BBQ Recipes for Grilling Smoked Barbecue Spare Ribs

Learn how to cook BBQ ribs quickly and easily. Also find the best barbecue sauce for ribs.

It's that time of year again; it's time to bring out the ol' summer favorite: the BBQ grill. Whether you have a gas, smoker or the old stand-by, charcoal grill doesn't matter, you can have this weekend's ribs ready for the party with a minimum of hassle.

In case this is your first time, or you just want to brush up on your BBQ'ing skills, here are a few things that you might need:

The first - and arguably most important - thing you'll need to get your BBQ off to a smoky start, is some meat.

Pretty much any type of meat can be cooked on a barbecue, but we'll focus on Spare Ribs.

Lets face it, recipes abound all over the net for the perfect BBQ ribs. Some are better than others, but in the end they'll all tell you the same thing: how to grill BBQ ribs. This article is no different.

I encourage you to check out other recipes and try 'em all! What have you got to lose?

Spare ribs have more fat and therefore take longer to smoke on the barbecue than baby back ribs. The good news is that not only will your guests will fill up faster, but the meat will taste much better and be juicier. And you know what that means, right? Your BBQ will be da bomb!

Baby back ribs have different cooking instructions, so we'll discuss them another time.

About 8 hours before the party is when to marinate them. You'll want to use an acid-based marinade sauce - something that's citrusy or has vinegar in it. This will tenderize the meat for you, making your job much easier (and tastier). Make sure to remove the thin membrane before doing anything else.

When you're ready to start cooking, fire up the grill nice and hot - maybe 250 F or so. Remove from the marinade and pat it dry.

You are not going to cook these babies directly over your heat source. If you're using a charcoal grill, move all of the coals to one side and cook the meat on the other. On a gas grill, you'll heat up the whole grill, but turn off the burner where your rack will be.

Be sure to cut off any excess flaps of meat. That way everything can cook nice and tender. Those can be cooked and savored separately.

Once you've got the ol' girl up to about 250 F, it's time to get cookin'. Tenderly place the rack, bone-side down onto the grill. If you're going to baste, this is when to start. You won't need to turn them over unless you feel that they're not cooking evenly.

After a couple of hours, you'll want to check the ribs. If they're just starting to become easily separated from the bone, take them off, wrap them in the aluminum foil and baste them again.

Now you're going to cook them for about an hour until well-browned (they should be about 200 F) and easily able to be separated from the bone.

About 20 minutes before they're finished is when you'll want to add your favorite BBQ sauce.

There is a wide range of BBQ sauces available and all are can be good or bad based on personal preference. When serving guests, unless you know ahead of time what everyone likes, it's best to go with something mild.

Tom's makes great BBQ Sauce and has a variety of sauces for any occasion. Poke around and buy more than one bottle - you can always use them later.

If this is your first time, don't worry about perfection. Like all good things, this takes a bit of skill, but truly the only way to get better is by practice.

Do I hear a call for another party? You betcha!