I've posted a few times in the past regarding pork spareribs I've
smoked, usually w/ less than stellar results. Today, I smoked four
racks ($1.89 lb at Giant Eagle this week), and they actually came out
great- "falling off the bone" tender. I used Royal Oak lump and several
handfuls of Jack Daniel's wood chips made from their oak barrels used
to age their whiskey. The only problem was the BBQ sauce I made- the
wife likes it as sweet as possible, and I prefer it be not so sweet. It
was way too sweet for my tastes, but the wife loved it. The company
loved them as well- my cousin alone was good for about a rack and a
half himself! As for the ribs, I smoked them for 3 hours, then wrapped
them in foil for about 2&1/2 hours, and then took them out of the foil,
and cooked them for about 1/2 hour, during which time I applied the
sauce. I've never used this method before- I've always smoked them
directly on the grates w/o the foil. The other difference was how I put
them on the grates. Before, I always put them on the grates meat side
up. This time, both directly on the grates and in the foil, I put them
meat side down, except for the last 15-20 minutes, when I applied the
sauce. To what do you attribute the difference in quality (much better)
this time vs all the other times? Would you say it was the method I
smoked them, or the way I put them on the grates- meat side down this
time instead of meat side up?

Either way, it seems I've turned the corner in regards to smoking pork
spareribs- thanks in no small part to all the expertise that is
represented here!

Thanks once again for your help/suggestions!!

Jim