Juicy, caramelised ribs are hard to resist. But for perfect results, you can't just chuck a rack on the barbecue. From how to choose barbecue fuel to multi-purpose marinades, these are our best hacks to make grilling season better.

Good food starts with good ingredients. Buying free-range, organic, carefully reared meat is better for the animal and you'll taste the difference too. Grass-fed animals, given space to roam outdoors and longer to mature, typically have more flavoursome meat, so buy the best you can.

Baby back and spare ribs are very popular. Baby back ribs come from high on the hog, contain less fat and lots of quality meat. Spare ribs come from the belly and are fattier. Both are great and can be used interchangeably, but need to be slow cooked, braised or smoked over several hours.

You might have come across St. Louis ribs. These are spare ribs trimmed into a rectangle, making them smaller and more manageable. There are also boneless country-style ribs, which are not actually ribs at all. These are pieces of meat that come from the front of the loin near the shoulder.

You can get beef back ribs and short ribs. Back ribs come from the upper part of the cow and are what is left once the rib-eye roast has been taken off the bone. Short ribs are from lower down and contain more meat, but also more connective tissue. They need to be slow cooked like brisket to make them tender.

Check out this smoky, slow-cooked beef short rib recipe

Often when we think of ribs, we think of pork and beef, but lamb ribs are a treat too. Cook a whole rack low and slow as you would any other meat. Alternatively, roast it or buy and cook the separated riblets which come from the belly.

Check out our tasty tips for cooking lamb perfectly every time

For the best results, always bring your meat to room temperature before cooking. If a cold rib straight from the fridge hits a hot grill, it's not going to cook evenly, with some parts ending up tougher than others.

You can cook ribs for the entire time over charcoal, however adding wood chips gives the meat a lovely smoky flavour. Hickory, maple, cherry and mesquite are popular choices, and you can combine wood with coal.

It's not good to leave your grill coated with sticky residue. To clean it, switch it on so grease and food scrapes off easily – once it has cooled a little, you can go in with your grill brush. Then, a great trick is to give it a final rub down with half a cut onion to get rid of those last bits of grit you've missed. Just be careful you don't burn yourself if the grill is still hot.

It's extraordinary how a sprinkle of salt lifts and balances flavours – and we mean just a sprinkle, you don't need much. Leave seasoned ribs in the fridge overnight, giving salt time to permeate all the way into the middle. If you're grilling over a high heat, add pepper once you've finished or it will burn and you'll lose the flavour.

The crunchy, chewy, sweet and salty crust on the exterior of cooked meat is known as bark. It’s the result of chemical processes that happens to protein when it’s exposed to heat and oxygen. To achieve an extra-thick and flavoursome exterior, use a spice rub. It draws moisture to the surface which dissolves the spices, then dries to form a tasty top layer.

A dry rub is a mixture of spices and dry ingredients such as sugar, paprika, garlic powder, chilli and pepper, which is rubbed onto the meat prior to cooking. Often a little mustard or oil is used to help it bind. If you’re using a shop-bought rub, check whether it contains salt before adding your own.

Using a marinade instead of a dry rub allows you to bring more flavours to the dish. A really easy marinade is tomato ketchup mixed with soy sauce, perfect for preparing barbecued venison ribs. Leave the marinade to infuse overnight, then slow cook venison in the oven to tenderise before finishing off on the barbecue.

Find bold, quick marinades you can make in minutes here

Pineapple is a natural tenderiser for meat, plus the sweet flavour pairs especially well with pork. Purée fresh pineapple for the best result. With shop-bought pineapple juice, the enzymes that break down meat are removed in the pasteurisation process. Don’t marinate meat with pineapple for any longer than 12 hours as the acid will begin to cook the meat.

Don't you love a multipurpose marinade that goes with everything? Punchy jerk marinade and this spicy Indian-inspired marinade work well with pork and beef ribs. Make extra and use it to marinate your other barbecue foods like cheese, such as halloumi, or veggies, such as aubergine (eggplant) and bell peppers.

Here are surprising foods you didn't know you could barbecue

A brine is simply salt dissolved in water, although sometimes sugar is added too. When meat is brined it absorbs flavour and moisture, making it less likely to dry out during cooking. Brine ribs for an hour, then place in a marinade for an hour. Slow cook and finish on the grill. It takes time but is mostly a hands-off job.

Get the recipe for brined and soy-marinated ribs here

Whatever you do, don’t let the taste of lighter fluid ruin your work. A charcoal chimney starter is an inexpensive tool to help you avoid this. Fill it with newspaper and charcoal to get your coals ready, then transfer to the barbecue once glowing.

The key to good ribs is a low cooking temperature – between 107°C and 150°C (225°F and 300°F), for three to six hours. A good way to keep the heat down is to cook on the opposite side of the grill to your charcoal or gas burners. A grill thermometer will tell you the exact air temperature.

If you don’t have six plus hours to tend to a barbecue, start your ribs on the flames and finish in the oven. Using a combination of charcoal and wood chips can give you the smokiness you want in 30 minutes to an hour. Then cover with foil and let the oven do the rest of the work.

You could also cook ribs in the oven first then finish off on the barbecue. Slow cook in the oven, basting every so often, so they become tender. Just as they start to fall apart slightly (you'll want to keep them as whole as possible for grilling), transfer to a hot barbecue and grill until glazed and charred.

Get the recipe for slow-cooked and barbecued beer ribs here

Once ribs have absorbed a smoky flavour and begin to caramelise, wrap them in foil with a little water or apple juice. The steaming effect will speed up the cooking time and it will also keep them nice and moist.

When cooking ribs, you need to be attentive. If the temperature gets too high, baste the rack with liquid to cool it down and make it cook slower. You can use water or a mixture that includes fruit juice, mustard and vinegar, to add layers of flavour. A basting brush or spray bottle is perfect for the job.

Although ribs are safe to eat once the internal temperature is 63°C (145°F), you really want them to reach 88°C to 95°C (190°F to 203°F). Use a meat thermometer to check. At these temperatures, collagen and fat melts, making the ribs more tender and juicy. If you don't do this, there will be tough and chewy bits.

There are a few tests you can do to check whether your ribs are done. First, you should be able to see the meat receding from the bone. When you bend the rack, it should be flexible and could break if you go too far. Lastly, there'll be no resistance when you stick a wooden skewer into the meat.

While it might be tempting to slather your ribs in sauce early in the grilling process, doing so is a bad idea as it will burn. Wait until the ribs are cooked and brush it on during the last five to 10 minutes of cooking.

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When recipes tell you to rest meat before serving, it's for good reason. It allows the juices to re-distribute, making it more succulent. With meaty beef ribs or whole racks of pork or lamb, allow them to rest for about 10 minutes. Single ribs just need a couple of minutes. 

Take a look at genius Michelin-starred restaurant hacks you need to try at home

So you've cooked a rib feast – great job. Now you need to decide which fabulous side dishes to serve with it. Fresh sweetcorn with smoky butter, a crunchy mango and chilli coleslaw and a creamy and herby potato salad are our top suggestions.

Check out best barbecue sides for more inspiration