[Smokin Gator]

Colin, my ribs improved enormously when I realized they were easy to "over smoke" which created a really dark bark. Go for a clean burn with the thin blue smoke like Peter said. The other tip that really helped me was 3-2-1 for spares. That is 3 hours in the smoker at 225-235, two hours on the smoker but wrapped in foil with a little apple juice added, then one hour with the foil opened back up to reset the bark. Of course you will find you adjust that some according to how you cook, but it is a good rule of thumb.

I have found I usually go a little more than three hours before I foil. I get them to the color I want which is usually more like 3.5 hours. The last hour I check them frequently to get them right where I want them tenderness wise. It is usually more like 30 minutes or so.

For babybacks the times are shorter. I still do about three hours for the first segment, but start checking them after about 1.5 hours in the foil. Once they are a little more tender than I want them I take them out of the smoker, open the foil, and let them rest a bit to firm up the bark. The meat firms up as well.