Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Root Beer BBQ Sauce.
I’m a total convert.
Never have I ever wanted to faceplant into a pile of meat. Until now.
A ribs girl, that’s what I can call myself? I want to be a summer cliché and grill ribs every weekend. Can we do that? Let’s do that.
Previously, ribs sort of fell into that category of things that require lots of work to for little return. You know? Like chicken wings? Like crab legs? All delicious, but so much work for just a few bites?
But now. Gah. I can hardly take how in love I am with these baby back ribs. I did a bake-then-grill method with the ribs blanketed in spices and finished off with BBQ sauce.
And not just any BBQ sauce, but a root beer BBQ sauce based on the vanilla bourbon version in my cookbook. It’s dreamy. I crave it. It’s stockpiled in my fridge right this very minute.
The end result was fall-apart, super tender meat – but complete with charred crispy bits on the outside from the grill. This was TO DIE FOR. It was also so so so much easier than I anticipated. I’ve been intimidated by ribs before – I’ve made them a few times and they’ve come out tougher than I’d like. This method is no fail. The ribs are so juicy after baking that they almost fall apart on the grill, so the only thing you must do is work fairly quickly.
Heaven!
Eddie was afraid that the sauce would taste TOO much like root beer, but alas. It’s delicious! It’s smoky and sweet and only slightly root beery.
And.
We miiiight have stood over the baking sheet of ribs and went to town, way before even sitting down for dinner. Like a cookie binge, but with ribs. Do you get me?
Throw this on your Father’s Day menu, maybe with some perfect pasta salad (if you follow me on snapchat, you might have seen that over the weekend I made a bacon bleu pasta salad with grilled corn, tomatoes and tons of fresh herbs… omg) or even a grilled romaine salad. You can do chocolate cake or shandy floats for dessert – how super fun! Can’t go wrong with a burger and you should probbbbbably make a cherry pie with amaretto cream.
Can you tell why I’m the absolute worst at giving menu suggestions? What are you making? Just make all the things. All the time.
Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Root Beer BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
ribs
- 2 racks of baby back ribs, roughly 2 pounds each
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
root beer BBQ sauce
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 2/3 cup root beer
- ½ cup honey
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Place each rack of ribs on a doubled sheet of aluminum foil.
- In a bowl, whisk together the salt, paprika, mustard, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder and chipotle chili powder. Rub the mixture all over both sides of the ribs, then wrap the ribs up in the aluminum foil. Place the racks on a baking sheet and put them on the center rack in the oven. Bake for 2 1/2 hours.
- After 2 1/2 hours, gently pour the juice in the foil packets into a large bowl or measuring cup. Whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons of BBQ sauce.
- Heat the grill to the highest setting and remove the ribs from the foil. Once the grill is hot, place the ribs on the grill and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are charred and slightly crisp on the outsides, basting and rubbing the juices/BBQ sauce mixture on top. Let cool slightly before serving with lots of BBQ sauce.
root beer BBQ sauce
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk together until combined. Heat oven medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for 30 to 60 minutes, until thickened. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat and let sit at room temperature until it cools and thickens even more.
- Store in a jar or sealed container in the fridge.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Yeaaaaaas.
74 Comments on “Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Root Beer BBQ Sauce.”
Now that I’m a father, I’m totally asking my Mother-In-Law to make these this Sunday, she’s the rib woman in my life. And this is the BEST recipe you’ve ever posted. This is real man’s food right here right now. That root beer BBQ sauce, how could your husband think they’d taste to root beer ish? You can’t get enough of that good stuff. I think I feel a song coming on. Gimme my baby back baby back baby back………
Ok Tom, I read this blog to and just want to respond to your comment (I’m the gym teacher’s wife here). I’m not sure you can just send my mom this recipe and tell her to make it! I might have to do it. She just got back from a month from Greece and Turkey, the women is tired! So I will try to make these because I totally agree they look amazing.
STOP IT. I posted a 4 ingredient pulled pork recipe yesterday with THE SAME ROOT BEER. I think we’re just kindred spirits and should logically be best friends (did we not address that when I MADE my boyfriend get a book signed by you in NY? I should have mentioned the future best friends thing for sure.)
IN OTHER NEWS…. HAVE YOU HEARD??? TACOS & UNICORN EMOJIS ARE ON THE RISE! http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/lets-taco-bout-it-with-emojis?bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#.hux7B7l04
Ok, Ashley, I’m still drooling over the root beer ribs but I need your recipe for root beer pulled pork! I’m on my way to the grocery store! It all sounds so good.
Ok- I not a big rib fan, but I seriously want to make this recipe!
