BRIAN MARKS "If the bone slides right out of the meat, that would be considered a fault."

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Something is wrong with Al "Bubba" Baker's barbecue pit. A thick spiral of smoke is climbing out of the massive stainless cooker, stopping the 6-foot-8, 300-plus-pound man in his tracks.

"This is burning kinda hot," he says. "And it is not supposed to smell like this."

Baker squeezes around the side of his Southern Pride smoker and opens a latch to the firebox. Working quickly, he plucks a blazing log from the stack of five or six and tosses it to the ground. It seems that an errant piece of soft wood found its way into the box along with the customary applewood.

Familiar with Baker's career as a successful defensive lineman in the NFL, I was expecting to find a barbecue straw man, a football legend who settled on a restaurant over a car dealership as his meal ticket. What I discovered was a man obsessed with barbecue.

"This is not a hobby for me," Baker assures me. "I take this job more seriously than I took professional football."

When Baker left pro football, he opened a Mail Boxes Etc., a job that paid the bills but left him bored to tears. With family roots that stretch back to a celebrated Jacksonville barbecue stand, Baker thought ribs might be the key to a fulfilling life. So, in 1994, he opened Bubba's Q restaurant at Shaker Square, a move that would introduce him to the failings of Cleveland barbecue.

"Up here, all people want to talk about is how ribs should be falling-off-the-bone tender," explains Baker. "Where I come from, if you put that mushy stuff on the table and called it barbecue, folks would tar and feather you."

Barbecue has always incited strong opinions. Beef or pork. Baby back or St. Louis. Sauce or dry rub. There are as many variations on the matter as there are cities in the nation, and each lays a claim as the only true style. But there is no disagreement on the fact that what most people do in their own backyards is not barbecue. It is grilling.

"Grilling is using high, direct heat to sear foods," explains Marc Levine, owner of Bistro 185. "Barbecue is completely different; it is a process of cooking meat at a very low temperature for a very long time in a moist, smoky environment." Whereas a well-stoked charcoal grill might soar to 700 degrees, a proper smoker rarely climbs above 225 degrees. Even the thickest T-bone steak is done in less than 15 minutes on a grill; a pork shoulder, on the other hand, requires the better part of a day in the pit.

To get around these lengthy cook times, many restaurants and home cooks boil or steam their meats before finishing them on the grill. This technique does result in tender meat, but it does so at the expense of taste. "When you boil meat, you leech out all the great flavor," Levine notes. "You are left with bland meat and flavorful pork stock."

Most agree that American barbecue started in the South, where slaves learned how to turn cheap, tough cuts of meat into edible food by slow-cooking it. Over the course of a long, low, even roast, meat's connective tissue breaks down and the fat melts away, leaving behind a tender, succulent product.

"When cooked properly, a poor cut of meat becomes an absolutely exquisite experience," says Brian Marks, owner of Heather's Heat and Flavor, and a rib judge in the upcoming Marc's Great American Rib Cook-Off. Marks says that it doesn't take a trained barbecue judge to spot a boiled rib; the texture is all wrong. "You should be able to pick up a full rack of ribs with a pair of tongs without it falling apart. People always say "fall off the bone.' What you want is tug-off-the-bone. If the bone slides right out of the meat, that would be considered a fault."

Real barbecue also bears a distinctive mark, a pink band just below the meat's surface known as the smoke ring. "Smoke causes a chemical change in the meat resulting in a characteristic pink hue," Marks explains. "Some people mistake this for undercooked meat, but that's ridiculous. Barbecued meats are cooked for hours and hours, and if it was underdone, it would be pink in the middle, not on the outer portion."

Dave Amstutz has been chasing the perfect smoke ring for 25 years. As a competitive barbecuer, Amstutz travels from city to city in an attempt to wow judges like Marks and paying customers like you and me. At his commissary in Massillon, he displays trophies for Best Sauce and Best Ribs as proudly as an actor would an Oscar. "Barbecue is an art form that requires practice and patience," Amstutz states. "It is the perfect marriage of rub, meat, smoke and sauce."

In preparation for a long summer of barbecue competitions, Amstutz is tinkering with his mobile smoker, a shiny Southern Pride on wheels capable of smoking 700 pounds of meat at a go. "This is a rich man's hobby," jokes Amstutz. "Like being a member of a classic car club." The smoker alone costs north of $20,000. Then there are the entry fees, transportation costs, outlays for meat, rubs and sauce. "You just hope that you earn enough from food sales to do it all again the following year."

This year will be Amstutz's first at the Cleveland Rib Cook-Off, and he's as anxious as a teenager on prom night. "The Cleveland Rib Cook-Off is not easy to get into," Amstutz says. "I've been pursuing the promoter for years. I'm a nervous wreck."

In his quest for barbecue glory, Amstutz employs a secret weapon: Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey. His "Jack on the Bone" rib team adds wood from old Jack Daniel's whiskey barrels to the smoker, and during the final grilling, the ribs are given a quick misting of the legendary hooch. Only time will tell if his unorthodox formula pays off with the judges.

