Smoky Blood Orange BBQ Ribs with Avocado Butter Greens.

Blood orange BBQ ribs here we come! 

Just in time for super bowl weekend, I’m sharing these sticky sweet ribs to make you the most popular person in the room. We love ‘em! 

Don’t you just want to jump in there and eat these babies? OH boy are they good. 

I’m not a huuuuge ribs person, but a few times a year I love to make them – they hit the spot. One of our favorite versions are my baby back ribs with root beer BBQ sauce. OMG. Those are ridic!

For this version, I used pork spare ribs (actually from my butcher box, so they were super high quality!) but you can also use baby back! The latter is my go-to for ribs and definitely my favorite variety, but I can’t always find them around me. I have to say I was so pleasantly surprised at the spare ribs. I tested four racks of ribs for this recipe and they.were.phenomenal. 

And I mean, Eddie was in heaven.

If he found it acceptable he’d probably want to eat ribs once a week. You can serve them with so many things (I have an unreal cornbread recipe coming in a few weeks!), make them somewhat ahead of time and they hold up the entire day. You know? They are something you can make on Super Bowl Sunday! And set out and they won’t go bad like a cheesy dip will. 

Here, I’m sharing these ribs along with this easy yet flavorful avocado butter greens salad because it gives such a refreshing CRUNCH!

You know what a freak I am about a texture. I love the juxtaposition – sticky, smoky, chewy but tender ribs served with the fresh, crisp, creamy salad. It’s everything I want to eat together! 

If I was planning a perfect menu for these ribs and avocado salad, I’d add on these potatoes along with some cacio e pepe brussels and cornbread. It sounds like a comforting, hearty, game day or sunday meal. 

Annnnnnnd now I’m staving. 

Oh oh oh!

The blood orange BBQ sauce! YES it is so freaking good. You could make this and use it on anything – pulled pork, BBQ chicken pizza, as a dip for sweet potatoes – the options are endless. It stays great in the fridge for awhile and it’s so flavorful. Might just be my new favorite sauce. 

And p.s. Of course you can use regular orange juice in a pinch. Or in another season! 

My favorite way to prepare these ribs is to bake them low and slow and then toss them on the grill. You don’t HAVE to grill them but grilling them at the end gives them the charred crunchy bits which are so incredible. If you don’t have a grill or simply want to skip that part, bring the ribs out of the oven and slather them in sauce.

Then go.to.town.

There’s a little something here for everyone in flavor town!

Smoky Blood Orange BBQ Ribs

Smoky Blood Orange BBQ Ribs with Avocado Butter Greens

Yield: 6 to 8 people

Prep Time: 1 hour hr

Cook Time: 3 hours hrs

Total Time: 4 hours hrs

These blood orange BBQ ribs are smoky, sweet, sticky and oh-so good. Serve alongside an avocado butter greens salad for the ultimate combo!

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5 from 9 votes

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Ingredients

ribs

• 2 racks of pork spare ribs or baby back ribs, about 2 lbs each
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

blood orange BBQ sauce

• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice
• 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

avocado butter greens

• 8 cups butter lettuce
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 avocados, thinly sliced
• 2 blood oranges, segmented
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions 

ribs

• 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. The ribs are fine and ready to eat now, but they get DELISH if you throw them on the grill. To do this, whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons of blood orange BBQ sauce into the juice from the ribs.
• 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 slathering and serving with lots of blood orange BBQ sauce. Serve alongside the avocado butter greens!
• Another option to not grilling: heat the broiler in your oven to the highest setting and baste the ribs with the juices/sauce mixture. Keep the rack in the center of your oven and broil for 2 to 3 minutes per side, basteing th ribs in between.

blood orange BBQ sauce

• Place all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk together until combined. Heat over 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.

avocado butter greens

• Toss the greens with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the sliced avocado and orange slices.
• Whisk together the vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Author: How Sweet Eats

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