I can't answer many of your questions except yes the barbecue sauce tends to burn if you put it on early.

The other thing is if you want really meaty ribs get what is called Country Style Ribs. They say they aren't really ribs at all, but they are delicious when smoked.

Beverly

Low and slow is the basic thing when smoking most anything. I'm thinking around four to five hours should do your ribs just fine...just watch for the meat to start pulling away from the bone.

As far as that crust goes, it's just gonna happen....my favorite part. I'm not getting you searching for fat after they are cooked? Most of that should have cooked or rendered out during the cooking process. If you are going to sauce them do it at the end like Beverly mentioned. I serve sauce on the side with smoked ribs and most people pass on it.

Hope that helps a little and enjoy!!

David

First of all, without question, baby back ribs are always much more meaty than spare ribs - that's an established, well-known fact. 2nd: hard, black charring is not good and shouldn't happen. It's actually a potential "carcinogen" to even be eating that black char. I normally season the baby backs and then cook on med. heat (we have a gas grill BBQ)on both sides till 3/4 cooked through (maybe 40 mins.), keeping more on the bone side down and watching them carefully. If they're constantly flaring up, your heat is too high. Turn down. When about 10-15 min. from being done, I then brush on BBQ sauce on both sides, turn down BBQ a little, and cook on both sides. I never get charred ribs nor should you using this method.

I do the same as lakeguy. Long and slow with indirect heat is the only way to smoke ribs. Anyone who is making them over direct heat is grilling them and that is a totally different method completely.

I use a dry rub on the ribs and let them sit overnight in the fridge. The flavors seem to really sink in well that way. When I get the smoker started, I like to keep the temp around 250. I have an off-set smoker box, so it takes a little fiddling, I'm not sure how the electric ones work (do you st the temp?), but you are shooting for the meat to be at 250 for about 4-5 hours. I like hickory or fruitwood the best with pork, but that is certainly a personal preference.

BBQ sauce should either be passed separately at the table, or put on at the very end and the ribs should then be grilled over direct heat for a very few minutes.

Alexa

Classic BBQ Rub:
2 tablespoons smoky paprika
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 teaspoon oregano, crushed

Combine paprika, salt, sugar, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, pepper, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt and oregano in bowl; mix well. For a smoother rub, puree ingredients in a spice grinder until well combined and all pieces are uniform (the rub will be very fine and tan in color). This step is important if adding to any homemade barbecue sauce.
Extra rub can be stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yield: about 1 cup

I double checked my instructions and it says to keep them at 225 - 250 for 3 to 5 hours, so it sounds like there is a lot of leeway depending on the thickness, etc. David is correct though, you want to see the meat pulling away from the ends of the bones.

Alexa

If you want your ribs falling off the bone this recipe will do it:

Rub night before & wrap in plastic wrap.
Take off plastic wrap & smoke at 225 for 3 hours.
Wrap tightly in foil at the 3 hour mark & cook another 1-2 hours (depending on the thickness of the meat).
Remove from foil and place back into smoker (sauce if you want to at this point) for 30 minutes.

Rub recipe I use:
Dry Rub:
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons kosher salt

If you want to jazz up the ribs a little add a tbs of chili powder and a teaspoon of cayenne to Lisa's rub recipe.

Next weekend sounds perfect for trying the ribs. I have found in the store the country style ribs and ribs called Texas style. They look similar. Do you think there is much difference in the two? Also we have a rib rack. Should we use the rack and stand the ribs up or just lay them flat on the grill? I think I will also be craving macaroni and cheese and Paula Deens banana pudding. It won't be a diet weekend!! :)

If you use a rack you can get more ribs on the grill at the same time.

If you are interested you can watch a Good Eats episode about ribs on You Tube. Just search for "Good Eats S2E13P1: Pork Fiction" on the site. He talks about dry rubs, membrane, etc.