Recipe: Coca-Cola Ribs (smoked)

COCA-COLA RIBS (SMOKED)
Source: Where There's Smoke, There's Flavor: Real Barbecue--The Tastier Alternative to Grilling by Richard Langer

4 pounds pork ribs
3 cups Coca-Cola or Dr Pepper, divided use
3 cups ketchup
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons chili powder
4 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Transfer the ribs to a large non-reactive glass or ceramic dish pour 2 cups of Coca-Cola or Dr Pepper over them. Reserve the third cup of the soda for a sauce to be made later. Let the ribs marinate, tightly covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated, overnight.

ABOUT 6 1/2 HOURS BEFORE YOU PLAN TO SERVE THE RIBS:
Start a fire in your smoke/cooker and begin heating a quantity of coals. Then turn your attention to the sauce.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of soda into a blender or food processor and measure in the catsup, brown sugar, chili powder, pepper, dry mustard, and cinnamon. Mix until smooth and well blended. No need to cook this one, as least for now.

Add some well-soaked aromatic wood such as hickory or mesquite to the glowing coals in your cooker. Set a pan filled with hot water in place, and smoke cook the ribs, covered at 220 to 240 degrees F for about 3 hours.

After this initial smoking, turn the ribs, slather them with the sauce, check the supply of wood and water in their respective pans, and continue cooking for another 3 hours, this time turning the ribs every 30 minutes and mopping them with sauce each time they're turned. By the end of the 3 hours, they should have long since reached the internal temperature of 160 to 170F recommended for pork.

After the last basting of the ribs, tote the remaining sauce inside and simmer in a medium-size saucepan over low heat until quite thick.

Serve the gloriously gooey sauce in dipping bowls with the finished ribs.