I made these using a dry rub from Chow Magazine and with a sauce very close to my last one. This is the first definite success I've had smoking ribs, and I think that I'll be using the old Weber kettle for smoking a lot more often.

Ribs:
Two racks cryopacked baby back ribs from Hen House.

Dry Rub:
From the July/August issue of Chow Magazine.

Big Time Barbecue Rub
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp granulated garlic (I used garlic powder)
1 tbsp granulated onion (I used onion powder)
2 tbsp paprika (I omitted since we were out)
2 tbsp chili powder (I used the hot chili powder from Penzey's)
2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp ground nutmeg

Combined all ingredients.

Preparation
I tried to remove the membrane from the back of the ribs but was unable to get it off. It really wasn't a big deal, but I need to look into how to do this. Rubbed the ribs with olive oil and patted on the rub. It really mixed with the olive oil and formed a good crust on the ribs. The recipe called for 1 cup of rub for three racks of ribs. I used more like a cup and a half on two racks.

The ribs then rested in the fridge for about four hours. When we got close to cooking time they came out to come to room temperature before going on the grill.

Cooking:
Used the Weber set up for smoking. I got a new hinged grate for the Weber so I could add wood and coals as necessary. I used a disposable aluminum roasting pan as a drip pan. This worked great because I could mold it onto the side of the kettle and get it as far away from the coals as possible. I added about a half inch of Apple juice and about a half a cup of Dewars Scotch to the drip pan.

Coals were lit at about 1:00. I used a chimney starter, full to the top with charcoal. At around 1:20 it was poured into the Weber, as far away from the drip pan as possible. I closed two of the three bottom vents, leaving only the bottom vent directly beneath the coals open. I added a few chunks of wet mesquite to the coals, put on the grill top and put the lid on the grill.

I gave it some time to come up to the temperature it would find. It started too hot, close to 400°, so I closed the lower vent completely. I added some more wet wood and finally the temperature started to come down to around 310°. I placed the ribs on the grill over the drip pan, and put the lid on the Weber with the top vent over the ribs so the smoke would be drawn over the ribs as they cooked. I reclosed the grill, put a glass candy thermometer through the top vent holes, and let it cook. My notes follow:

1:30 - 310°
    Ribs put on grill
1:56 - 310°
    Lower vent opened to 10%.
2:15 - 290°
    Opened lower vent to 25%
    Added a handful of dry mesquite and a few chunks of wet.
2:30 - 280°
3:00 - 275°
    Lit about 8 briquettes in chimney and added.
    Added about 6 chunks of wet mesquite.
    Splashed a bit of water on coals to cool.
3:15 - 290°
4:30 - 300°
5:20 - 305°

Just about perfect. The temperature held steady throughout the cooking process without too much fiddling. The ribs just looked terrific when they came off, and I actually had problems getting them off the grill. They were so tender they would fall apart when I tried to take them off with tongs. When I took them out we weren't quite ready to eat so I put them in a 300° oven to keep warm until we were ready.

Sauce:
3 cups catsup
1 tbsp Grey Poupon
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp Sririacha hot pepper sauce
1 tsp El Yucateco habanero sauce (the green stuff)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
dash cayenne
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp hot curry
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp honey
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Served with sauce on the side. I didn't ever brush the ribs with sauce.

Results:
Finally, a success. If I need to remember anything for next time it is to reduce the cooking time a bit. Also, if I really needed to keep them warm, a 300° oven is too hot. I think that helped to burn the ends a bit, but overall they were very good.

The Chow recipe called for one cup of dry rub for three racks of ribs, and I used quite a bit more. More like 1 1/2 cups on two racks of ribs. Although I think it might be nice to do, I'd definitely need to reduce the amount of salt in the dry rub. A few of them came off kind of salty.

Overall I'm very happy, though. The Weber kettle worked a whole lot better than I expected it to. The temperature stayed steady, which I think was my downfall with all my previous smoking attempts.

I'll be making ribs again soon.