Bourbon-Brined Baby Backs with Sweet Heat Rub, Sweet Tea Spritzer, and Coffee & Chicory BBQ Sauce
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe by:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Bourbon Brine
  • 1 gallon water
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • 1 cup bourbon
  • 1 cup sugarcane syrup
  • ½ cup Creole mustard
  • Juice of 1 lemon
Sweet Heat Rub (makes just over 1 cup)
  • 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon. cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
Sweet Tea Spritz
  • 1 quart sweet tea
  • Juice of 1 lemon
Coffee and Chicory BBQ Sauce (makes 3 ½ cups)
  • 3 cups tomato sauce
  • ½ cup sugarcane molasses
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup brewed dark Louisiana coffee with chicory
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Baby Back Ribs
  • 2 racks (about 6 pounds) baby back ribs, trimmed
Instructions
Bourbon Brine
  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil and continue cooking until the salt and sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Add the remaining ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.
Sweet Heat Rub (makes just over 1 cup)
  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix all spice ingredients together and place in an airtight jar.
Sweet Tea Spritz
  1. Add the ingredients to a plastic spray bottle container and shake until mixed. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Coffee and Chicory BBQ Sauce (makes 3 ½ cups)
  1. In a medium saucepan, add all ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and let cook until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Let cool and store in a Mason jar or an airtight container. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 months.
Baby Back Ribs
  1. Unpackage the ribs, rinse and pat dry. With a sharp knife, remove any excess fat and the tough membrane around the ribs.
  2. Brine the ribs by adding the brining liquid to a large container. Submerge the ribs in the brine and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
  3. Remove the ribs from the brine and pat dry. Coat with the seasoning rub and massage into the meat. Move to a platter and let come to room temperature.
  4. Preheat your gas grill by turning on the burners on one side of the grill only. Clean the grill on the other side where the ribs will cook. Place an oven thermometer on the grill and cover.
  5. In a disposable aluminum foil pie pan, fill with presoaked wood chips.
  6. On the cold side of the grill, add the ribs meat-side down. On the hot side of the grill, place the aluminum foil pan containing the wood on the grill grates directly over the burners. Reduce the burners to medium. Check the thermometer and adjust the gas burners to bring to and maintain a temperature of 275ºF. Close the grill and let cook, watching to see that smoke is ventilating from the closed grill as it cooks.
  7. After 30 minutes, open the cover, check the inside temperature and replenish the wood. Turn the meat over and spray with the Sweet Tea Spritz; cover the grill, cooking for a second half hour of smoking.
  8. After 1 hour, the smoke will have done its job. Open the cover and remove the wood pan. Again, check to see that the temperature is maintained at 275ºF. Lay the ribs on a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and spray them once again with the spritz. Tightly wrap the ribs and continue cooking for another hour.
  9. Open the grill and unwrap the meat. With a knife, remove one of the ribs to check for doneness. Well-cooked ribs should not “fall-off-the-bone,” but instead should tug away from the bone and still have enough texture to bite into. There should also be a crimson colored smoke ring around the meat. If the meat is not sufficiently cooked to tenderness, then rewrap in foil and cook longer checking for doneness each half hour.
  10. Once the ribs are tender, brush on the bbq sauce with a generous coating on both sides. Place the ribs (in the aluminum foil uncovered) back on the grill, close the grill and let cook just until the sauce warms through and the glaze sets, about 10 to 15 minutes. (Note: control your heat and be sure not to let the sauce burn.)
  11. Remove the ribs to a cutting board, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. For serving, slice the ribs along each bone and pile onto a platter with more of the bbq sauce on the side.
Recipe by Acadiana Table at https://acadianatable.com/?p=11966