Ribs are a good bet for starting out with a smoker. They are thinner and take less time than many of the bigger pieces of meat. Expect to spend from 4 to 6 hours making ribs in the smoker (not including prep time).
Before cooking ribs, add your rub. There are a number of great rubs on the market and available online. Most include salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic and other seasonings. These are simply mashed on the meat. You can rub the meat the night before, and store in the refrigerator, or rub and let the meat sit for an hour or so on the counter before cooking.
Cook at low heat (about 225 degrees F) for 3 hours. Turn ribs and cook another hour or two. When they are done, the meat will break away from the bone, when the rib is bent.
If you want to add wet sauce, add that during the last half hour or so. You can make your own barbeque sauce or slather on grocery sauce like Kraft. You can also use sauce as a dipper after the meat is cooked, though it’s better when cooked a bit with the smoke.