The thermodynamics of barbecue. You may have thought you left physics and chemistry behind when you left school, but if you want to eat well, you need to understand that cooking is all about physics and chemistry, with a little magic mixed in. Here are some broad concepts every outdoor cook needs to know.

Meat science. The basic concepts you need to understand in order to make Amazing Ribs.

Best setup for a gas grill. Yes, you can get real smoky, authentic tasting barbecue on a gas grill. Here's how.

The Zen of Charcoal. Here's what you need to know about cooking with hardwood, hardwood lump charcoal, charcoal briquets, and the new "Competition Briquets".

Best setup for a charcoal grill. Forget what the Weber folks say. Here's the best way to set up a charcoal grill for real barbecue.

Best setup for an offset smoker (and modifications you can make). These popular smokers have some problems that can ruin your meal. Overcome them and you'll love the output. This article has tips for setting up a COS as well as hot to modify it.

Best setup for a Weber Smokey Mountain and other charcoal bullet smokers. The WSM is one of the best backyard cookers available and the Brinkmann Bullet is another popular unit. Here's how to ignore the manual and set them up right.

Do this before you start: Mise en place. It's French and it means, roughly, "everything in its place", and it is the best thing from France since the Pinot Noir grape. It can prevent disasters. The basic concept is to get all the ingredients out and ready first. Chef Anthony Bourdain calls it his religion. The Boy Scouts have a similar motto: "Be prepared".

Stop the basting, mopping, and spritzing. Some bastes can add flavor, but the tradeoff of this small amount of flavor is negated by the bad things that can happen by basting.

Glossary of terms. First, let's define some terms: What is barbecue? What are Amazing Ribs? How does it differ from grilling and smoking? What are baby backs, spares, country ribs, riblets, rib tips, rib roasts, and the St. Louis cut?

What is barbecue? Barbecue has almost as many spellings as definitions: Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, Bar-B-Q, Bar-B-Que, Bar-B-Cue, 'Cue, 'Que, Barby. Let's try and get a handle on what barbecue means. Is it hot dogs on the Hibachi or whole hog cooked for 12 hours over logs. Or both? Here's the definition of barbecue and the history of the word.

The story of barbecue. Some chauvinists like to think that barbecue, like jazz, is an American invention. Alas, it is not. Roasting meat over a fire has been around since naked humans lived in caves and long before refrigeration, smoking meats was a worldwide method for preserving it. Here's the story of how barbecue began and its evolution.

The invention of barbecue: Dissertation on roast pork. The Chinese may have invented barbecue. Here's how.

What are Amazing Ribs? The ribs the world loves best are from the American South, barbecued, with a perfect balance of porcine flavor, silky mouthfeel, springy texture, and juiciness framed by a kiss of smoke, hugged by the sweetness, acidity, and spiciness of sauce, and licked by fire. Here's my definition of what Amazing Ribs taste like.

Saucing strategies. The most common error we make is adding the sauce at the wrong time. Here's how to get sizzling sauce without burning it.

Use a cooking diary. Take notes! Whenever you cook, keep a log. Make notes on the meat, the prep, the cooker temp, ambient temp, the wood you used, how it tasted, and what improvements you need to make. Here's a printable version of my cooking log.

The Texas crutch. Boiling ribs turns the meat to mush, but this technique makes it tender and juicy.

Keep your meat warm with a faux Cambro. The problem with outdoor cooking is that the temp isn't as easy to control as indoor cooking. So you can never be 100% sure when things will be ready, especially when you're cooking low and slow. So here's the solution. Get it done early and hold it in a faux cambro, aka beer cooler.

Reheating leftover ribs. Of course I always eat all the ribs I'm served, but if you should have leftovers, here's how to freeze, defrost, and reheat them.

Beware of rib racks. Wire rib racks hold ribs slabs on end and allow you to pack in more meat. They can help, and they can hurt.

Ribs in a hurry Memphis style. Use the Memphis method for cooking over direct heat and get them done in a hurry.

Important weights, measures, and conversion tables. Sure, you know how many teaspoons in a tablespoon (don't you?), but do you know how many tablespoons in a cup?

...more to come (to be notified when new recipes and other articles come online, be sure to subscribe to my free, spam free, email newsletter).