Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Espresso BBQ Sauce
by John McLemore
Ingredients
- 6 lbs. (3 racks) pork baby-back ribs
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup honey
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Starbucks® double shot espresso, or strong homebrewed coffee
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, combine olive oil and garlic and sauté on medium heat until golden.
- Remove from heat and let the garlic cool in the oil.
- Whisk in the ketchup, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, and espresso.
- Return to heat and simmer for 15 minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat.
- Season ribs with salt and pepper and smoke for 3 hours at 225° F, in preheated smoker. Use hickory chips during the first 2 hours.
- After 3 hours, remove ribs, baste generously with espresso BBQ sauce and wrap in heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- Return to smoker and cook for an additional 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until internal temperature reaches 160° F.
- OPTIONAL: During the last 10 minutes, remove ribs from the foil and baste again; place them back in the smoker, directly onto the rack, allowing the ribs to caramelize.
- Transfer to cutting board, cut and serve hot.
