Now that the summer grilling season's about to kick in, let's consider perhaps the mother of all barbecue meats. Yes, we're talking ribs – a juicy, perfectly smoked slab that's as messy as it is tasty.

This kind of barbecue bliss isn't easy. Plenty of patience is required – four hours and up for full spare ribs if they're slow-cooked in a wood smoker – not to mention finding that perfect blend of rubs and sauces to bring this barbecue into harmony.

So, where to start with a rack of ribs?

Let's check in with Jamie Purviance. He's a James Beard-nominated author and chef who calls El Dorado Hills home. Purviance is also the author of "Weber's Time to Grill: Get in. Get Out. Get Grilling." (Oxmoor House, $24.95, 304 pages). That's to say, Purviance is the right guy to consult for tips on barbecuing ribs.

"I'm not sure I've had the perfect rib, which is part of the fascination that gets me back to the smoker," said Purviance. "There has to be this kind of harmonic effect where several elements are in seamless balance. There's the pork itself, then the spice-rub mixture, then the wood smoke, then the sauce. If all those things are in proportion, but with the meat being the star, you have a good chance at a near-perfect rib."

Now listen up close. You just might take your ribs to a whole new level. Grab a Wet-Nap and heed the following tips, also known as "the commandments of 'cue":

Thou shalt cut thy ribs St. Louis style

For full spare ribs, you just can't beat the St. Louis cut. This calls for removing the skirt meat from under the rib and cutting through the brisket bones to form a rectangular-shaped slab. Unless you've got solid knife skills, get some help from your butcher to get that perfect St. Louis cut. This technique allows uniformity for cooking and seasoning.

Also make sure to remove the membrane from the bottom of the ribs. Leaving the membrane on will get in the way of smoke and seasoning penetration.

Shop for a slab that has plenty of fresh, pink color and is well-marbled with fat.

"More marbling is generally better, but you also want these wisps of milky-white fat evenly distributed," said Purviance. "If you see a big fat cap over part of the slab, that's not a good thing. Nobody wants to eat a huge glacier of fat."

Thou shalt remember that parboiling is for rookies

Nobody said ribs were the healthiest thing to eat, but for a truly tasty rack there's got to be plenty of fat. Keep the cooking temperature slow and low to allow fat to melt and create a basting effect on the ribs. That's to say, the fat is the flavor.

So why would any self- respecting pit boss strip that fat away by parboiling ribs? Sure, you'll cut back on cooking time – but it'll also cut back on the quality of your 'cue.

"In theory, it's just a terrible idea," said Purviance. "I eat ribs primarily for the flavor of the pork fat, and know it'll be important to the juiciness of the rib. I just don't even want to go there."

Honor thy ribs with a tasty rub, but don't go overboard with sugar

Make the flavor sing with a dry rub. Some go-to seasonings for the rub include salt, paprika and chili powder. Purviance also likes to include dry mustard and granulated garlic. Just be careful with any sugar in your rub. That may add some nice sweetness but can caramelize easily and blacken your ribs during the extended cooking time.

Coat the ribs evenly with dry rub about 30 to 45 minutes before cooking. The salt will help draw moisture from the ribs to create a nice crust. And don't be afraid to experiment with new rub recipes.

"I don't think I've ever made the same rub twice," said Purviance. "It's fiddling. It's art."

Honor thy wood smoke, but go easy on the mesquite

Let's get something straight: True barbecue is a process, not a sauce. And that process is all about meat being slow-cooked with indirect heat and flavored with wood smoke. Cooking meat directly over flame isn't barbecuing. That's grilling.

Now that we've sorted that out, keep in mind that some woods are better suited for ribs. Stay away from mesquite, which creates smoke that's too pungent and bitter for pork. Consider mellower woods such as hickory, apple wood and other fruit woods.

"Think of hickory-smoked bacon, which is another form of smoked pork," said Purviance. "I'll use what I have, and I'll fiddle with oak and apple wood, but my preference is always hickory."

Treat thy beef ribs differently than you do pork ribs

We've focused primarily on pork ribs thus far, but sometimes there's nothing like gnawing on a big, "Flintstones" style beef rib. The trick is keeping beef ribs tender, as they're a tougher meat with less marbling and have a tendency to dry out quickly.

Purviance recommended cutting up a beef slab into individual ribs, placing them in a roasting pan with a flavorful liquid. For that liquid, he suggests a 50-50 blend of beef broth and wine, plus a little tomato paste and mirepoix (a combination of carrots, celery and onion). Your beef ribs will then be ready to rock.

"Let them stew in the liquid for a few hours while they absorb some smoke, turning them over every hour or so," said Purviance. "Once they are tender, take them out of the liquid and brown them over direct heat. This really works."

You shall not be punished for using the "Texas Crutch"

Cooking a perfectly tender rack of ribs takes plenty of practice and patience, but there's no shame in using a couple of shortcuts. Hey, competitors on the barbecue cook-off circuit use them all the time, and you can too in your own backyard.

Consider the "Texas Crutch." This trick is to sauce the ribs and wrap them in foil toward the end of cooking. No more smoke will enter the ribs, but wrapping them creates a kind of steaming effect that leads to extra-juicy and -tender ribs.

"Some of the barbecue boys in places like Kansas and Tennessee say they couldn't get their ribs tender enough without foil," said Purviance. "In fact, most competitors use it because it works."

Use thy tongs to test for doneness

Judging when your ribs are perfectly ready can be tricky. For full spare ribs, the rule of thumb for doneness is when a half-inch of bone is exposed on each rib; and a quarter-inch of bone for baby backs. If you insist on using a meat thermometer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends an internal temperature of 160 degrees and up.

Or you can try Purviance's method. He relies on a pair of tongs to let him know when his ribs are ready.

"Pick up a slab with a pair of tongs, and if it arches back on itself, the meat should begin to tear a little bit," said Purviance. "That's a good indicator that they're ready to come off the grill. Then put them in foil for 30 minutes or so to get tender while you're getting everything else together."

Thou shalt hold the sauce until the end of cooking

For some hardcore pit bosses out there, adding sauce to the barbecue is considered an insult. A well-smoked and seasoned rack of ribs needs only a little sauce for extra kick.

You're also liable to ruin that rack of ribs by saucing the ribs too early in the cooking process. That'll just make everything caramelize and blacken your slab before it has reached tenderness.

Purviance recommends waiting until the last 20 minutes of cooking time before adding sauce, or even holding off until the ribs are completely off the grill.

"I like to use sauce more as a glaze than a gloppy coating of paint," said Purviance. "Good roasted barbecue pork meat is close to perfect. All you're trying to do is give a little counterpoint of sweetness and spice. If you're just going to drench it in sauce, it doesn't matter what's underneath."

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