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.

If you are unable to execute this maneuver successfully, take a sharp knife and cut slashes through the membrane every inch so some of the fat will render out during the cooking.

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. Cook them with the slab. They'll be done in a couple of hours. More Chef's Bonus.

Step 3. 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. After you pull the membrane, you'll see a thin layewr of fat and some chunks. With a sharp filleting knife, cut and scrape some of the excess off and trim excess fat from the other side too. 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. I leave it on.

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

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