Born into a barbecue family, Bubba Baker knows what real barbecue looks, smells and tastes like. But when he opened the original Bubba's Q in the mid-'90s, his customers wanted something else entirely. They wanted fall-off-the-bone ribs like the ones they enjoyed at national rib chains. "So I began par-baking my ribs and grilling them," says Baker. "And I abandoned my family-recipe mustard-based sauce in favor of a thick, sweet barbecue sauce." Business boomed, but Baker felt like a sell-out. "I didn't feel good about what I was doing," Baker recalls. "I wasn't barbecuing; I was grilling."

Ten years later, Baker is taking another stab at barbecue. But this time, he's not compromising his passion to please customers; he's pleasing customers by sharing his passion. Bubba's Q World Famous Bar-B-Q in Avon features slow-smoked ribs, pulled pork and beef brisket. As executive chef, Baker manages a pair of massive Southern Pride smokers, conspicuously placed on the restaurant's back patio. The perfume of smoke, swine and spice fills the air, acting as an olfactory billboard.

"I have no secrets here," says Baker. "I want people to see, smell and experience real barbecue."

To make his ribs, Baker rubs them with a blend of ancho chile, ginger root, allspice, cane sugar and other herbs and spices. After resting overnight, the ribs are placed on a rotisserie inside the smoker, a Ferris Wheel of pork that ensures even heating. Applewood smoke fills the 200-degree cooking chamber, imbuing the meat with a sweet, mild and pleasing aroma. Four hours later, the ribs exit the smoker pink, firm and tasting of pig and campfire. A quick sear on the grill gives the meat a pleasant char, adding another layer of flavor. Pork shoulders and beef briskets undergo similar treatments, but each requires 14 hours in the smoker to achieve proper taste and texture.

DAVE AMSTUTZ His secret weapon: wood from Jack Daniels barrels.

"You're not going to get fall-off-the-bone tender from these smokers; that's not what they do," explains Baker. "Real barbecue has some chew to it."

People are finally getting it, says Baker. He, his wife and partner Sabrina, and a gracious staff have done a good job teaching customers about barbecue, and the restaurant is habitually mobbed with fans. Most now know about the pink smoke ring, and sales of Bubba's meatier (and personal favorite) St. Louis-style rib are slowly gaining on the leaner baby backs. Customers have figured out that Texas-style beef brisket is not supposed to look or taste anything like Grandma's oven-roasted version.

But some habits die hard. "I still get an occasional "fall-off-the-bone' comment," laments Baker. "I spend all of this time and effort trying to make the meat taste as good as it possibly can, and all folks want to talk about is texture."

Baker looks at these occasions not as annoyances but as opportunities - opportunities to connect with his customers, to share some of his knowledge and passion, and, occasionally, even to learn a little something himself.

"The biggest lesson in barbecue is that if you think you know it all, you don't know shit," says Baker.

RIBS IN YOUR CRIBS

Honest-to-goodness barbecue ribs take four hours in a smoker. Kris Kreiger knows that few of his customers at Chef's Choice Meats (127 West St., Berea, 440.234.3880) have the time, inclination or competence to pull that off. So, as a courtesy, he smokes meaty slabs of St. Louis ribs just short of done. To enjoy them at home, all folks have to do is toss them on a hot grill and take all the credit.

For those who can't make the journey to the butcher shop, Kreiger suggests the following technique. The ribs won't be as good as real barbecue, but they won't suck, either.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stack four slabs of ribs (St. Louis works best, but baby backs are fine, too) on their sides in a deep baking pan so they are standing up. (1) Pour in two bottles of beer, a half-cup of Worchester sauce and a couple of splashes of apple cider vinegar.

Cover with foil and braise in the oven for approximately an hour and three-quarters. (2) The ribs are ready to be removed when about a half-inch of rib bone becomes exposed as the meat pulls away.

(3) Remove from oven and allow the meat to rest, loosely covered with foil, for a half-hour. Meanwhile, skim and strain the braising liquid to use as a basting sauce.

Preheat gas or charcoal grill. Grill ribs approximately 15 to 20 minutes, occasionally turning and basting with braising liquid. Apply barbecue sauce only during the final five or six minutes as barbecue sauce burns very quickly. (4) To impart some smoky flavor, add a touch of Liquid Smoke to the sauce. - DT

MAKE YOUR BONES

St. Louis, baby back, spare, beef back - who can keep track of all those bones? Apart from beef ribs, which come from a steer, all the above ribs come from the same rib cage on a pig. The location and cut determines the style.

Cut from high on the hog, the baby back ribs are the leanest, mildest in flavor and most tender of the pork ribs. They are the most popular ribs at barbecue restaurants.

Moving down on the hog, the St. Louis-style rib is meatier, slightly fattier and more flavorful. Preferred by smokers because they stay moist despite long cooking times, St. Louis ribs are used exclusively at many rib competitions.

Spare ribs are St. Louis ribs that haven't had the brisket bone removed, making these the largest and fattiest of the pork ribs. When spare ribs are trimmed down to St. Louis-style, the portion removed is often sold separately as "rib tips."

