Smoke 'Em if You Got 'Em

This last weekend was glorious here -- weather in the 50's Saturday, 60's on Sunday, and pushing 70 on Monday. We spent Sunday picnicing, going for a drive in the country, and grilling bison burgers. It felt more like June than April.

I also managed to get the grill and smoker cleaned up and ready to go for the coming summer, and I'm kicking things off THIS Saturday (regardless of the weather) with a rack of spare ribs. I'm thinking I'm going to smoke them dry the first half of the day, just to get plenty of smoke on them, but I'm definitely finishing them wet -- I love sticky, sweet-hot wet ribs with layers and layers of cooked-on sauce. in fact, I prefer a thicker sauce with ribs than with either brisket OR pulled pork (in fact, I like my pulled pork sauce to be very Carolina-inspired). Of course I'll be continuing my practice of making the sauce from scratch, and giving them an Oregon twist -- the sweet base will be blackberry jam (strained to remove the seeds, of course) from blackberries picked in my own back yard. And I'm making a batch of my Killer BBBBBBBeeans (That's Blackberry, Bourbon, Beer, & Bacon Barbecue Baked Beans). Sunday we're out to my aunt and uncle's place in Veneta for Easter dinner.