I’m a total convert.
Never have I wanted to faceplant into a pile of meat. Until now.
A ribs girl — that’s me. I want to be that summer cliché who grills ribs every weekend. Can we do that? Let’s do that.
Ribs used to intimidate me. They felt like one of those things that demand a lot of effort for a few bites — like wings or crab legs. Delicious, yes, but time-consuming.
Then I tried this method and I’m obsessed. These baby back ribs are baked first, then finished on the grill. They’re rubbed with a savory spice blend and glazed with a root beer BBQ sauce — a variation of the vanilla-bourbon sauce from my cookbook. It’s sweet, smoky, and has just a hint of root beer.
The results: fall-apart, ultra-tender meat with beautifully charred, crispy edges from the grill. It was honestly heavenly and much easier than I expected. I’d been nervous about making ribs because they’d turned out tough for me before. This bake-then-grill technique is almost foolproof — the meat is so juicy after baking that it almost falls apart on the grill, so work quickly when finishing it over high heat.
Heaven!
Eddie worried the sauce would be overwhelmingly root-beer flavored, but it’s balanced and delicious — smoky, sweet, and only faintly root-beery.
We may have stood over the baking sheet and devoured a few ribs before dinner. Like a cookie binge, but with ribs. You get me?
This is perfect for a Father’s Day menu or any backyard gathering. Pair it with a bright pasta salad — I made a bacon-bleu pasta salad with grilled corn, tomatoes, and fresh herbs — or a grilled romaine salad. Finish with chocolate cake or shandy floats for a fun summer dessert. You can never go wrong with a burger or a classic cherry pie with amaretto whipped cream.
Can you tell I’m terrible at narrowing down menus? Whatever you make, make all the things — all the time.
Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Root Beer BBQ Sauce
Pin Recipe
Leave a Review »
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
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place each rack of ribs on a doubled sheet of aluminum foil.
-
In a bowl, whisk together the salt, smoked paprika, ground mustard, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, and chipotle chili powder. Rub the mixture evenly over both sides of the ribs, then wrap each rack tightly in the foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake on the center rack for 2 1/2 hours.
-
After baking, carefully pour the juices from the foil packets into a large bowl or measuring cup. Whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons of the prepared BBQ sauce to the juices.
-
Heat the grill on high. Remove the ribs from the foil and place them on the hot grill. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, turning and basting often with the juices and BBQ sauce mixture, until charred and slightly crisp on the exterior. Let the ribs rest briefly before serving with additional BBQ sauce.
Root Beer BBQ Sauce
-
Combine all sauce ingredients in a saucepan and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature; it will thicken further as it cools.
-
Store the sauce in a jar or sealed container in the refrigerator.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to follow @howsweeteats on Instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also share a photo to the Facebook page.
I appreciate you so much!
Yeaaaaaas.