Homemade Barbecue Sauce on Smoked Ribs

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I love that grilling season is here.  It means more time outdoors since the sun is out longer, school is out, and more poolside barbecues with friends and family are soon to commence!  Evening dinners outside are the best, aren’t they?  We started experimenting with smoked ribs a little over a month ago and I think we’ve got it down.  We used a pre-made barbecue sauce our first time making smoked ribs, but you know me,  always curious and ready to create something new.  Being new to grilling, and this being our full first Summer in our new home (we moved in two weeks before school started), we wanted to experiment with something that would enhance this Summer’s grilling experience.

After four attempts to create a unique rub of our own, we discovered that it doesn’t always have to be complicated! We thought by mixing a whole bunch of our favorite spices, we would come up with something fantastic.  In the end, only two of the four rubs we made turned out to be keepers.  Our favorite was the simplest of all: Brown sugar and NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO™.  Then I thought, what about using that same ingredient in a homemade sauce?

I’d never made a barbecue sauce before, but I knew that a good base to start with would be a well seasoned tomato and onion liquid base.  MAGGI® bouillon was perfect for this because it has lots of flavor, and like the NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO™, it’s super affordable and I found them both at Walmart.

Here’s the breakdown of all the ingredients we used:

Start with the rub to give the meat some time to marinate in it.

Combine the brown sugar and coffee, mashing the coffee granules well as you mix them together.

Rub the sugar and coffee all over the meat.  Allow it to come to room temperature.

While the ribs are resting and marinating in the rub, get started on the sauce.

The Sauce:Add 4 cups water into a medium sized pot.  Mine is a 2-quart size pot.  Add the chili powder, sugar, and honey.

A little NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO™

And a heaping tablespoon of MAGGI® Bouillon.

Turn the burner on to medium heat.

Add the onion…

…and the tomatoes.  Before adding the tomatoes, remove the core and make one long slice around the whole tomato without going through it.

Once it looks like it’s about to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and stir it carefully.  Simmer on medium-low for 50 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.

Remove the skin when you see it start to peel off on it’s own.

After 50 minutes, blend the sauce until it’s smooth.  Continue to simmer on medium-low for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.

The Ribs:

When the temperature in the smoker reaches 250, place the ribs bone side down on the grill.  Cook them this way for the first two and a half hours with the lid closed and the exhaust damper wide open.

After the first hour, slather a thin coat of the sauce over the meat and close the lid.  Continue to do this every 30-45 minutes.  Rotate the ribs after the second slather to bring the opposite end of the slab closer to the heat source if you’re smoker is off the the side of the grill.  This helps them cook a little more evenly.

You’ll also want to make sure to keep up with the smoker.  You don’t need a huge flame, just enough to keep the smoke going and the heat to remain in the range of 200-250.

After two and a half hours, flip them over.

Slather a thin coat again and close the lid.  Let them smoke another 30-45 minutes.

For the last 30 minutes or so, place the slab on a large piece of foil paper and spread a generous amount of the sauce over it.

Cook the ribs covered completely for that last 30-45 minutes.  Serve with a salad and your favorite barbecue side dish.

Speaking of favorites, what’s your favorite food to grill?

5 from 1 vote

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Homemade Barbecue Sauce on Smoked Ribs

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 5 hours

Servings 3 to 4 lb slab

Author Stephanie Chavez

Ingredients

• For the sauce makes 2 cups
• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO™
• 1 tablespoon MAGGI® Bouillon
• 4 Roma tomatoes
• 1 cup white onion chopped
• For the rub
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO™

Instructions

1. Add 4 cups water into a medium sized pot. Mine is a 2-quart size pot. Add the chili powder, sugar, honey, NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO™, and a heaping tablespoon of MAGGI® Bouillon. Turn the burner on to medium heat. Add the onion and tomatoes. Before adding the tomatoes, remove the core and make one long slice along the edge of the tomato without going through it. Once it looks like it’s about to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and stir carefully.
2. Simmer on medium-low for 50 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove the skin when you see it start to peel off on it’s own. After the 50 minutes, blend the sauce until it’s smooth. Continue to simmer on medium-low for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
3. When the temperature in the smoker reaches 250, place the ribs bone side down on the grill. Cook them this way for the first two and a half hours with the lid closed and the exhaust damper wide open.
4. After the first hour, slather a thin coat of the sauce over the meat and close the lid. Continue to do this every 30-45 minutes. Rotate the ribs after the second slather to bring the opposite end of the slab closer to the heat source if you’re smoker is off the the side of the grill. This helps them cook a little more evenly. You’ll also want to make sure to keep up with the smoker. You don’t need a huge flame, just enough to keep the smoke going and the heat to remain in the range of 200-250.
5. After two and a half hours, flip the ribs over. Slather a thin coat again and close the lid. Let them smoke another 30-45 minutes. For the last 30 minutes, place the slab on a large piece of foil paper and spread a generous amount of the sauce over it. Cook the ribs covered completely for that last 30-45 minutes. The internal temperature of the meat should be between 160-170 degrees.