Smoked and Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Over the years I've been perfecting my rib recipe. I started out with an idea I saw somewhere and I've been working on it and fine tuning it ever since. These ribs turn out SO good. My wife and daughters love them.

We prefer fall off the bone tender. Some people do not - if that's the case for you reduce the amount of time the ribs are covered and then continue cooking them uncovered in the smoker.

You will need the following:

Food

1 rack of baby back ribs with the membrane on the back removed

Any rib rub or seasoning. In these pictures I used Grill Mates Applewood rub

1 liter (1/2 large bottle) or 3-ish cans of Coke Cola

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup apple juice

Equipment

Large stock pot

Pyrex measuring cup

Foil pans (optional but works well with this recipe)

After removing the membrane on the back I usually cut them in half so they fit in these foils pans I bought from Costco. Liberally apply your rub or seasoning. Meanwhile, pre-heat your smoker to 225.

When the smoker/grill/whatever you're using is ready, go ahead and put them in.

Smoke for 3 hours or until they are at least at 185.

This glaze is what takes the ribs from good to amazing. This step can be done a couple of days ahead of time if you'd prefer.

You can not rush this step. It will take 45 minutes, give or take. It needs constant attention - if it gets too hot it will boil over the pan. Don't go hotter than slightly over medium - but all stoves are different.

Get a large WIDE tall pot - like a stock pot. You want a wide pot to make the evaporation faster. You want a tall one to contain splatters. Trust me on this - when this boils over and gets on the stove it smells like burnt sugar and is hard to clean up.

In the pot add the Coke, orange juice, and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Heat it to lightly boiling and stir. Stir more. Keep stirring. You can take short breaks, but this needs your attention - it can go from just fine to boiling over in seconds.

You want to reduce this down to just between 1/2 and 3/4 of a cup. Near the end (see photo) it will change from just boiling to caramelizing. Drop bits of it onto a plate so it cools down fast. Then check it with your fingers - when it's the consistency of real maple syrup (a thin syrup) you/re good to go. The vast majority of the liquid should be gone. Pour it into a Pyrex measuring (or other heat safe) cup and measure. If there's more than 3/4 cup you need to reduce it more. If it seems a little watery but still syrupy at the end that's fine - the final step will remove extra water.

The ribs should look like this after 3 hours - not tender, but done.

Add 1/4 cup of apple juice to each pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and return them to the smoker.

Increase the smoker temp to 250 for 2 more hours or stay at 225 for 3 hours.

This picture shows the ribs pre-glazed. Looks great, right. At this point they should be pretty good ribs. But we want amazing ribs. So now's the time to make the magic happen.

After 2 hours has passed, remove the ribs from the smoker. Pre-heat your broiler in your oven. Brush the ribs with the glaze and put under the broiler. The glaze will quite quickly start to bubble and stick to the ribs. After 45 seconds to 1 minute, add another coat of glaze. Repeat this 2 or 3 times, until they are a dark mahogany color.

This is the good step - time for dinner! Some people like to serve these cut up, some people like to eat a half or full rack. If you have left over glaze, you can serve that on the side.

Done correctly these will be absolutely delicious and weapons grade sticky.

Want a little heat? When you make the glaze add in some cayenne or whatever you prefer.