St. Louis Spare Ribs with Beer-B-Que Sauce

I prepare around 24 full racks at a time, and they do not stick around long. Mostly because this barbecue recipe is to die for.

So that is where we will start.

Scale this recipe down if you’d like, but be warned, you’re going to wish you had more. Not that long ago I would make this sauce several times a week, going through roughly 20 gallons. It’s awesome on burgers, chicken, and of course pork.

Beer-b-que

1 12oz. can chipotles

1 gl. Apple cider vinegar

1 gl. Water

3 qt. Dark beer

2 c. Tomato paste

1 c. Liquid smoke

1 gl. Ketchup

1/2 c. Paprika

1/4 c. Chili powder

6 c. Brown sugar

1 gl. Coca Cola

1/4 c. Black pepper

A handful of salt

1 fistful of garlic

3 yellow onions

2 c. Corn starch for a slurry

First purée the onions and garlic with the beer, then put everything except the starch slurry into a stock pot. Slowly reduce until it’s cooked down by 1/4, stirring occasionally. Then add the starch slurry as needed to thicken to your preference. Be aware the sauce will tighten up slightly as it is cooled.

If you give a jar of this sauce to someone you will forever be held in their heads with the highest regards humanly possible. I’ve burned bridges by taking a week off of making this it, so be careful.

On to the RIBS!

First season your ribs liberally with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the seasoning deep into the ribs.

If your only making a rack or two of ribs a small roasting pan will work fine. Place a rack in the pan for your ribs to rest on, you don’t want them on the bottom of the pan if you can help it.

However, it’s fine to pile the ribs right on top of each other. I use a humongous roasting pan that’s almost too heavy to lift and pack them in.

The ribs will then be submerged in water, use just enough to cover them completely. For every gallon of water your going to use, add in one cup of liquid smoke and one cup of worcestershire sauce.

Cover the roasting pan with plastic wrap, and then aluminum foil.

Into the oven!

Cook at 350 degrees. My batch size takes three and a half hours, but if your only cooking a few racks they will be done in 45 minutes. You want them to be tender, the racks should bend but not crack and fall apart.

I strain the juice and reuse it once to make another batch. I do this by freezing the jus and then force thawing it before I cook more ribs. The jus has such intense flavor after the pork has been poached in it that it’s just a shame to not use it one more time.

In a restaurant, it’s easy enough to hold these fresh at a serving temperature until you want to throw them on a grill. However, at home if you don’t want to eat these right away just cool them down. They can be reheated in a microwave or oven before you sauce them.

Finally your going to want a nice char on your cooked ribs, so slap them on a grill. Get them nice and hot and then start coating them in your sauce. It’s good to keep the ribs on the grill for a while after the sauce has been applied, it will caramelize beautifully.

The fact that the ribs are already fully cooked makes these insanely easy to prepare at a grill out, tailgate, or in a restaurant. There flavor is also unbeatable.

I serve these with a choice of potato...baked, French fries, or hash browns. Along with baked beans, a wheat roll and some coleslaw. Not a bad deal for $13.

Read my crazy sauce article for a great scratch made coleslaw recipe, ENJOY!