Baby Back Ribs:

10/8 9:30 p.m. I just finished preparing three slabs of ribs for smoking tomorrow. I sprinkled them front and back with The BBQ Guy's Original Spice Rub and put them back in the refrigerator to let them marinade overnight.

I plan to cook them in my WSM using Royal Oak lump charcoal and a small fist-sized chunk of hickory wood for smoking. I cook them at 230 degrees on the top rack of the cooker. Baby backs take about 4 1/2 hours to cook, so they should be ready by about half time of tomorrow's first round of football games.

10/9 9:30 a.m. I started a 1/2 charcoal chimney full of Royal Oak and added the lit charcoal to the unlit lump in the WSM.

9:50 a.m. The WSM has reached 200 degrees and I add the ribs, two racks on the top rack and one on the bottom rack.

11:50 p.m. I wrapped the ribs in foil, meat side down on a goohy mixture of dark brown sugar and honey. I also added a few ounces of cherry juice. I usually use a grape juice/apple juice mixture, but didn't have any on hand.

1:00 p.m I unwrapped the ribs from the foil and check for doneness. The meat is beginning to pull away from the bone and the bones will separate from the meat with a slight tug by the fingers. I brushed the ribs with honey and sauce and let them continue to cook for another 20 minutes to firm the sauce.

1:20 p.m. I removed the ribs from the smoker. Time to eat!

I planned to post some pictures of the results, but unfortunately, the batteries in the digital camera are dead, but here's a picture of some ribs I cooked at a barbecue contest this past summer. These ribs received 4th place honors.

Your barbecue friend,

Brian Pearcy
"The BBQ Guy"
Phone: 734-658-1874
www.thebbqguy.com
Member Kansas City Barbecue Society
Member Florida Barbecue Association