Of all the things we make on our gas cooker, pork ribs are certainly one of our favorites. Over the years I have been tweaking the recipe. Cooking time and temperature and whether to wrap are big parameters. If you start cruising the internet you will find all sorts of "experts" who tell you how to do it. Those posts must be taken with a grain of salt, but there is always something to learn from them. One of the best is two part by Aaron Franklin (of Austin's Franklin BBQ fame). You can see it here and here.

One of the factors that I find difficult is temperature. There are so many variables. After years of experimenting and calibrating I decided to just use the thermometer on the cooker lid. So much easier. My technique is very simple. Maintain 250-260 F on the thermometer and let her rip for 4 to 4.5 hours. In the past my efforts have led to getting an overcooked result. Tasty, but not much fun because it falls apart. That is why I stopped wrapping the ribs. Keep a can of water in there to help keep things juicy. Your results may vary.

Todays effort was an experiment. Both pieces were subjected to some oil and my usual rub. After about 3 hours in the cooker I sprayed one with diluted apple cider vinegar every 20 minutes. The other I applied coats of a diluted BBQ sauce on the same schedule. Today it took 4.5 hours.

Both ribs were excellent. The first case gave a very tasty savory bark flavor. It is a flavor that we are familiar with. The second gave a sweet and savory flavor which was most excellent. Ginny and I agreed that although both were very tasty the latter was our favorite. And so ends the experimentation. Life is good, don't mess it up.