Kansas City-Style Spareribs

One of the things I like best about barbecue is its spirit of individuality—the fact that in our homogenized age, with a fast food outlet on every street corner, barbecue remains some of the last truly regional food in America. I love the fact that barbecue means something different in Lexington, North Carolina, than it does in Lubbock, Texas, or Owensboro, Kentucky. That there are still pit masters independent (or ornery) enough to stake their reputations on dry rubs versus wet rubs