Kosher salt

3-2-1 method: 3 hours smoke, 2 hours wrapped, 1 hour sauced. Fall-off-the-bone but with bite. Competition ribs don't actually fall off the bone.

Salt, pepper, smoke, time. That's the whole recipe. The rub is 50/50 coarse salt and black pepper. Everything else is cheating.

Boston butt, 12-hour smoke at 225F, apple wood. Bark is mandatory. Internal temp 203F and a rest in butcher paper makes it pull apart perfectly.

Made in a stone mortar as God intended. The order of addition matters. Lime goes in last.

No sauce. Heavier on the paprika and cayenne in the rub. Memphis style is smoke and spice without glaze.

Gochujang and sesame in the rub, kimchi slaw instead of coleslaw. The same smoking technique with a Korean BBQ finish.

Add a handful of pomegranate seeds right at the end. The crunch and sweetness are the most underrated guacamole upgrade.

Wet-cure the flat for 7 days in a coriander-pepper-sugar brine, then smoke. The best of both worlds.

Finish smoked thighs with a hot sauce and butter glaze instead of the white sauce. Best of both worlds.

Gochujang and soy sauce glaze replaces BBQ sauce in the final phase. Serve with pickled daikon and steamed rice.

Liquid smoke in the rub, very low oven, overnight cook. Gets you to 80% of the real thing. For apartment cooks who want to try.

Pecan-wood chicken thighs. The Alabama white sauce on the side is not optional. Competition circuit secret: scrape off the rubbery smoked skin and replace with a butter-basted finish.