For the ribs and rub:
4 racks baby back ribs (each 2 to 2 1/2 pounds, membranes removed)
3 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
3 tablespoons smoked or sweet paprika
3 tablespoons coarse salt (sea or kosher)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar, dark or light
1 teaspoon celery seed
For the glaze:
1/2 cup rye, bourbon or other whiskey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar, dark or light
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vegetable oil for oiling the grill grate
Place the ribs on a sheet pan. Combine the peppercorns, paprika, salt, brown sugar and celery seed in a small bowl and mix with your fingers, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar. Sprinkle the rub on the ribs on both sides, rubbing it into the meat with your fingertips, about 3 tablespoons per rack. Store any leftover rub in a sealed jar away from heat and light.
For the glaze, combine the whiskey, brown sugar, butter and vanilla in a saucepan and boil until syrupy, 4 to 6 minutes, whisking to mix. Set the glaze aside.
Set up your grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium-low. Brush or scrape the grill grate clean and oil it well. Add half the wood chunks or chips to the coals. Arrange the ribs on the grate, bone side down, away from the heat, and lower the lid. Smoke-roast the ribs until sizzling, browned and tender. When ready, the meat will shrink back from the ends of the bones by about 1/2 inch and the ribs will be tender enough to pull apart with your fingers. Replenish the wood and charcoal as needed. Total cooking time will be 3 to 3 1/2 hours. The last 30 minutes of cooking, baste the ribs with the glaze. Baste twice more before serving. Pour any remaining glaze over the ribs and serve.
Excerpted from Project Fire: Cutting-Edge Techniques and Sizzling Recipes from the Caveman Porterhouse to Salt Slab Brownie S’Mores by Steven Raichlen (Workman Publishing). Copyright © 2018. Photograph by Matthew Benson.