It’s summer! And summer means lots of grilling happens around here. This week I wanted to try something I haven’t done in a long time: ribs. A cold beer in my hand is my favorite way to grill in the summer heat, so this Chilli and Beer Barbecue Pork Ribs recipe sounds perfect for me. I know the first rib recipe I did had beer too, but this recipe is different enough that I think it’s worth trying. The main differences are a 2-hour period for the dry rub to infuse the meat (and, I’m assuming, tenderize it) and a much quicker cooking time of 35 minutes. I’m always down for a quick, easy recipe, so let’s find out if this one delivers.
While the recipe can be made a day ahead to enhance the flavours, you can allow the ribs to infuse for about 2 hours. Then 35 minutes in the oven and they were ready to devour. Finger-licking good!
The Ingredients
Like most recipes I make, I had a few ingredients on hand like the spices, olive oil, and ketchup. That left me with a few things to shop for, but my regular grocery store had everything. Or so I thought.
I have mobility issues, so I order my groceries online. The website showed a rack of ribs for $13.98, but I got it in pieces. One package had about five separate ribs, and the other one had two small pieces that were about 1/4 a rack each. (They’re sometimes called cheater racks.)
Folks, I was not having that! I ended up going out to another local grocery store and picking up the rack you see in my photos. It was $10.77 and frozen, but thawing it wasn’t a big deal. I just put it into the refrigerator overnight, and it was ready to cook the next day.
The Process
Making these Chilli and Beer Barbecue Pork Ribs couldn’t have been easier. They did take a little planning because the spice rub has to sit on the ribs for a couple of hours before they’re cooked, but it wasn’t a big deal. Here’s how my time was spent:
- 4 minutes to prep and rub the ribs
- 2 hours to marinate
- 30 minutes to cook in the oven
- 5 minutes to grill
- 33 extra minutes on the oven
- 3 hours 12 minutes total
The prep work was very fast. Just rinse the ribs, pat dry, mix up all the spices, and rub them on both sides of the rack. Then it was into the refrigerator for 2 hours so it could absorb all that flavor.
Since the first part of the cooking process was in the oven, I made sure to marinate the ribs in an oven-proof dish. That way I could take it straight from the refrigerator to the oven. Well, I did have to add the beer to the pan and cover it, but the pan I have has a lid, so that made it even easier.
I mixed up the glaze and preheated the grill while the ribs cooked. When they were done, I just took everything outside, glazed the ribs, and grilled them face-down for 5 minutes. The curve of the ribs prevented good grill marks, but I was more concerned with the glaze caramelizing.
Oh No!
I was a little disappointed that the sauce didn’t caramelize very much, but the ribs smelled great. I was ready to eat, so I took them inside and began cutting them apart to serve. That’s when I saw that the inside of the ribs was nowhere close to done.
My meat thermometer confirmed this with an internal temperature of 128℉. Pork should be at least 145℉ (for rare), so I pushed the cut ribs against the rest of the rack and put the dish back into the oven.
The meat thermometer beeped 33 minutes later when the meat reached 160℉ (well-done). I removed the rack from the oven and let it sit for another 5 minutes before I finished cutting apart the ribs. They were still a little pink in the middle, but I served them since they were at a safe temperature.
