Ash, as long as you can keep your grill out of the wind you can use it year-round. As an added benefit, it’s easier to cook at low temperatures.

Beef back ribs (also can be labelled as spares) can be either grilled to desired doneness or smoked; I like ’em both ways. As you’ve experienced, the real trick is finding them where they haven’t been trimmed to the point where’s practically no meat; Johnny’s photos testify to this.

True short ribs come from a difference part of the carcass. Certainly back ribs could be cut in half to be more manageable, though.

Brad