I realized recently that in all the time I’ve been writing this column; I never included a recipe for one of the things I love to make and have so much fun experimenting with. All summer long my husband and I love grilling and smoking meats on our smoker. After lots of incredible food made and some epic failures, we have perfected a few things; one of the easiest is BBQ Ribs.
So here is my tried-and-true method for making baby back ribs and my whiskey BBQ sauce.
Baby Back Ribs with Whiskey BBQ Sauce
Makes 2 racks of ribs
Ingredients:
Baby Back Ribs 2 full slabs
½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Stick Salted Butter
Rinse and trim the fat off the ribs and remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. There are some great YouTube videos to help you do this. Pat dry the ribs and sprinkle generously with course Kosher Salt. Set aside.
Dry Rub
In a small bowl combine:
¼ cup of the following: Onion Powder, Garlic Salt, Season Salt, Paprika – any variety, Brown Sugar.
2 tablespoons Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
Spread generously on all sides of the ribs, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or even overnight.
This rub can be adjusted for your own taste, but this is good go-to one for most meats. It can also easily be doubled for more and stores well in a sealed container or mason jar for months.
Whiskey BBQ Sauce1 ½ cups Ketchup
1/3 cup Hot Sauce
1/3 cup Vinegar – any variety
¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/3 cup Jameson Whiskey
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook on medium for 5-6 minutes, until warmed through and it starts to thicken slightly.
The beauty of these ribs is you can cook this on a traditional gas or charcoal grill, in a smoker, or in your oven.
For your grill or smoker, heat it to 275* For the oven, 300*
Place ribs bone side down on either grill or bone side down on a baking sheet in the oven.
Cook for one hour – spray with apple cider vinegar every 30 minutes.
After the first hour, pull the ribs off and on a sheet of foil or butcher paper place 2-3 pats of butter.
Then place the ribs, meat side down, on the butter. Place 2-3 more pats of butter on the ribs and wrap tightly. Return to the grill, smoker, or oven meat side down for two hours.
After two hours, unwrap the ribs, baste in the butter, and then brush with the whisky BBQ sauce and return to the grill, smoker or oven for 20 minutes meat side up. Flip and brush with more sauce and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Remove the ribs and let stand for 15 minutes, then slice into the serving size you prefer.
Serve with additional sauce for dipping if desired.
