Steve, I LOVE your 'by the pit' shots. You have enthusiasm that shows through in photos really well.
I have to admit I used to boil my ribs to "remove most of the fat" and get em cooked enough to where I could
oven roast them to perfection. But the next day they always got that stored taste to em, the flavor
that pork sometimes gets, kind of rancid oil flavor. But one trip to Memphis in May BBQ fest fixed my brain.
With smoking, the meat stays good for a LOOOoong time in the fridge, although sadly, it is never ever
as good as hot, even if you heat it back up. I guess it's cause I never had a big grill, and I would cook ribs in winter
as opposed to summer, when I rarely feel like eating much anyway. Curse of the hot south.
But that's what got the indoor oven method thing started. Plus I used to work in restaurants, and that's how
my old boss did it, boiled em in huge deep chafing dishes in the oven with crab boil, celery and stuff.
They were tender, but oh man how glad I am that I became a meat smoker.
Do you always cook your racks whole? I used to all the time, but now I like to St. Louis cut my ribs
and save the spare meat for use in Red beans instead of sausage. It is awesome. It also kicks a$$
in pintos. When you cook the rack whole, they always seem to break off at the cartilage point anyway.
http://www.bbq-book.com/news2006/html/october_2006.html for anyone who does not know what I mean.