Dr Pepper Barbecue Ribs are slow smoked and slathered in my famous Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce for the most flavorful and delicious baby back ribs ever. Add these to your next cookout menu.
Ribs are one of the most popular meats for for summer cookouts. Our Smoked Spare Ribs were such a hit that we decided we had better try out some baby back ribs, smoked and slathered in good ol’ Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce.
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Dr Pepper Barbecue Ribs
Summer time is grilling time and I’ve got a super easy baby back rib recipe for you that is a total show stopper for any cookout.
We have had 108 heat index this week in Oklahoma and there’s no way I’m turning on the cook stove! Grilling is the answer. Not that we don’t sweat our you-know-whats off in the process but at least the house stays cool!
I have to say that ribs have never really been my favorite. I have recently come to realize that I just never had them cooked right! Because Holy Moly, these ribs are crazy good!
How to Cook Dr Pepper Barbecue Ribs:
Season meaty side of ribs with salt, pepper and garlic.
Smoke for 45 minutes, monitoring the heat of the grill, maintaining the heat around 250 degrees.
Baste with barbecue sauce every 15 minutes until ribs are cooked through and reach a temperature of 175 degrees.
Remove from grill and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
You can also bake them in the oven if grilling is not an option. Follow the same cooking time and temperature for the oven. You will miss out on the smoky goodness if you choose to bake them, grilling is best.
Many moons ago I had my own barbecue sauce business and ever since then, I just love experimenting with new varieties. My Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce is our standby and it’s just the ticket for summer grilling.
What you will need for the Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce:
Dr. Pepper
ketchup
brown sugar
Worcestershire Sauce
liquid smoke
coarse salt
chili powder
granulated garlic
Get the full printable recipe and instructions: Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce recipe or if you like the spicy sauce try this Jalapeno Barbecue Sauce and if you like a thicker, hearty sauce try our Homemade Barbecue Sauce.
I was very pleased with how tender these ribs were and with hickory smoke and the stick sweet barbecue sauce, it was over the top amazing.
Cooking the ribs slowly, over indirect heat with the hickory really gives them a lot of flavor and they do not dry out. A definite favorite for any summer cookout.
Don’t be intimidated by grilling and smoking. It takes a little practice and patience but it’s really pretty simple. Let me know if you have specific questions or if there’s a recipe you would like us to share.
How to Make Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce: Add Dr Pepper, ketchup, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke and spices to a large sauce pan and cook until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Wrapping your ribs are key if you want to lock in all of the moisture and flavor! Double wrap each rack of ribs securely and enjoy some ribs in no time.
The secret to incredibly tender ribs is baking them low and slow. Baking ribs in the oven is so easy. 95% of the cooking time is spent relaxing while your ribs transform into fall-off-the-bone perfection.
INGREDIENTS CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CARAMEL COLOR, PHOSPHORIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), CAFFEINE. Note: In some markets, Dr Pepper is made with sugar instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup.
And while Dr Pepper gets its sweet taste from the inclusion of high fructose corn syrup, fans argue that they also use extracts that replicate the complexity of other forms of sugar. These are the flavors that allegedly give Dr Pepper the special sweetness we know and love: Molasses. Caramel.
Moist, gentle heat and a wet vinegary sauce can save dry ribs. Here's what to do: Make a 50/50 mixture of your favorite BBQ sauce and apple cider vinegar and coat the ribs in this mixture. Then wrap the ribs tightly in foil and put them in a low oven (say 300°F) for about an hour.
It also adds moisture and speeds up cooking time. Wrapping should be done about half way through the cooking process or when internal meat temp is 150-160 degrees. Use two layers of heavy duty foil to wrap the meat.
Lime is a natural meat tenderizer. Now you want to generously coat all sides of the ribs with our Rib Rub. Don't go sparingly on it – make sure everybody's got some of it on there. Season all the sides of the ribs well.
Place the ribs bone side down into a large deep baking pan. I used a 400-hotel pan. Pour 2 cups of beef stock into the pan. Cover with foil and bake at 300° for 2 ½ hours or until the meat easily pulls away from the bones.
At 170 to 180 degrees, the meat is noticeably dryer, but the cooking time is a more manageable 6 to 8 hours. I start cooking ribs in the oven at around 200 degrees if they're wrapped in foil, and unwrapped ribs at 225 degrees to compensate for the cooling effect of evaporation from the exposed meat surface.
Place the ribs in the smoker, fat side up, and cook for 3 hours. Wrap each rack of ribs individually in foil with a little bit of apple juice or beer – this will help keep them moist and infuse some extra flavor. Place back in the smoker and cook for 2 more hours until tender but not falling apart.
Indirect heat is key in grilling ribs so that they don't get too hot too fast. They need to cook for a long time, and direct heat will burn them; you want to keep them away from direct contact over the heat source. For gas, this usually means having at least one burner completely off.
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We have had 108 heat index this week in Oklahoma and there’s no way I’m turning on the cook stove! Grilling is the answer. Not that we don’t sweat our you-know-whats off in the process but at least the house stays cool!
