Recipe Smoked Baby Back Ribs Tagine Style Smothered In Spicy Apricot Sauce

Steps:

• Place 3 fist-sized chunks of wood in a smoker and heat to 250 degrees F (121 degrees C).
• While the wood burns down, mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin together. Apply the rub to both sides of the ribs.
• Add ribs to the smoker, bone-side down, once a thin blue smoke appears. Smoke for 2 hours. Wrap ribs lightly in aluminum foil to retain juices. Continue smoking for 1 1/2 hours at 225 to 250 degrees F (107 to 121 degrees C).
• Remove foil and continue to smoke until meat is tender but still stays on the bone, about 1 hour more, brushing lightly with barbeque sauce in the last 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

Steps:

• Place ribs in a large roasting pan. Whisk together apricot preserves, soy sauce, brown sugar, and garlic powder until blended. Pour apricot marinade over ribs, cover, and place in the refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking pan with aluminum foil.
• Remove ribs from the marinade and shake off excess. Place ribs in the prepared baking pan and season with salt and pepper. Pour marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer marinade for 5 minutes; set aside.
• Bake ribs in the preheated oven, basting frequently with the cooked marinade, until ribs are tender and meat pulls away easily from the bone, about 1 hour 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

Steps:

• Prepare the ribs (see below). Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, cumin, mustard powder and 2 tablespoons salt in a small bowl. Rub the ribs all over with the cut sides of the lemon and then the spice mixture and place in a large roasting pan or resealable plastic bag. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Meanwhile, soak the wood chips in water 1 hour, then prepare your grill for smoking, filling the smoker box with one-quarter each of the wood chips and apple.
• About 30 minutes before smoking, remove the ribs from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature. Meanwhile, combine the apple juice, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar in a small spray bottle. Shake to mix.
• Once the grill reaches 250 degrees F, lightly brush the grates with vegetable oil and place the ribs on the cooler side of the grill, meat-side up. Spray with the apple juice mixture. Close the grill and let smoke 1 hour.
• Replenish the smoker box with another one-quarter each of the wood chips and apple. Flip the ribs so they're meat-side down with the opposite edge of the racks closer to the smoker box. Spray with the apple juice mixture; close the grill and let smoke 1 more hour. Repeat this process every hour until the ribs are dark brown and tender and the meat starts to shrink away from the bones, about 2 more hours. Remove the ribs from the grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
• How to prep your ribs:
• Position the ribs meat-side down. Insert a paring knife under the membrane that covers the back of the rack. Loosen the membrane with the knife. Grab the membrane with your fingers and peel off completely.

Steps:

• To prepare the marinade, add the pop, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, chipotles, mustard, vinegar and garlic to a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until reduced and thick, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Divide into 2 containers and refrigerate one container for later.
• Brush the remaining container of the marinade all over the ribs on both sides. Wrap each strip of ribs individually in foil and refrigerate for 8 hours to marinate.
• When you're ready to cook the ribs, preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Place the ribs, still covered in foil, onto baking sheets and cook for 2 hours. Increase the temperature to 300 degrees F. Open the foil packages and use the other container of marinade to brush another generous layer all over the ribs. Return the ribs to the oven with their foil packages still open and continue cooking for another 30 to 40 minutes, brushing on another layer of marinade as they cook.
• Remove the ribs when they're fork-tender (keep cooking until they are). Slice and serve!

Steps:

• INSTRUCTIONS For the spicy apricot sauce: Place serrano peppers in smoker for one hour. Cook onions until soft and translucent then add serrano peppers. Add Moroccan rib rub, Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add apricot preserves, honey, tomato sauce and pan drippings. Cook rapidly until sauce thickens then let simmer for one to two hours. For the tagine-style ribs: Remove the membrane from the ribs and rub generously with the rub (about ¾ cup). Prepare smoker for barbecue at 225 to 250 degrees F. Add the ribs to a rack and set a water dish directly below to catch drippings and help braise while cooking. Carefully monitor smoker temperature, adding additional wood as required. After two hours, slice tomato and add to smoker along with the whole garlic clove. After two and a half hours, remove ribs from smoker, dress with spicy apricot sauce, wrap in aluminum foil (a technique known as the "Texas crutch") and return to smoker for the final 30 minutes. After three hours, finely chop smoked tomatoes, peel and chop garlic and add to prepared couscous. Remove ribs and slather generously with sauce. Cut into one to two ribs servings, place over bed of couscous, garnish with mint leaves and serve.