Beef back ribs are essentially the baby back of the cow. Rarely sold at restaurants, but cherished for their amazingly rich flavor, these ribs are less tender than their porcine twin so they require a longer cooking time. - DT

OR, LET THE EXPERTS DO IT FOR YOU

Chef's Choice Meats

127 West St., Berea, 440.234.3880

Incomparable butcher shop offering smoked sausages, pulled pork and St. Louis ribs (raw and par-cooked).

Bistro 185

991 E. 185th St., 216.481.9635

Small selection of authentically prepared smoked items, including beef brisket and duck breast.

Brew Kettle Taproom and Smokehouse

Al "Bubba" Baker of Bubba's Q

8377 Pearl Rd., Strongsville, 440.239.8788

Killer smoked chicken wings, pulled pork, St. Louis ribs and BBQ spaghetti (made with pulled pork).

Blazin' Bills Too

12891 Main Market Rd., Burton, 440.834.1111

Both baby back and spare ribs get the expert treatment at this family-run eatery.

Bubba's Q World Famous Bar-B-Q

820 Center Rd. (Rt. 83), Avon, 440.937.7859

Near-perfect barbecue, including baby back, St. Louis and "D-boned" ribs, beef brisket and pulled pork.

Hoggy's Barn & Grille

5975 Canal Rd., Valley View, 216.328.9871

Great smoked chicken wings, pulled chicken and pork, Texas-style beef brisket and baby back ribs.

Moose Head BBQ Grill

7660 Leavitt Rd., Amherst, 440.985.7429

Popular eatery featuring smoked ribs, pulled pork and chicken.

Austin's Smokin' Steak House

6535 Wilson Mills Rd., Mayfield, 440.442.4340

Real Texas-style smoked beef brisket, pulled pork, St. Louis and baby back ribs. — DT

VEGGIE-Q

"Oh, you poor thing," your barbecue companions will say pityingly, upon hearing that you're a vegetarian. "What on earth will you eat?" They imagine you sadly picking at a dish of cole slaw or bowl of potato chips.

You need to take them to one of the brimming summer farmer's markets proliferating around the region, walk them by the stands heaped with freshly picked veggies and say, "With all of this, how can you stand to eat a hunk of heated-up flesh?"

If you've been a vegetarian for decades as I have, you've seen the ground shift considerably. Most restaurants now offer more for vegetarians than side salads and French fries. Doug Trattner, our restaurant critic, who tends to wax rhapsodic about dishes containing four types of meat, has eaten (and praised) vegetarian entrees. Even Al "Bubba" Baker of Bubba's Q in Avon doesn't bat an eyelash as he reveals that his own 23-year-old daughter has been a vegetarian since she was a toddler and recommends his marinade of molasses, ginger, garlic and basil for vegetable dishes. "It's great with a tofu stirfry," he offers.

So what do you do if you've got Congress's only vegan, Dennis Kucinich, coming over for a summer dinner? Tofu is a great start, but don't feel limited to these bean-curd chunks which taste like pencil erasers on their own but pick up the flavors of the dish they're in. You just need to stop thinking that outdoor summer cooking is all about throwing some meat on the grill.

You're going to want something hearty and filling (we'll avoid the word "meaty") as the basis for your meal. That could be tofu, it could be potatoes, it could be portabello mushrooms, zucchini or eggplant. Since it's summer and the grill's smoking, you're going to want to prepare it simply and one of the best ways to do that is the veggie shishkabob, its composition only limited by your imagination and what you picked up at the market. Grab a skewer and string the cubes of tofu or eggplant together with button mushrooms, pearl onions, grape tomatoes, squares of green, red, yellow and orange pepper. Get imaginative and use garlic gloves, carrot chunks, snap peas or even cubes of a firmer variety of cheese (no cheese for vegans though; they don't eat any animal products). Marinade with something zingy and summery - anything with citrus flavors and herbs is perfect. Give it a few minutes on the grill, keeping in mind that unlike meat, you don't have to worry about cooking it long enough, and vegetables are better a little undercooked than overcooked and mushy. (Potatoes will need to be preboiled.)

The easy alternative to a 'kabob is a stewpot or stirfry. Throw whatever veggies are in season into a pot or stirfry pan with some cooking oil, a flavorful marinade and a handful of fresh herbs and in a few minutes, you'll have a meal. Try a flavored oil, such as sesame, almond or walnut, and garnish the dish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds or nuts. That hotdog isn't looking so appealing now, is it, meat-eaters?

Speaking of herbs, one of the secrets to creating dishes that will have envious meat-eaters sneaking "tastes" is fresh herbs. Don't tear your hair out over what "should" go with what; they all go with vegetables, according to taste. Just go to your local garden center, pull off some leaves and whatever tastes good to you, get that. Now's the time (or the thyme?) to grab some sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, mint (just the thing to make your summer salads sing), parsley, cilantro, dill or savory. Put them in pots, and put them on the porch, balcony or patio right next to the grill. You don't need a green thumb; herbs are among the most low-maintenance of plants. They smell great and most have medicinal benefits as well.

Cap the meal with gelato or watermelon slices and you'll have some grub that the most avid meat-eaters and devoted vegetarians can agree on. — Anastasia Pantsios