For the Board Dressing:

Combine all ingredients. This creates extra flavor on your cutting board.

Preparation:

1. Combine all the spice mix ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Moisten the ribs with a splash of cold water and season “like rain” with the spice mix.

Cooking Method:

2. Indirect Grilling: Prepare the grill for indirect cooking; the temperature should be 300°F. Put the meat on the well-oiled preheated grill and cook, covered, with the addition of wood of your choice (I prefer fruit woods when available), for 2 hours.

3. Remove the ribs from the grill. Put 2 large sheets of heavy-duty foil on top of each other and shingle half the racks, top side up, on the foil. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar and grated onion. Wrap the racks up in the foil to make a neat parcel, being careful not to pierce the foil. Repeat with the remaining racks and wrap ingredients.

4. Put the racks back on the grill, top side down, and cook for another 45 minutes for baby backs, 1 hour and 15 minutes for St. Louis–cut, or 11⁄2 hours for spareribs.

5. Remove the parcels and allow the ribs to rest, still wrapped, for 15 minutes. Unwrap the ribs, discarding the foil and liquid, put back onto the grill, and cook for 30 minutes to “kiss” with smoke.

6. If desired, pour the board dressing onto a cutting board, or slather the board with BBQ sauce. Cut the racks into individual ribs, dipping the cut ends of each rib into the sauce. Or serve the sliced ribs unadorned.