4th of July: Super Easy Ribs, BBQ Recipe

pork ribs

🥗Healthier: chicken ribs

💰Cheaper: pork shoulder

Chicken ribs are lower in fat, while pork shoulder is more affordable.

barbecue sauce

🥗Healthier: homemade barbecue sauce

💰Cheaper: ketchup

Homemade sauce can be healthier with less sugar, while ketchup is budget-friendly.

Pick up two racks of pork ribs from the farmers market: one rack of baby backs and one rack of thinly sliced pork spare ribs.

Make the marinade: start with 1 cup of dark beer, then add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of spice mix, 1 teaspoon of ground dried mustard, a pinch of kosher salt, a dash of cayenne pepper, and 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic. Mix together.

Set the marinade aside.

Prepare the ribs: arrange two pieces of foil on a rimmed baking tray, unpackage the ribs, and rinse them off. Cut the spare ribs into sections of 3 to 4 ribs if necessary.

Lay the ribs meat side down on the foil, fold the foil into a boat around the ribs, and pour about a third of a cup of marinade into each rib packet, ensuring some garlic gets in there.

Add fresh herbs to the packets (rosemary and sage used). Crimp the packets closed and refrigerate while the oven preheats.

Preheat the oven to 250°F.

Once the oven is preheated, slide the ribs on their baking tray into the oven and braise for about 2 and a half hours, or until the meat is just falling off the bone.

After braising, drain the marinade from the ribs into a saucepan to make barbecue sauce (though Lisa brought her own sauce).

Package the ribs back up and refrigerate until ready to grill.

Start the grill, getting one side very hot and leaving the other side cool.

Place the ribs on the cool side of the grill to heat through and glaze generously with barbecue sauce.

Once the sauce is bubbling, flip the ribs over and glaze the other side.

The ribs are done when they are charred, sticky, and heated through, about 5 minutes per side.

Cut the ribs into portions of 3 to 4 and serve.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: