(Todd Coleman)

Here are six simple tips for barbecuing ribs, from Kansas City's "Baron of Barbecue," Paul Kirk.

1. The most common pork ribs are baby backs and spareribs, which can be cut into St. Louis ribs and a 2" slab of rib tips.

2. To remove membrane from baby backs (if butcher hasn't done so), use your fingers and start from center. For spares, use a clean screwdriver and begin at one end.

3. Dry rubs should be sprinkled onto, not massaged into, meat.

4. Lying ribs flat in a cooker is okay, but Kirk prefers to hang them so dripping fat acts as a baste.

5. If you're cooking for a crowd, try this tip for fitting several slabs of spareribs onto a standard-size grill: Trim breastbone from each slab, then pull around into a circle, secure with string, and cook for 4–5 hours, until bones can be pulled apart. If you opt to baste, untie ribs, return to grill, and baste with sauce until heated through. A final tip: The tied ribs may be wrapped and frozen.

6. Ribs are fine without sauce.

RECIPE: Kansas City-Style Spare Ribs with Barbecue SauceAt Smokestack in Kansas City, spare-ribs, a particularly flavorful cut, are served with a sweet and spicy sauce. This recipe first appeared in our June/July 2011 BBQ issue along with Brooke Kroeger's story Ribs And Ritual.

SERVES 4–6

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE RUB:

1 cup light brown sugar½ cup paprika3 tbsp. ground black pepper3 tbsp. kosher salt2 tbsp. chili powder2 tbsp. garlic powder2 tbsp. onion powder1 tsp. cayenne2 racks St. Louis-cut pork spareribs (about 3 lb. each; see Barbecue 101 below»)

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 cups ketchup½ cup apple cider vinegar¼ cup sugar 1 tbsp. kosher salt1½ tsp. cayenne1½ tsp. celery seeds1½ tsp. garlic powder1½ tsp. ground cumin¼ tsp. fresh lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS1. Make the rub: Mix sugar, paprika, pepper, salt, chili, garlic, and onion powders, and cayenne in a bowl. Rub onto ribs. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a bowl, whisk together ketchup, vinegar, sugar, salt, celery, cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, and lemon juice; set aside.

3. Prepare your grill using the kettle grill, bullet smoker, or gas grill method, (see links for instructions) using oak wood chunks or chips (see Fuel and Flavor). Place ribs, meat side up, on grill grate. Maintaining a temperature of 225°-250° (if using a kettle grill or bullet smoker, replenish fire with unlit coals, as needed, to maintain temperature; see instructions), cook, turning once and basting with sauce the last 45 minutes of cooking, until the tip of a small knife slips easily in and out of the meat, 2–4 hours. Serve with remaining sauce.

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