Smoked Barbecued Spare Ribs
 

Cathie

8 - 10 lbs. of baby back pork sparerib racks
10 12 hickory hardwood chunks (Use the large chunks that are approximately the size of the palm of your hand rather than the hardwood chips)
Dry Rub consisting of mixed spices including 3 Tbsp. of fresh ground pepper and seasoning salt and one Tbsp. each of garlic salt, paprika, onion salt, ground hot pepper or pepper flakes, ground rosemary and any of your other favorite spices.
2 - 3 bottles of you favorite barbecue sauce

For Charcoal Grill -
Soak hardwood chunks in water for approximately 2 hours before using. Place charcoal briquettes around on one side of the charcoal grate 2-3 coals deep and apply lighter fluid. Light coals and wait until ash first appears on coals. Place tinfoil pie pan on side of grill on opposite side of from coal and fill with water. Place hardwood chunks directly onto hot coals and place cooking (top) grate on grill. Rub ribs with the Dry Rub of mixed spices on both sides. Place rib racks on cooking (top) grate and place lid on grill with air vents almost completely closed. You should soon see large amounts of smoke billowing from grill. Turn ribs a few times during the cooking process for even smoking.

For Gas Grill --
Soak hardwood chunks in water for approximately 2 hours before using. Place tinfoil pie pan on one side of grill and fill with water. Light other side of grill and, when hot, place hardwood chunks onto hot grill. Rub ribs with the Dry Rub of mixed spices on both sides. Place rib racks on side of grill over the pie pan. Turn gas grill down to low on the side with the hardwood chunks. Place top on grill with air vents almost completely closed. Turn the ribs during the cooking process for even smoking.

With either preparation method, you may baste the ribs with your favorite barbecue sauce towards the end of the smoking process. Again use your judgment on the timing of the sauce. If the fire is hot then wait until the ribs are almost done and the fire has died down somewhat before applying the sauce. The slow cooking through the smoke will turn the sauce into a thick glaze on the ribs. Since you are using indirect heat, the sauce will not blacken the ribs as is sometimes the case when using barbecue sauce over direct heat. The smoking process produces a lot of flavor all by itself so you may elect to leave some ribs without any sauce. The water in the pan will keep the ribs moist throughout the cooking process.