I have been rubbing and letting sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours for quite some time...now I am smoking for about 4 hours at 200 to 210 and then putting a nice coat of honey and squeeze butter on the meat side and wrapping in foil.
Put them back on the smoker for 2 1/2 hours and then take the foil off to let the "wetness" escape....if I am going to use bbq sauce on them (sometimes do sometimes don't) I move to the grill after about 20 minutes and "cook" the sauce into the ribs.