Grilled spare rib recipe
- Submitted by Wayne, Walpole

The night before you plan to cook the ribs, remove the membrane from the backside of the ribs (a filet knife is useful) and cut the rack into individual serving sizes (about 1 pound each). Marinate the ribs overnight in apple juice, as the pectin in the juice helps to break down the muscle fibers.

The next day, remove the ribs from the juice and coat them generously with a dry rub (multiple flavors are available at specialty food stores on on-line); work the dry rub into the meat with your fingertips so that it absorbs some of the residual apple juice.

Turn your (gas) grill on to the lowest setting possible -- the temperature should be in the range of 220 to 250. Higher temperatures will cause the meat to toughen. At this temperature it will take about 90 minutes to completely cook the ribs. Put the ribs on the grill with the meat side down. After 45 minutes, turn each portion over. Cook for another 30 minutes. Then use a pastry brush to apply barbecue sauce to the meat side only. You will have better success with thinner sauces, not those that resemble catsup in texture. My personal favorite is "Bone Sucking Sauce", which can be found in most food stores. Apply the sauce generously, and let the ribs cook another 15 minutes.

One mistake that is commonly made is applying the barbecue sauce too early. Two of the primary ingredients in any barbecue sauce are tomatoes and sugar, both of which burn easily and at low temperatures. Applying the sauce too early will give the ribs a, shall we say ... "Cajun" character. (Blackened!)

Also, it is not overly beneficial to use wood chips for flavor, since so much of the ribs is actually bone, and the bone fights the ability of the meat to absorb the flavor. Save the smoked flavor for poultry or boneless cuts of pork or beef.