Caveman Ribs You Can Be Proud Of

Cooking pork ribs is not something I do very well.  No matter what I've tried over the years they're just not as tender or tasty as ribs from a restaurant.  Doesn't seem to matter if they're babyback or spare ribs, dry rub versus mop, or sauce/no-sauce.  They've turned out dry and chewy, tough and sometimes burnt and charred on the outside.  The closest I've come to edible ribs are ones that I braised in the oven for two hours and then finished for ~10 minutes on the grill.  Yes, they were good but because I cooked them in the oven I just couldn't feel good about them.  A good friend of mine says that his best result comes from simmering his in apple juice and like me he feels like he cheated to get the end product.  Hells bells, we're men; we cook with fire; and ribs (the most primal of cuts) are not made to be cooked in a kitchen.  They're just not!

After 25 years of effort to fulfill my quest, and giving up several times along the way, I finally cooked ribs over smoldering wood and charcoal that rivaled ribs from a restaurant.  Yeehaw!!

A few things made this possible....

• the Primo Grill held the temperature steady and allowed me to smoke the ribs over indirect heat for just over four hours at ~230F
• Alton Brown and the Food Network.  This recipe worked very well.  I will adjust the dry rub for our palate next time around.  His tips on knowing when the ribs were done were most helpful.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/barbecue-st-louis-pork-ribs-recipe2/index.html

As much as enjoyed the ribs we also smoked a couple of pounds of chicken drumsticks at the same time.  Tossed them in a dry rub of paprika, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders and then 225F for 90 minutes (turned them half way through) and then into a roasting pan with smoky, spicy barbecue sauce.  Tracy and Josh enjoyed the drumsticks as much as the ribs.