Creating your own championship ribs

---

It is my opinion that anybody can cook delicious ribs from the avid weekend warrior to the seasoned professional. My 14 year old daughter lucked up once and grilled a tasty slab of ribs. Whenever I get a taste for barbeque and don't want to cook I'll go to Everrett's and Jones in east Oakland for a two way rib and beef combo with  hot sauce and two scoops of potato salad..Aw man I'm in heaven. Now lets take the housewife or househusband who is preparing tonight's dinner..well  the steps listed below probably wouldn't be necessary . Just a little trimming and seasoning then toss on the grill, but if you are having family and friends over, catering an event, or entering in some barbeque contest and want to leave a lasting impression on folks then read on

The first step when I prepare spareribs depends on which end I grab first. In any case they all come out the same. One of the real secrets to creating great ribs is to remove the  membrane on the back of the cut. This is the most labor intense part, and because of this some people don't bother doing it. If you are going to season and slowly cook the ribs not removing the membrane would block the absorption of the seasoning and smoke flavor from penetrating into the meat, so I recommend removing the membrane. God help you if while at a BBQ contest a judge bites into ribs you submitted with the membrane still attached for judging.

OK. On the the backside make a slit into one of the end bones. I take a dry paper towel to grab the separated  membrane and peel it off. Sounds easy huh? well doing two or three slabs yea no problem, but when you are looking at several cases with 10 slabs a case the thought of going to Home Depot and snatching up a few people do come to mind. While still on the backside there is a meaty flap called the skirt that hangs over the bones. Remove the flap. Don't  throw this away. Season cook along with the ribs. Chop into bite size pieces to nibble on or use to season baked beans. At this point scrape off any excess fat. The theory that fat adds favor is true in most cases, but if you're smoking the ribs and they are seasoned right and using a good wood you won't need the extra fat. Believe me there will be enough fat left on.

Flip slab over next. Cut away the sternum and cartilage. Don't throw them away. Season and cook along with the ribs. They become rib tips, and some  people like these better than my ribs. Cooking time will be different than the slab. On the small end of the slab there will be a chunk of meat which can be cut off (squaring the slab)

Rinse off ribs. While rinsing remove pieces of fat and meat you come across thats hanging around. Once this is done pat dry. Slabs should be room temperature. Putting cold ribs in the pit, on the grill, or hey in the oven means the coldness will have to cook out before the ribs start cooking. Here is where you can get creative. Seasoning the meat. This can be as simple as applying just salt and pepper, to mixing up your own dry rub made up of different herbs and spices recipes are easily  found on the web. There are marinades and brines you can try. Whatever you do write it down. Stick to it, fine tune it. This will become your signature. The top secret technique people will talk about, and come to expect every time they bite into your ribs.

The fire. Prior to 2004 Kingsford lighter fluid or whatever lighter fluid that was on sale was it. The same goes for the charcoal. Smoking put  a STOP to all of that. I now only use a chimney and electric heating irons to start my fire. Yes it takes a little longer for the fire to get going, but its worth it.

The fuel. When smoking I only use oak, apple, hardwood charcoal, and hickory. If you want to get serious about your barbeque  first you must stop using lighter fluid. If you have to use the pit you used lighter fluid in before clean it out thoroughly, better yet tell the ole lady or ole man you need a new pit put it on me. say Biglee said I need a new pit because the old one is ruined. Now I have use Kingsford charcoal briquettes to get the wood started. I should make it clear that  you are not going to stick a match to a piece of oak and get it started. I got desperate once. I normally use lump hardwood charcoal to get the wood started, but I ran out so I had to use the Kingsford briquettes and would you believe someone asked me if I used lighter fluid. I said no. Well what about charcoal. I said yes. The people I normally cook for are just that sensitive to taste. They damn near drove me crazy, when I started out. Lump hardwood charcoal is nothing more than oak wood burned down. In my opinion  it burns cleaner and hotter than charcoal briquettes. So I use it to start the wood, and at the end if I feel the meat is getting too much smoke.

I like smoking the ribs between 225 to 250 more toward the lower end. Thats if Big Bertha will allow  it . I told you on the other page how temperamental she is. She'll get at a temperature and just stay there for hours. Yes, I could open and close vents, but once again through trail and error I've learned to leave her alone if shes just a few degrees off

Cooking times vary depending on the size of the slab but 41/2 to 5 hours is the norm.  One of the ways I check for doneness,  is taking a pair of tongs grabbing the small end and letting the slab bend. If the bones on the large end start to pull apart they are ready. Once out of the pit. Set them aside for awhile. Let ribs rest. While the ribs are cooking there are things you can do to them, baste, mop, or spray with some type of your favaroite  liquid. What do I do? Well I've  already been criticized for giving out too much information, and its at this point that set my ribs apart from everyone else's.

The slabs are ready to slice. This is one of the busiest times during the day. All the slabs normally get done around the same time  People are ready to eat and giving you the evil eye, but don't let them throw you off your game. Slicing is just as important as anything else. Since the slabs are uniformed the bones will be roughly the same size. Slice don't butcher. At this point you can sauce or neatly place in a pan for serving and serve sauce on the side. If in a contest select the bones that are all the same size. Good Luck