The first step towards Amazing Ribs is skin 'n trim. Here's how to do it.

There are two sides to a slab of ribs. The meat side is convex and meaty (doh!) and the bone side is concave and you can see the bones (double doh!). When the pig is slaughtered, the bone side has a thin, silvery membrane, the pleura. Some experts say that is like a rubber boot. It prevents flavors from the rub, the marinade, or the smoke from reaching the meat. I'm not so sure this is true. I am sure that it prevents the thick layer of fat under the membrane from melting and draining and it can get hard and parchment-like when cooked. Many restaurants leave the skin on. In competitions, if you leave it on, you lose. I recommend you remove it.

Many stores sell their slabs already skinned, but it's hard to tell when the slab is strapped into a styrofoam tray. Ask your butcher if the membrane has been removed, and if the answer is "no", ask if it can be removed.

If the answer is again "no" or if you get the slab home and discover the back is smooth and shiny, it's time to skin and trim. It's not hard, once you get the hang of it.

Step 1. This is a St. Louis cut. Turn the slab to the bone side. There is a flap of thick meat from the diaphragm that most chefs remove. Some set it aside for stir frying, some use it in sausage, but I just toss it in the smoker and munch on it a few hours into the cook. I call it "Chef's Bonus."

Step 2. If the slab is irregular at the ends or too long to fit on the smoker, trim off a bone or two. Toss them on with the slab. More Chef's Bonus.

Step 3. Then insert a butter knife or, as this cook is doing, an ice pick, between the membrane and the meat at one end. Some folks like to use needlenose pliers. Reader Denny Rickey of Dunlap, IL uses fish skinners, which are broadnose pliers.

Step 4. Work your fingers around under it to loosen it so you can get a grip on it.

Step 5. Gently begin peeling it off, trying not to rip it. I like to use a paper towel to help me grip the slippery dang thing.

Step 6. If you work it right, you should be able to pull it all off in one long strip. Discard it.

Step 7. With a sharp filleting knife, cut and scrape off some of the excess fat from both sides. Some competition cooks trim off a bit of the meat where it is thick, in order to make the slab uniform so all the ribs are cooked to exactly the same doneness.

Step 8. You are now ready to apply the rub and start cooking.

This page was revised on 4/16/2007