We don’t play around with barbecue down south. It’s serious business. To us, it’s much more than summertime duty. It’s a year ’round institution. From January to December folks fire up the grills and keep the flames flowing.

That’s why when you say the ‘B’ word around here, only one thing pops into my mind &045;&045; pork. Barbecued pork, that is &045;&045; lean, tender, slow cooked to perfection and glazed with a magical, finger-sucking sauce. There’s nothing better on the planet than pork barbecue; unless of course it’s more pork barbecue.

I won’t make any apologies and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I love the pig. Especially barbecued pig. I’m talking about barbecue ribs today, folks. I declare, it’s good eating.

There’s more to barbecuing than getting your grill going. You’ve first got to pick good meat.

Three basic rib ‘cuts’ are the spareribs (my personal favorite), baby back ribs, and country style ribs.

Spareribs &045;&045;

just call them ribs please &045;&045; are the long, narrow outer ends of the pig’s ribs, cut from the same underside area of the pig where bacon comes from (no wonder they’re so good). They are edged and streaked with glorious flavor-filled fat, but are still relatively lean.

Country style ribs are thick, very lean, meaty and boneless. They are cut from the shoulder end of the rib and have the consistency of lean, boneless pork chops. Baby back ribs &045;&045; the darling of many fast casual restaurants

&045;&045; are tender, short rib sections cut from near the backbone or loin area of the pig.

When buying pork ribs look for lean, fresh-looking meat that’s light to dark pink in color.

Avoid gray or dull brownish red meat. All visible fat should be creamy white and smooth, not lumpy, grainy or yellow.

Fresh ribs should look moist and feel firm to the touch through the plastic wrapping. You’ll probably purchase the ribs in racks, which means they’re attached to each other. Country ribs, however, are often sold cut in individual long strips to resemble ribs.

The best way to handle ribs on the grill is to leave them attached as a rack. If cut and grilled separately there’s the potential of overcooked, dried edges. Besides, it’s much easier to baste and turn a rack than individual ribs.

It’s all a matter of taste, but some folks boil or bake ribs before grilling to ensure tender meat and to cut down on grilling time. I do neither. I start with a good, lean rack and remove excess fat if any. I periodically baste with a mixture of water, just a touch of vinegar or bourbon, salt, and pepper.

Then I let the charcoal and the grill

work it’s

slow magic. Depending upon the size and thickness of the rack, it can take 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes for the ribs to get done. Just before, I slather on a thick coat of my favorite barbecue sauce and let the heat cement the sauce to the meat.

When I don’t have time to make homemade barbecue sauce, I buy a bottle of my favorite and doctor it up.

Try this smoky sweet, cayenne-spiked, hang-on-to-the-rib barbecue sauce: mix together original Bulls-Eye barbecue sauce with hot sauce (Cholula, garlic or chipotle Tabasco, Louisiana), cayenne pepper, garlic powder, black pepper, honey.

Send questions to The Kitchen Scientist at:The Kitchen Scientist, c/o Oasis Newsfeatures, P.O. Box 2144, Middletown, Ohio 45042.