Cola-Barbecued Ribs
By America's Test KitchenPublished on November 9, 2012
Time
5¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Ribs
2 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar 1 ½ tablespoons paprika 1 ½ tablespoons pepper 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder 3 pounds baby back ribs (2 racks, each about 1 ½ pounds), membrane removed (see note)2 cups wood chips, soaked for 15 minutesCola-Barbecue Sauce
4 cups cola ½ onion, cut into large chunks¼ cup water 1 ¼ cups ketchup 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 2 teaspoons yellow mustard 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce ¼ teaspoon vanilla extractBefore You Begin
Use a paring knife to loosen the membrane on the back of the ribs, grasp with a paper towel, and peel off in one piece. Chinese five-spice powder is available in the spice aisle of most supermarkets.
Instructions
- For the spice rub and ribs: Combine sugar, paprika, pepper, salt, and five-spice powder, breaking up any lumps. Reserve 2 tablespoons for sauce. Dry ribs with paper towels and rub all over with remaining spice mixture. (Ribs can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for 24 hours.)
- Seal wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top. Open bottom vent on grill. Light 100 coals; when covered with fine gray ash, pour in pile on one side of grill. Arrange foil packet directly on coals. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered, with lid vent open halfway, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 5 minutes. (For gas grill, place foil packet directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and shut other burner[s] off.) Scrape and oil cooking grate. Arrange ribs on cool side of grill and barbecue, covered, flipping and rotating racks once, until ribs are deep red and smoky, about 2 hours.
- For the sauce: While ribs are barbecuing, bring cola to boil in large saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, process onion and water in food processor until finely ground. Transfer mixture to fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and press on solids to collect as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Whisk 1/4 cup onion juice, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, and reserved spice mixture into pot with reduced cola. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in vanilla.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Brush ribs liberally with sauce and wrap tightly with foil. Arrange foil-wrapped ribs on rimmed baking sheet and bake until ribs are completely tender, about 2 hours. Transfer ribs (still in foil) to cutting board and let rest 15 minutes. Unwrap ribs and serve, passing remaining sauce at table.
Time
5¼ hoursYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Spice Rub and Ribs
Cola-Barbecue Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Ribs
Cola-Barbecue Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Ribs
Cola-Barbecue Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Pork ribs marinated in various types of cola, slow-grilled to perfection, and finished with a cola-infused glaze are becoming increasingly popular at backyard barbecues and even professional competitions. But every existing cola-barbecued ribs recipe that we tried turned out burned to a crisp and barely edible. We wanted a version that avoided these pitfalls. We found that cola-barbecued ribs recipes that marinated the ribs in cola burned quickly on the grill, so we skipped this step and added cola flavor with five-spice powder. Merely adding cola to our barbecue sauce was a nonstarter. We found that a homemade sauce allowed us to pair ingredients that brought out the cola flavor in our Cola-Barbecued Ribs. Tasters liked the flavor of onion in our sauce, but not the texture. Pureeing the onion before adding it to the sauce solved the problem. No matter how much soda we added, our sauce barely registered any cola flavor. Reducing the cola down to a syrup before adding it to the sauce gave us cola-barbecued ribs that finally tasted like cola.
Before You Begin
Use a paring knife to loosen the membrane on the back of the ribs, grasp with a paper towel, and peel off in one piece. Chinese five-spice powder is available in the spice aisle of most supermarkets.
Instructions
- For the spice rub and ribs: Combine sugar, paprika, pepper, salt, and five-spice powder, breaking up any lumps. Reserve 2 tablespoons for sauce. Dry ribs with paper towels and rub all over with remaining spice mixture. (Ribs can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for 24 hours.)
- Seal wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top. Open bottom vent on grill. Light 100 coals; when covered with fine gray ash, pour in pile on one side of grill. Arrange foil packet directly on coals. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered, with lid vent open halfway, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 5 minutes. (For gas grill, place foil packet directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and shut other burner[s] off.) Scrape and oil cooking grate. Arrange ribs on cool side of grill and barbecue, covered, flipping and rotating racks once, until ribs are deep red and smoky, about 2 hours.
- For the sauce: While ribs are barbecuing, bring cola to boil in large saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, process onion and water in food processor until finely ground. Transfer mixture to fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and press on solids to collect as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Whisk 1/4 cup onion juice, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, and reserved spice mixture into pot with reduced cola. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in vanilla.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Brush ribs liberally with sauce and wrap tightly with foil. Arrange foil-wrapped ribs on rimmed baking sheet and bake until ribs are completely tender, about 2 hours. Transfer ribs (still in foil) to cutting board and let rest 15 minutes. Unwrap ribs and serve, passing remaining sauce at table.
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