NB: those pork ribs were delicious. Falling off the bone tender. Here’s what I did:

- Rub applied the night before, and swaddled in plastic wrap (that stuff will make a preacher cuss).
- Smoker lit at approximately 2pm; charcoal starter, with largish hunks of pecan wood for smoke.
- Flames died down, rack of ribs go on smoker, lid down at approximately 2:30pm.
- Smoked heavily for the next 2.5-3 hours, at 200-250°.
- Wrapped ribs in foil at approximately 5:00pm. Poured half a beer into the foil wrap. NB: I also added a beer-can chicken to the smoker at this point.
- Continued cooking for 2.5-3 hours.
- Pulled ribs and chicken from grill around 7-ish.
- Let ribs sit in foil wrap for 30 minutes.
- Chop and eat some chicken.
- Chop and eat some ribs.

Now, there are several things that I think helped make this a better rack of ribs than I usually get.

1. Keeping the temps a little bit higher than I do for a thick cut of meat; seems counter-intuitive to me.
2. Lots of smoke early; I poked and prodded the coals a whole lot LESS than I usually do. It seems to have made for better smoke. These babies were pink all the way through, and you could taste it in every bite.
3. Foil wrap; since it’s a thin cut, it will lose moisture rapidly, and we need moisture for “falling off the bone tender.”
4. Beer; is there anything beer is NOT good for? I answer my own question.

I still swear that rubs are over-rated as a flavoring engine. On ribs, since they’re skinny, it’s an OK thing — you’ll get the flavor in every bite. But the muss and fuss of putting the rub on the night before and wrapping it in Saran Wrap is pointless. I think you could make a thin sauce out of the rub spices and anything liquid (beer? Of course!) and get more bang for your buck. On the bigger cuts, briskets and shoulders, why not just go ahead and inject that thin sauce and get a smoke/spice flavor mix in every dang bite? Makes sense, but I think several weekends of experimentation are in order.

Now, on the rub part, I’m perfectly happy to be corrected by you geniuses. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, or using the wrong ingredients. I’ve used professional pre-mixed stuff, and made my own from what looks good on the spice shelf. Nothing has worked. There’s just no flavor penetration down into the thick parts of the cut, and if that don’t happen, what’s the point? What I’m looking for is hint of jalapeno or cayenne all the way through, and I ain’t getting there. Thus, the injection idea.

And yes, I’m making this all up as I go along. Pure seat of the pants. We’re talking about cheap cuts of meat here. I haven’t made anything inedible yet, and there are always people around who will finish off what I don’t eat.

Plus, you know — the advancement of the Art of the Smoke. It’s my duty…