Bourbon Barbecue Pork Ribs

Bourbon Barbecue Pork Ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender. They are slow baked in the oven and basted with a thick and glossy, spicy and sweet, partially homemade bourbon barbecue sauce. Half a rack per person sounds right, yes!?

I’ve said it before in previous rib recipes and it’s worth repeating. The best way to prepare ribs is to bake them at a low temperature for a really long time. I know we all don’t have the time, or the desire, to spend all day in the kitchen. But, I’m happy to report that even though these ribs take a long time, they don’t require constant attention, so you’re free to go about your day.

Bourbon Barbecue Pork Ribs takes about three hours from start to finish. Because of that, they might not be a good choice for a weeknight dinner option. But, they’re perfect for a Sunday night dinner with family and friends. Or, just about any winter weekend when you’re not able to use your outdoor grill or smoker.

BOURBON BARBECUE PORK RIBS

The key to baking ribs and keeping all of that moisture locked inside is aluminum foil. I line my baking sheet with aluminum foil and then I make sure that the ribs are completely covered and that the foil creates a good seal around the perimeter of the baking sheet. This will prevent the ribs from cooking too fast or drying out.

You will want to hold off on the sauce until the meat is fork tender. Don’t worry, the sauce will have it’s time too. It will be thick and glossy and baked onto the ribs with more for dunking on the side. Trust me on this! After all, ribs without sauce is just baked meat.

Even though we want the ribs to be juicy and moist. We want them to be tender and literally falling off the bones. The ribs are just the ribs. Sure, they will be perfectly seasoned and delightfully tasty, but the sauce fights so hard to be the star. Let me tell you about it!

LET THEM EAT SAUCE!

Alexis Soyer, a 19th century French chef, once said that sauces in cookery are like the first rudiments of grammar – the foundation of all languages. I couldn’t agree more!

I love a good sauce recipe. In fact, sometimes, they don’t need to be recipes at all. Our pantry is always stocked with bottled sauces. One doesn’t always have time to make every sauce from scratch, so store-bought will do just fine!

In the case of Bourbon Barbecue Pork Ribs, I took a store-bought barbecue sauce and jazzed it up to fit my particular needs. You can do this with any barbecue sauce you prefer. A brand that you already know, use, and trust, would be the best option.

To one cup of prepared barbecue sauce, I added some bourbon, chili flakes, onion flakes, liquid smoke, and hot sauce. I whisked it all together and that was it. Doesn’t sound too difficult at all, does it? Keep the sauce on a low simmer. It’s always good to serve ribs with extra sauce.

PORK RIBS VS BEEF RIBS

I have friends and family who much prefer beef over pork. To me, that is just blasphemy! No matter the cut or how expensive the beef, if sitting next to pork, I’d pick the pork first. To me, it has way more flavour and stays more tender and moist. It’s also much less costly!

Can you use beef ribs in this recipe rather than pork ribs? Absolutely! In fact, you go ahead and treat them the exact same way. I do find that beef ribs are typically chewier and fattier than pork ribs. You can cook them both the same way. Beef ribs tend to be much bigger and meatier as well. Other than taste and texture, the biggest difference is the price. Pork ribs are much cheaper.

SUITABLE BOURBON SUBSTITUTES

I used bourbon in this recipe simply because I had a bottle of bourbon on hand from when I made Bourbon Chicken. If you don’t have bourbon, you can easily substitute it. Since the strong alcohol flavour cooks off anyway, the taste won’t change that much.

Bourbon can easily be substituted with rum, brandy, or even cognac. If you don’t have one of those, you can also use scotch. If you want to avoid the addition of alcohol completely, it’s so easy to do so. Use unsweetened apple juice instead of the alcohol.

I highly recommend that you use unsweetened rather than sweetened apple juice. Most store-bought, prepared barbecue sauces already have loads of sugar, so you don’t want to add even more. To be honest, if you want, you can just straight up use a bottle of sauce without altering it at all. It will work just fine!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE:

1. Pork Ribs – Sometimes called loin ribs, baby back ribs or riblets, these are smaller and tend to be a bit fattier. You will need two racks, which is roughly two dozen bones. This will serve 4-5 people.
2. Bourbon – Can be substituted with rum, brandy or cognac. Use unsweetened apple juice for an alcohol-free version.
3. Chili Flakes – If you don’t want any additional spice, leave these out. If you want extra spice, add more!
4. Onion Flakes – I use these a lot when cooking. They soften up and save me from chopping and cooking onion. You can use onion powder too, but use only half the amount.
5. Hot Sauce – I love spicy and sweet ribs, but you can leave out the hot sauce if you wish.

HOW TO PREPARE BOURBON BARBECUE PORK RIBS:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
2. Lay each rack of ribs onto the prepared baking sheet. Season each side with salt and pepper.
3. Cover with aluminum foil. Be sure to completely cover the baking sheet to prevent steam from escaping.
4. Cook for 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the oven and remove the aluminum foil. Return to the oven and cook for 30 minutes more.
5. Remove the ribs from the oven again and distribute half of the sauce evenly over both sides of both racks. Return the ribs to the oven for 30 minutes.
6. Once again, remove the ribs from the oven, baste the top of the ribs with half of the remaining sauce. Place back in the oven and broil for 3-5 minutes until slightly charred.

Now, don’t forget to keep the leftover sauce warm. Serve that in a bowl on the table with the ribs. Some people love extra sauce with their ribs, and I’m one of them! I like to serve Bourbon Barbecue Pork Ribs with my Cream Cheese Corn and my Mom’s Classic Macaroni Salad. Now, bring on the napkins; it’s time to dig in! Enjoy!

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