
How to cook ribs on the grill —
For killer ribs, you don't need a giant, pro-style smoker. All it takes is a grill, some wood chips, and a disposable roasting pan filled with water to convert a into a makeshift smoker.

After we figured out a way to turn the grill into a smoker, we also found a few ways to cut down on the time it takes to make this dish. Traditionally, Memphis dry-rub ribs are a 24-hour-plus project: The racks are rubbed with spices, left to sit overnight, and then slow-smoked for the better part of a day. Here's how we mimicked the smoky, pleasantly chewy results in less than half the time.

St. Louis-style (as opposed to baby back or classic spareribs) refers to spareribs that have been trimmed of belly and skirt meat and excess cartilage. The minimal fuss involved in using them makes them our top choice for barbecue.

Because the meat layer is so thin, an overnight rub is unnecessary. Applying the rub (a blend of salt, brown sugar, paprika, and other spices) just before cooking infuses plenty of sweet-spicy flavor.

Thanks to our grill setup, we get great smoke flavor by grill-smoking the ribs for 1½ hours.

We then transfer the ribs to a low oven to cook 2 to 3 hours more. Water added to the baking sheet helps keep the meat moist.