Rum-Glazed Spareribs

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Trim off visible fat from the spareribs and discard. Sprinkle the ribs with the salt and pepper. Finely mince or crush the garlic. Rub the ribs all over with the garlic, allspice, ginger, herb, lemon peel and sugar. Either proceed with the recipe or refrigerate the ribs for a few hours.

When ready to bake, lay the ribs flat in a large roasting pan. Pour over the pineapple juice and rum. Cover the pan with a tight lid or with a layer of aluminum foil, sealing the edges. Bake in the hot oven for 1 1/2 hours or until tender, turning over a couple of times and basting with the pan juices. Remove the pan of ribs from the oven and set aside. Drain the juices in the pan into a small bowl or saucepan to use as a basting sauce.

To make the glaze: Combine in heavy medium saucepan pineapple juice, sugar, soy sauce, mustard and black pepper. Set the pan on high heat, bring to a boil and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken.

Lower the heat to simmer and cook the sauce for 25 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Remove the sauce from heat when it is the consistency of heavy syrup.

To prepare the grill: If desired, soak 2 small oak or hickory wood chunks in water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, start the outdoor grill. When the coals turn ashy, place a 9- by 13-inch disposable aluminum foil pan on the coal grate, and bank the charcoal around the pan, creating a cool zone in the center of the grill. Drain the wood chunks and add to the fire, if using. Oil the cooking grill rack and put in place.

Lay the ribs on the grill rack in the center of the cool zone, directly over the aluminum pan. Cover the grill and cook the ribs for about 40 minutes, searing until browned, turning, and moving back and forth directly over the hot coals as needed, swabbing with the basting sauce. Watch the ribs closely so they don\'t burn.

When the ribs are nicely browned, move to the coolest edge of the grill, and baste very lightly with the barbecue glaze. Continue swabbing and turning for another 20 minutes or so. Watch carefully and don\'t let the ribs char or burn. Just before taking the ribs off the grill, liberally baste with the sauce and cook for 5 minutes longer.

No outdoor grill? Bake the ribs in a 325 degrees F oven until tender as directed. Remove the pan of ribs from the oven and set aside. Preheat the broiler and brown the ribs under the broiler for about 4 minutes on both sides, brushing with pan juices. Return the heat to 325 degrees F and bake the ribs, uncovered, for about 30 minutes longer, swabbing with the barbecue glaze, turning often.