Mmm-mmm: Memphis BBQ ribs

1. Trim any excess fat and remove the membrane from the back of the ribs.

2. Sprinkle the ribs liberally with Magic Dust (see recipe below), coating both sides. Put them in a shallow pan or on a cookie sheet and cover them with clear plastic wrap or a lid. Refrigerate them until you're ready to use them. Mills recommends letting them marinate for at least an hour. "At the restaurant, we dust the ribs up to a day in advance," Mills says.

3. Start your fire using Royal Oak charcoal.

4. Soak the apple wood chips in water for half an hour. Drain.

5. Remove the grate and arrange the medium-hot coals in a grill or smoker. If you are using a grill, it must have a lid. Set an aluminum pan next to the coals as a drip pan. Spread out the wet wood chips on the coals. Replace the rack, close the grill and check the temperature. It should be between 200 and 210 degrees. If the temperature is too high, open the lid to allow some heat to escape.

6. Notice that the meat on a rack of ribs is on the top. The bottom, where you removed the membrane, is called the "bone side." Once the temperature is steady, place the ribs on the rack, bone side down. You want to cook them bone side down as much as possible. Turning them dries out the meat. If necessary, you can cut the racks of ribs in half to comfortably fit your grill.

7. Cover and smoke the ribs for about 4-6 hours or until the ribs are done and tender. This is not an exact science; we're not baking a cake.

8. You'll want to check the ribs every 20 minutes or so. Examine them to see if the surface of the meat looks dry or moist. Ribs "sweat" about three times during the smoking process. The pores of the meat open, and this allows moisture to escape. This is when the seasoning from the dry rub and the smoke itself are reabsorbed into the meat. When they're sweating, mop or mist them with some apple juice and sprinkle them with a little more Magic Dust. Opening the lid will lower the temperature; add more coals and wood chips as needed to maintain the temperature.

9. About 10 minutes before you remove the ribs from the pit, mop them with the sauce. When you take them off the pit, mop again with sauce and sprinkle some more Magic Dust on them. Serve immediately.

Mix all ingredients and store in a tightly covered container. To make it a little more hot and spicy, increase the mustard powder and black pepper to 1/4 cup each.

Combine the ketchup, rice vinegar, apple juice or cider, cider vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, white pepper, cayenne and bacon bits in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Stir in the apple, onion and bell pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Stir it often.

Allow to cool, then pour into sterilized glass bottles. A glass jar that used to contain mayonnaise or juice works real well. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix the mustard, ketchup, onion, red or green pepper, brown sugar, sorghum or honey and Magic Dust (see accompanying recipe) well. Be sure to work out all of the lumps of brown sugar. Add the beans, stirring gently with clean hands or a large spatula; just enough to evenly distribute the mixture. Over-mixing will cause the skins of the beans to burst and the consistency will become mushy, more like refried beans, which you don't want.

Pour into a 9-by-12-inch pan. Lay bacon strips across the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until bubbly.