Place the meat strips on a cutting board. Mix the rub and the sumac in a small bowl or jar. Sprinkle an even layer of the rub mix on all of them. Make sure you turn them and cover all sides.
Once the grill or smoker is up to temp: place all the meat strips on the grill grates, on the cooler side. Leave some space in between each strip. Smoke them like this for 40-45 minutes.
Phase II - caramelize
Now it's time to crank up the heat at bit in your grill/smoker.
Apply the dark syrup on all rib fingers. I use a squeeze bottle for this. I don't go overboard on the sugar, but that's all up to personal preference.
Now grill the meat over direct heat, watching the rib fingers closely so they don't get burnt. This only takes a minute or two.
Remove meat from the grill, let it cool off for a bit, then serve with suggested sides.