Smoked Back Ribs with Honey & Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce

Begin by prepping the ribs. Do this by removing the membrane from the back side of the ribs. You can easily tell the membrane is still in place if the ribs have a smooth, shiny texture on them. We used a small, sharp knife to make a slit in the membrane and then work your fingers under it. Once you get it going, the entire membrane will peel off. After you have the membrane removed, apply the oil to both sides of the ribs, rubbing it all over. Once the ribs are covered, sprinkle the rub all over the ribs, making sure to press it into the meat on all sides, crevices, etc. Let the ribs rest at room temperature for an hour as you prep your grill or smoker.

Begin by lighting your charcoal and letting it heat up until they turn white and ash covered. We use a charcoal chimney. It makes getting the coals ready so easy and you do not even need to use lighter fluid! While the charcoal is getting hot, soak your preferred wood in water. This adds moisture to the wood and prevents it from completely burning up quickly. You can use any hardwood for this such as hickory, cherry, apple or pecan. The wood we used was a mixture of apple and pecan chunks. Many grocery stores now carry these near the charcoal. You can use wood chips, but be prepared to use more as they will burn faster. Once the charcoal is ready, you can begin setting up the grill. We placed a disposable foil pan in the middle of the grill and evenly distributed the hot charcoal on each side. Place several wet wood chunks on top of the coals. The best way to smoke ribs is using indirect heat at a low temperature. We kept the grill at around 250 degrees. In order to do this, you will not need a lot of air coming into the grill. Adjust the bottom and top vents as needed throughout the process to maintain the temperature. To raise the temperature, open the vents up a little. If you see the temperature getting too high, close them to reduce the airflow. The key to great ribs is low temperature and slow smoking!

Now that you have the ribs prepped, and the grill ready, it's time to get to it! Place each rack of ribs, meat side up, over the center of the grill. Once they are on the grill, lightly spray each rack with some apple juice. Now comes the hardest part....just ask Uncle Bee. Close the lid. Leave it closed. Don't keep opening to check on them. Every time you open the grill, you lose heat and smoke. Unless you see the temperature quickly rise, resist the urge to open the grill. Use the vents to increase or decrease the temperature. After one hour, open the grill and spray the ribs with apple juice again. We used this opportunity to add a few more coals to each side and some more soaked wood chunks. The key is to keep the fire going, but not creating an inferno. Close the lid and check the ribs again after another hour. Again, spray the ribs and add coals and wood as needed. Continue to smoke the ribs for another 30 minutes. At this point you can take them inside to prep them to be braised.

Layout a large sheet of aluminum foil. In the middle of the foil, squeeze some butter or margarine over an area about the size of the rack of ribs. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and two tablespoons of honey over the buttered area of foil. Carefully place the ribs on the foil with the bone side up. Fold up the edges of the foil and pour one fourth of a cup of apple juice into the foil packet. Squeeze more butter or margarine on the bone side and sprinkle two tablespoons each of brown sugar and honey on top of the butter. We used a second sheet of foil on top and crimped the edges together of both pieces, wrapping the sides around the ribs. Now place the foil covered ribs back onto the grill and continue to smoke for another hour and a half to two hours. When the ribs are done, they will be extremely tender and the bones will be sticking out.

Now that the ribs are done, it's time to add the sauce. Carefully remove the ribs from the foil. Using a BBQ brush, generally apply sauce to both sides and place the ribs back on the grill for about 20 minutes. We added more wood chucks here. The key is getting a good smoky flavor infused into the sauce on the ribs. If you don't have a lot of smoke here, you may need to add a few more coals to each side. After 20 minutes on the grill, the ribs are ready to go.