If you do not have a smoker, the best way to cook ribs at home is to apply a dry rub on them, cook them slow and low for several hours in the oven and glaze them with a sauce, on the grill or under a broiler, right before you serve them. My special rub has a smoky rich flavor and some added depth from the cocoa. You can use any type of fruit juice you have in the fridge as the liquid to cook with in the pan. I like to use an orange pineapple juice because it adds a hidden element of flavor that no one can pinpoint unless they knew the recipe. The sauce has a beautiful purplish red color and sweet but tangy flavor. The shot of bourbon at the end really finishes the sauce nicely.
Bon Appetite!
- Prep Time: 15m
- Cook Time: 3h
- Total Time: 3h 15m
- Serves: rack of ribs
- Yield: 3 servings
- Category: Mains
Ingredients
- 1 rack of pork ribs
- 2 cups fruit juice
Dry Rub
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon blak pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon herbs de provence
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
BBQ Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon grain mustard
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon shirarcha
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 ounces bourbon
Instructions
Sauce
- Reserve 2 ounces of bourbon and set aside.
- In a sauce pot, combine all ingredients for the sauce and the other 2 ounces of bourbon. Simmer on low for 15 minutes.
- Puree sauce with an immersion blender wand until smooth. Add the reserved bourbon. Strain sauce to remove black berry seeds.
Ribs
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix all dry rub ingredients together and coat both sides of the rib rack. Place on baking sheet. Pour fruit juice around ribs in pan and cover with foil. Bake for 2.5 hours.
- Remove pan juices and return rack to a foiled sheet tray.
- You can either turn the grill on high or set the oven to a low broil. Brush sauce on the ribs. Broil in the oven or grill until sauce forms a crust on the ribs. Keep a close eye on them as the sugars from the sauce can burn easily. Remove immediately and brush another layer of sauce before serving.
I have got to try this! Looks delicious.
Oh wow! This has a rich, complex flavor profile. I used 50ml of Old Smokey BlackBerry Moonshine and didn’t add anymore after cooking and this turned out exactly how I hoped it would. I’m definitely going to experiment with this sauce. This sauce is probably the best I’ve ever made at home. Thank you for sharing it!
Thank you so much! I bet that moonshine would be great in this sauce!
Chef Christy, we won! My family and friends had a hog roast this weekend with a BBQ sauce competition and this sauce won 1st place out of 9 entries. The prize was a silicone spatula and a homemade kitchen apron. It’s only fair that I split the prize with you, which one do you want? Your sauce received many compliments yesterday and of course I gave you all the credit.
Next weekends meal