6 More Indispensable Tips for Smoking the Best Ribs Ever

1. When buying pork ribs, look for plump, meaty racks with plenty of creamy white fat. (Generally speaking, pork spare ribs are meatier than baby backs, but baby backs make good bone for neophytes as they are quicker and easier to cook.
2. When buying beef back ribs, avoid “shiners”—that is, ribs from which most of the meat has been removed. (They’re called shiners because you see the shiny bone.) Rib roasts and steaks are expensive, so butchers often trim as much beef off the ribs as possible.
3. Never, I repeat never, boil ribs before putting them on the grill or smoker. Not only does the texture of the meat suffer, but those rich meaty flavors leach into the water. With proper heat control and enough time, you can cook the ribs as tender as you desire.
4. Repeat after me: ribs should not be fall-off-the-bone tender. (If they are, chances are they were steamed or boiled.) A rib should have a little chew to it: that’s why God gave you teeth.
5. If smoking ribs from start to finish, maintain temperatures on your grill or smoker of 225 to 250 degrees. If indirect grilling ribs, aim for temperatures between 325 and 350. The latter is a good strategy for a quick-cooking rib, like a baby back—useful if you need to put ribs on the table in a hurry.
6. For extraordinary bones, seek out ribs from heritage breeds of pig like Berkshire, Kurobuta, Duroc, Red Wattle, or others.

 
TRY THESE RIBS RECIPES:

• First Timer’s Ribs
• Memphis-Style Ribs
• Apple Spice Baby Backs with Cider-Rum Barbecue Sauce