@halfafish per your request.
1. First trim excess fat off the ribs and remove the membrane on the backside.
2.Then I sprinkle some meat tenderizer on them (I use Adolph’s) and pierce the meat with a fork.
3. Then apply the dry rub of your choice. I just sprinkle on some salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Lawry’s seasoned salt, cayenne pepper to taste paprika. No measuring, just a little of each.
4. Preheat the smoker to about 170* (Smoke setting on my Trager), put the ribs on with meat side facing up and set a timer for 3 hours.
5. As the 3 hour time is approaching. Prepare the aluminum foil wrap. I use the wider than normal roll of foil. You will want to use two layers of foil. Have the following ingredients ready: Melted butter (1/4 cup per rack of ribs), brown sugar (about 1/4 cup per rack of ribs), honey and BBQ Sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray’s).
6. Take the ribs off the smoker (one at a time if you did more than one). Place the ribs on the foil meat side down (backside up). Drizzle about half of the melted butter on and spread with a sauce brush. Drizzle on a little honey (maybe a teaspoon per side). Sprinkle on about half the brown sugar. Drizzle on some BBQ sauce (about 2-3 tablespoons per side). Then use the sauce brush to swirl around / mix all the ingredients together.
7. Turn the ribs over and repeat step 6 on the meat side. Seal the foil tightly and place the ribs back on the smoker that has been bumped up to 225*. I always make sure they go on meat side facing up. This time they get about 1.5 hours. At the one hour point, I test them with an instant read thermometer. They come off when the meat (make sure the probe is not touching bone) reads 205*.
8. When you open the foil, there is a lot of juice in there. Pour it carefully into a pan. It is liquid gold. Brush a little BBQ sauce on the ribs and put them on the smoker at 250* for about 15 minutes to tighten up the sauce.
9. While the ribs are on the smoker for their last 15-20 minutes, simmer the liquid that came off the ribs until it is just a little thinner than BBQ sauce. Take the ribs off the smoker, tent them and allow them to rest for about 20 minutes. You can use some of the used foil from step 8 if you think to save it. While the ribs are resting, cool the liquid down. Then I add a little more BBQ sauce to the cooled liquid. We jokingly call this liquid gold, “BBQ Gravy”. It is fantastic! We like to use the BBQ Gravy rather than more BBQ sauce.
