"Alan S" > wrote in message
...
> For some reason ribs are a challenge for me. What is a spectacular recipe
> and how should I cook them to get equally spectacular results. I have a
> medium sized smoker with an offset firebox and I am tired of feeding my
ribs
> to the dog. (The dog on the other hand is always happy when I am cooking
> ribs, but he obviously doesn't have any taste. He even eats them without a
> cold beer to wash the awful things down with) When I cook ribs they are
> either a chewing exercise or mouth tanning dry, depending on what ever
> cooking procedure I am screwing up at the time. Please help.

Sorry to hear. Ribs are so simple and easy for me that I suspect your
problem lies not in your recipe and technique, but rather your fire skills.
If the fire is right and you BBQ them until they tear easily they will be
tender and juicy every time. Rub and sauce is just icing on the cake so to
speak. I typically do loin ("baby back") ribs and at about 225F they are
usually done at about 5.5 hours on my WSM.

I'm guessing your fire is not holding a steady and appropriate temerature.
Do you have a thermometer for it? Most of us BBQ at about 220-240 although
higher temperatures can be used. I personally use a Weber mokey Mountain
bullet smoker (aka "WSM") which is a million times easier to operate than an
offset smoker like you have. But with some effort you'll learn to keep a
steady temperature in your rig, and offsets do have their advantages.

Spare ribs are another cut to try, but I find loin ribs a greater crowd
pleaser, they take less time to prep, and they are good. At $3.85/lb loin
ribs aren't much more than spares in dallas, especially given that loin ribs
have a better yield than spares. With spares you end up with a bunch of odd
hunks of meat. If I want odd hunks of meat ... I'll buy them. If I want
ribs, well, I don't want a bunch of extra stuff. That's a good reasson to
get loin ribs.