours on the smoke, then no more than 30 minutes in foil and finishing off with another hour on the smoke.

Finishing sauce is another question. Some cooks like to baste their favorite barbecue sauce on the ribs during the last hour to caramelize sugars. I have no problem with this but you should definitely try it without. When you get to the point that you are making ribs and don't want sauce, you have achieved the Tao of smoke. Knowing when the ribs are done is kind of a touchy-feely process for me. Once you know its close to time, gently tug on a bone or peel up a stray bit of flesh and see how tender they are. If they offer a little resistance but come free pretty easily, you are there.

To serve, take a good sharp knife and cut through evenly between the bones. With the brisket section, just cut through it in inch wide sections. This will be a struggle if your knife isn't sharp but why isn't your knife sharp? If you aren't serving immediately, wrap the ribs back up in aluminum foil and keep them warm. My oven has a warming drawer and an hour in there did the ribs no harm.

So go ahead and get cooking, my friend. Barbecued spare ribs fresh from the grill is an awe-inspiring feast. Be fore-warned that will suddenly have numerous new friends and your current friends will want to come over more. Your local TG Apple-McTuesday restaurant will seem bland and fake while even your local barbecue joint might seem wanting. You however, will be the Zen-master of the barbecue.