OMG! These look and sound fantastic. I love root beer but have never put it in a glaze/sauce. I’m with you on the ribs thing. I’m usually more inclined if someone else is making them, haha. These may change my mind, though. We’re doing a Father’s Day BBQ – simple stuff like burgers. Breakfast will be the everything bagel breakfast sandwich strata I posted this morning. My husband’s fav. Happy early first Father’s Day to Eddie!
Rib binges…I dig it! Way more my style these days. And a root beer BBQ sauce? That is like two of my husbands favorite things all rolled into one. Genius!
I saw this at Chili’s as one of their new variations of ribs with root beer marinade. Being from Utah, root beer is one of the only acceptable sodas in Mormon culture. I think the flavor would be amazing.
http://askmelissaanything.blogspot.com/
OMG I WANT TO EAT THAT BBQ SAUCE WITH A SPOON. I mean, I’ll eat the ribs too….obvi…but oooooooomg that BBQ sauce!!!
This makes me so excited for barbecue season, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS FABULOUS SAUCE. we plan on going to Tennessee end of July, I can’t wait to stuff my face with pulled pork and baby back ribs!
How did you pour the rib juice from the foil packets into a bowl? I can’t imagine doing it without burning myself, dropping the ribs on my kitchen floor, or both. So any tips would be helpful :)
Remove the rib racks before you attempt to pour. Then just make a funnel type thing on the edge and pour away. Use pot holders!
I have never made ribs before ,but for you and my hubby …..I will ,
theeeese look deelishusss!
Don’t forget a Guinness beer too!
I don’t find myself cooking with pork but I know my boyfriend would be SO HAPPY if I whipped him up some of these!
My local groceries (all 2 of them) carry beef ribs, usually boneless, but I use the same cooking method. I have to cook both pork and beef to feed my descendants. They cut thick chuck steak (roast?) into strips. They’re delicious.
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Now these are ribs I can get behind, and I don’t want to waste a single bite of these beauties!
yumm; I adore root beer. my Dad is diabetic so we’re having salad without carbs (so sad) and treating ourselves to small DQ cones; instead i dreamed up a delicious menu of chicken salad and pork tacos that would be great alongside or in lieu of a BBQ https://byallison.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/fathersday/
Jessica – What an awesome sauce! :) I’m a huge fan of root beer. Although I don’t eat ribs, I totally could make ribs for the men in my family and use the sauce on some chicken! Thank you.
Yes please!!
I’ve used coke before but root beer and I love Barqs root beer.
Will have to try this.
Wow you are so insane in the best way possible. This is killer!
I am SO, SO not a meat person… but now I want ribs?! What??!!! Love this! <3
I’m a die-hard meat lover! I’m trying out new sauces and marinades all the time, can’t wait to try this one!
Do you think I could for go the oven and throw them on the grill?
You’re straight killing me. Killing me. These look ridiculously amazing. And that barbecue sauce? I want to drench everything in it.
Thank you for picking just what I need to make for Father’s Day!!!!! He will love these!
As a rot beer lover (and collector) and rib lover I need this in my life like I need oxygen to breath.
Awesome and excited to try them! Thanks for such a great recipe for Father’s Day!! My hubby doesn’t like real spicy, so I was wondering about leaving out the chili powder. Would that work?
Ok when I have my new house. Cross fingers that everything goes smoothly and we (my fiancé and I) get it and we get a grill (some month’s later as we’ll need to buy a mattress and locks and cooking utensils first) I will be making these beautiful, beautiful ribs.
My neighbor’s mom makes $87 every hour on the computer . She has been fired for 7 months but last month her pay was $18756 just working on the computer for a few hours. you can check here….
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It must be delicious. It’s so awesome sauce i’ve ever seen. Great ideas. Good job
I am the Rib Master in my family. Loved these so much that I made them TWICE on Sunday. One for grandpa and one for the boyfriend. <3
I sent this recipe to my boyfriend and he asked if we could make them immediately! We made them last night – holy wow. Amazing! To die for. Seriously… Yum!
I’m not on Snapchat. How can we get that Perfect Pasta Salad recipe?
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I made these ribs last night and they were delicious. Honestly, the best ribs I’ve ever had. They were easy to make, tender, and full of flavor. My boyfriend doesn’t really like spicy, but he said they had the perfect amount of kick. That BBQ sauce was SO good, and also very easy to make. I served it with cilantro coleslaw and corn bread. Thank you for sharing these wonderful meals.
Do you think it’s ok to bake the ribs, use the juice to make the sauce which takes up to an hour and then grill the ribs instead of putting them on the grill immediately? I’d like to have the sauce done and be grilling the ribs when our company comes. Thanks! I’m looking forward to making these.
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i kind of want to try this with not your father’s alcoholic root beer. have you tried it? it’s amazing!
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