The Second Best Ribs You'll Ever Make

While Memorial Day has its origins in a much more somber place, it has also come to mean the beginning of summertime. And summertime means grilling. One of my favorite things to have from the grill are these ribs prepared as laid out below. The reason I'm such a fan of this recipe is because it is super easy, practically foolproof, and ridiculously delicious. It’s also easy to prep the night before and actually gets even better when it sits for a while. This recipe originates from the St. Stephen Evangelical Lutheran Church cookbook from Lexington, SC, and I can promise you that once you've tried it, you will, as I have, settle for nothing else. I hope you really do print or copy this one down, because this sauce is good enough to drink. It will go on pretty much any cut of pork, plus it has bourbon, and you don’t get much more Southern than cooking with brown liquor. YUM. The fact that it calls for two different kinds of alcohol and hails from a church cookbook also amuses me every time I use it.

So without further ado, here is the second best recipe you’ll ever own. You probably have one you think is the best already, so I’m cool with this being the first runner-up.

Baby Back Ribs with the Most Amazing BBQ Sauce Ever

INGREDIENTS:

1. 1 can of beer—any kind will do, it’s only for tenderizing
2. 1 cup light brown sugar
3. 1 cup Dijon mustard
4. 1/2 cup bourbon—I usually use Jim Beam, but that's because I’m married to a KA and he’d probably divorce me if it was anything else.
5. 1/2 cup soy sauce
6. 2 or 3 whole cloves garlic, pressed
7. 4 tsp. Worcester

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange ribs in a large casserole dish and pour beer over them.
2. Cover tightly with foil. ***IMPORTANT***
3. Bake @ 300 for 3 hours

Here is where you can pause the process and save the rest for grilling on-site if you want. Or you can grill and transport later—either way is delicious, but hot off the grill is definitely better.

Grill on medium heat basting repeatedly, until sauce has set up. If you want to serve with sauce on the side, be sure to heat it first—remember the bourbon? And because the meat is already cooked you don’t have to worry about that pesky trichinosis problem associated with pork, so no sauce needs to be thrown out after basting!

So there you have it. I would put this BBQ sauce/baby back ribs combo head-to-head against anything and that is no joke. Try it soon—I promise you that you'll enjoy it! Have a happy, safe, and delicious Memorial Day! Be sure to thank a vet, too.