Fall Off the Bones Pork Ribs with Chipotle-Maple Barbecue Sauce

For a long time I thought that barbecue sauce was a huge mistake of humanity. I just could not eat it or understand it. But the day I decided to make pork ribs at home my husband convinced me that there is only one right way of cooking them - drenched in barbecue sauce. I knew I could make it without that sauce but I got a feeling that my husband was really trying to challenge me! I immediately went on-line in search for a great recipe when I stumbled upon this fall off the bone pork ribs recipe on David's LeiteCulinaria.com. I decided to fight my fear of barbecue sauce and made it. I believe I could not have picked a better recipe. These ribs melt in your mouth and the barbecue sauce is a balanced mixture of sweet, smoky, and spicy. I still can't say I love any barbecue sauce, but this one (along with the ribs) is now a staple in our house! I actually crave it!

This recipe is very easy to make and SO worth trying!!

Fall Off The Bone Pork Ribs with Chipotle-Maple Barbecue Sauce

Recipe slightly adapted from Clarkson Porter via Leite's Culinaria

For the Ribs:

2 slabs pork ribs ( I use pork loin back ribs from Costco)

1 large onion or 2 leeks, sliced into rings (

1 12-ounce bottle of beer

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

3. Spread the onion slices evenly on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Place the ribs, bone side down, on the onion. Pour the beer over the ribs, season with salt and pepper, and cover tightly with a double layer of foil. Bake, undisturbed, for 2 to 3 hours (depending on which kind of ribs you use) until meat is fork tender. This time, my pork loin back ribs cooked in 2:45 minutes.

4. Preheat gas grill to high heat or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill and let the coals burn to a gray ash with a faint red glow, or until you can hold your hand 3 to 4 inches above the fire for no more than 6 seconds.

5. Brush both sides of the baby back ribs with the barbecue sauce and place the ribs, meat side down, over the coals. Grill the ribs, basting the top side several times, until slightly charred, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the slab of ribs and liberally baste the cooked side. Close the lid of the grill and cook the ribs, basting often, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Cut the slabs into individual ribs, pile them onto a large platter, and serve warm.

Chipotle Maple Barbecue Sauce

by Sara Foster via Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients

One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes 

1/2 cup maple syrup 

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 

2 chipotle peppers in adobo, diced

 1 cup white vinegar 

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 

1/2 cup apple cider or unfiltered apple juice 

Juice of 2 lemons 

4 garlic cloves, minced

 2 tablespoons Colman’s dry mustard

 2 teaspoons sea salt

 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir to combine.

2. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat.

3. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is thick and reduced by about a quarter, 30 to 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.

4. The sauce will keep, refrigerated, in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Visualize:

PLace ribs (bone side down)over the onions or leeks:

Pour beer over the meat:

Season generously with salt and pepper:

Cover tightly with 2 layers of aluminum foil and place it in the preheated oven. Cook until fork tender (2 to 3 hours).

Meanwhile make the barbecue sauce by simply placing all the listed ingredients on a sauce pan and cooking for about 40 minutes until sauce reduces by a quarter and thickens.

You will need apple cider or unfiltered apple juice for the sauce. Here is what the unfiltered juice looks like: