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Pork ribs. There a few different cuts you can end up with. Baby backs are probably the most presentable if it's a visual thing, because they are the most semetrical with a nice little bone from one end of the rack to the other, no cross grain junk. Spare ribs can be a better value I think. Price per pound is usually better and the racks are bigger. But you have to inspect your "spare" cuts at the store, feel the package, feel for bone etc. Spares can sometimes be rib tips and kind of a belly cut. That's ok if that's what you are looking for, you can cook them the same and they taste good, it's just not as clean and predictable as a higher cut (closer to the spine).St Louis cut is usually a safe bet, it's a cleaned up spare rib rack. They trim the biscuit flap off the bottom of the cut.

Anyways, as far as cooking the ribs goes, you can do a multi step process with wrapping part way through or you can go full out chest thumping man card mode and thumb your nose at the foil.

I like to check the back side of the rack for membrane. If it hasn't been peeled by the meat cutter it will be slick and shiny. You can work a butter knife under it to loosen it, then grab with your fingers and peel it off like a big bumper sticker. I like to dry rub both sides of the rack and i start my cooking with the meat side up. I try for about 220-225 air temp in the cooker, I use charcoal. Some indirect placement or at least a good distance from the coals will help you. (This is just my opinion, I don't care for black, crispy burned food)

I add wood chips to smoke hard right away, I hit it with the smoke as soon as it goes on. My fav is s fruit wood like Apple or cherry, but hickory, alder, mesquite, what ever, it all works.

A popular process for a heavy rack is to cook)smoke at around 225f for 3 hours, then wrap in foil with 6 oz or so of apple cider added in the foil, meat side down, close the foil so you are trapping steam/moisture. 2 hours like that, same cook temp. Then you open the foil, carefully roll the rack back over meat side up and finish without foil. This is where you can brush on a sauce if you like. Cook for up to an hour like this to kind of firm the rack up a bit and caramelize the glaze (sauce) if you like.

Smaller, thinner racks will want reduced times for all of these steps. Thinner baby back racks may call for 2.5, 1 and maybe 1/2 hour.



If you don't want to mess with foil wrapping, you can shoot for 5-6 hours on the heat, bone side down and you can brush or mist with something like an apple cider mixed with vinegar to keep the meat from drying out.

noduck - Deer Riverish?