The pork ribs at Tin Kitchen are St. Louis Cut spare ribs, rubbed simply with Kosher salt and coarse black pepper, smoked over pecan wood for five hours.  During the cook the ribs are basted with a mix of Sweet BBQ sauce and cider vinegar.
Photo courtesy of Sara French Photography / Tin Kitchen

Family owned A Little BBQ Join in Independence offers a wide selection of smoked meats, served with sauces and sides made in house. Ribs come as a short end, long end or full slab.
Photo courtesy of A Little BBQ Joint

Chef Mike Johnson prepares Sugarfire’s baby back ribs with Sugarfire Rub and plenty of brown sugar before smoking them for four hours at 250 degrees. The ribs then get a hearty mop of apple juice mixed with rub before being served.
Photo courtesy of Sugarfire Smoke House

Ribs often sell out at Dew Drop Inn, where hungry meat lovers can order them by the half or full slab or four bones. BBQ dinners come with two sides.
Photo courtesy of Ashley Recar at Vintage Image Portraits / Dew Drop Inn

This restaurant in the historic passenger waiting room of the old train depot in Excelsior Springs is known for its award-winning ribs topped with Wabash BBQ sauce. Options include spareribs, baby back ribs, or long and short ends.
Photo courtesy of jtlange2 via Instagram

BBQ competitor Mitch Benjamin oversees the pits at this combination Southern smokehouse and beer garden. Ribs come by the half or full slab, or as part of Char Bar's signature trays, served with pickles, toast and sides.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Leimkuehler / Char Bar

The ribs from Bogart's Smokehouse in St. Louis are smoked low and slow over apple and cherry wood, and finished off with an apricot-bruleed glaze caramelized via blowtorch.
Photo courtesy of Amy Schromm Photography / Bogart's Smokehouse

Led by national barbecue champion Rob Magee, Q39 has become well-known for pushing the boundaries of barbecue during its few short years of operation. The competition-style barbecue includes pork spareribs served with a honey glaze BBQ sauce.
Photo courtesy of Q39

City Butcher and Barbecue in Springfield slow smokes their ribs for four hours over white oak and hickory, with salt, pepper and a light mop.
Photo courtesy of City Butcher and Barbecue

The BBQ sauce from Charlotte's Rib comes from a family recipe from Charlotte Peters of “The Charlotte Peters Show.” A range of smoked meats are on offer, but the pork spareribs are the star.
Photo courtesy of iStock / mphillips007