Instructions

1. Take the membrane off of the ribs.
2. Combine the paprika, brown sugar, pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed, and cayenne pepper in a bowl and mix well.
3. Liberally coat both sides of the ribs with the seasoning mixture.
4. Place some newspaper at the bottom of a chimney starter (a tool used to ignite charcoal). Place the charcoal on top of the newspaper. Light the newspaper on fire. Leave coals to burn for about half an hour. At this point, they will be ready to place in the smoker.
5. Once the coals are in the smoker, place 1-2 splits of hickory on top of the charcoal. Bring temperature to 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit. You want your smoke to appear blue-ish instead of a thicker white smoke.
6. Fill up one or two mini loaf pans with water and place it in the smoker, anywhere you can fit it. We have an offset smoker, so we placed the water in the smaller housing, and the meat in the large housing. However, if you don’t have this, you can place it with the meat.
7. Place the rack of ribs inside the smoker and monitor the temperature for 3 hours. Try to leave it closed as much as possible.
8. Place the ribs in a large sheet of aluminum foil, cover with half of the BBQ sauce, and pour the apple juice inside the tin foil around the meat. Finish sealing up the meat completely (airtight), and place back in the smoker for another 2 hours.
9. Remove the foil, cover with the rest of the BBQ sauce, and place the ribs back in the smoker for 30 minutes to another hour. When the BBQ sauce looks thick and sticky, this is a good indicator that the ribs are ready to be pulled from the smoker.