What do sweet brown sugar, tangy apple butter sauce, and ketchup have in common? They make the perfect combination for the ultimate backyard grille experience - Apple Butter BBQ Ribs! With just a few simple ingredients, you can have ribs that are bursting with flavor and perfect for your next cookout. So fire up your grill and prepare for some delicious Apple Butter BBQ Ribs!
It would not be summer if you did not fire up the grill and make some Bar B Que ribs.
These Apple butter BBQ Ribs are a copycat recipe that Dwayne and I found when purchasing a Char-Broil grill. However, this is a different way to make your ribs with sweet and tangy flavors. We changed up the recipe a bit to make it custom to our liking. We love exploring different ways to upgrade a recipe—these ribs.
Let me tell you, they fall off the bone, and I could put that apple butter barbecue sauce on just about anything. We make these ribs a few times a year for our backyards Bar B Ques every time they are demolished. Be sure to save some barbecue sauce from dipping the ribs once they are finished cooking. I love the extra wet sauce to dip the ribs in after you take it off the grill. This is an excellent recipe if you are trying to show off your grilling skills.
If you want to make more of the apple butter sauce for the other meats you might be grilling, double the recipe, we usually make more sauce and add it to our chicken and sausage links. It goes perfectly with other cuts of meat. Now let us jump to the recipe.
Ingredients:
2 full slabs of Style Louis style ribs
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika.
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon garlic Powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 apple wood chunks
FOR THE APPLE BUTTER BBQ SAUCE
1 cup apple butter Sauce
1/2cup ketchup
1/2cup brown sugar
1tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1tablespoon yellow mustard
1teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Preheat your grill to 300°F with direct and indirect heat zones. Place an aluminum pan under the grill grate on one side and fill halfway with water. Wearing protective gloves, pour a chimney of hot coals on the other side. Toss a few applewood chunks on top of the coals.
Hot tip: Using a water pan to add moisture to the cooking chamber is optional and can increase condensation under the grill lid. Adding spices, beer, or wine to the water pan can be used to infuse an added layer of flavor into your food.
Remove the membrane under each slab of ribs by inserting a butter knife between the membrane and one of the bones. Grab the membrane with a paper towel and pull to remove it altogether.
Combine the brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne powder, ginger, and thyme in a small bowl. Apply the rub on both sides of the ribs. Press with your hands for the rub to penetrate the meat.
Place the ribs on the grill grate over indirect heat. Close the lid and cook for 2 hours.
Combine apple butter, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes and set aside.
After 2 hours of cooking:
1. Remove ribs from the grill.
2. Place each on a separate sheet of aluminum foil.
3. Pour 1 cup of Apple Butter BBQ Sauce on top of each rack and wrap in foil.
4. Place on the indirect heat side of the grill and cook for another hour.
Once your ribs are fully cooked, remove the foil and sear over direct heat for 30 seconds per side to caramelize the BBQ sauce.