Backyard St. Louis-Style Pork Ribs with Spicy Cola Barbecue Sauce
There is nothing like great grilled ribs that you make yourself. The key is buying ribs that have enough meat on their bones to stand up to 2 to 3 hours of cooking time. For that reason, the St. Louis cut, which is a trimmed sparerib, is preferable to the more popular baby backs. Ask your butcher for 3 and down—meat lingo for racks that weigh about 3 lb. apiece. The hot and sticky BBQ rub and the spicy cola barbecue sauce will make these backyard beauties burst with flavor!
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 12 of 15 ingredients — the other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 12 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Pork | 100g cooked | 242 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Apple | 1 medium (182g) | 95 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Soy Sauce | 1 tbsp (15ml) | 9 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Cider | not in our table | 0 |
| Wood | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
- 1 Tbs. molasses powder (optional)
- 1 Tbs. kosher salt, preferably Morton's
- 1/2 Tbs. hot smoked Spanish paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 3 Tbs. tomato paste
- 2 tsp. ancho or New Mexico chili powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. finely ground black pepper
- 1 can (12 fl. oz.) spicy cola
- Hickory or apple wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes
- 4 slabs St. Louis-style pork ribs, each about 3 lb.