Smoked Baby Back Ribs

For ribs without a smoker, see Pork Spare Ribs.

Ingredients

• 1 rack baby back ribs
• 1/3 BBQ Rub
• 1 C apple cider (or apple juice/sparkling apple cider/etc.)
• 1/4 C dark brown sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp butter (sliced in pads)
• 1/2 C of your favorite BBQ sauce

Supplies

• A smoker
• A large piece of aluminum foil (note to Ben: measure dimensions next time and update)
• 2 sets of tongs for moving the ribs

Instructions

1. Prep your smoker to 180-200F
2. Remove membrane from the back of the ribs (where the bones are closest to the surface; hereby called the "bone side")
3. Liberally season both sides of the ribs with BBQ rub, starting on the bone side.
4. Place seasoned ribs in the smoker, bone side down. Smoke at 180-200F for 3 hours.
5. With 15 min. left on the ribs, prepare apple cider, brown sugar, butter, and aluminum foil
6. Place aluminum foil in a baking tray and on a large working surface.
7. Transfer ribs to aluminum foil, flipping over so the bone side is up (this prevents the bones from tearing through the foil and making a huge mess).
8. Sprinkle with brown sugar, top with butter, and then pour the apple cider over.
9. Tightly crimp foil together to create an airtight seal.
10. Return to the smoker, bone side up (or crimp side up) and let smoke for 2 hours at 225F.
11. Remove from the smoker and uncrimp foil, being careful of hot steam. Place ribs back on the smoker, bone side down. If the ribs try to split in two during this process, let them. It is preferable to have a semi-imperfect-looking rack than see 5 hours of rib on the ground.
12. Brush the ribs with your sauce and let smoke at 225F for 1 hour.
13. Carefully remove from the smoker and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the ribs parallel to the bones. Use a sharp chef's knife and a sawing motion; too much pressure on the meat will make the ribs pull apart into less than beautiful ribs (though still delicious).