Juicy Baby Back Ribs With Honey Bourbon Glaze Recipe

Ribs are commonly thought of as a summertime meal, perfect when cooked over a grill and then devoured in the sunshine, leaving you with sticky fingers and a happy tummy. But we believe that ribs deserve to be enjoyed all year round. This juicy baby back ribs with honey bourbon glaze recipe, from the kitchen of Tasting Table recipe developer Jennine Rye, is perfect whether you serve it up in the summer heat or to warm you up on the coldest day of the year.

While ribs may seem like a somewhat fussy dinner option, not to mention being a bit pricey, we are here to let you know that cooking ribs is simpler than it seems and is well worth the effort. This baby back ribs recipe is cooked in the oven low and slow, and with only a few easy steps, you'll soon be enjoying mouthwateringly tender ribs with your highly impressed dinner guests. These baby back ribs are coated with a wonderfully rich, sweet, and delightfully sticky glaze, which makes the perfect pairing for this highly flavorful and succulent cut of pork. Read on to find out how you can make this deeply satisfying baby back ribs recipe in the comfort of your own home.

To begin this juicy baby back ribs with honey bourbon glaze recipe, first, you will need to gather the ingredients. For the glaze, you will want honey, bourbon, coconut sugar (or light brown sugar), butter, Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon zest, ground cinnamon, salt, and pepper. You will also need baby back ribs.

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Remove the thin, tough membrane on the underside of the baby back ribs.

Wrap the baby back ribs loosely in tin foil.

Place the wrapped ribs in an appropriately-sized baking tray.

Place the baby back ribs in the oven to slow cook for 2 ½ – 3 hours.

Meanwhile, to make the glaze, add honey, bourbon, brown sugar, butter, Dijon mustard, garlic clove, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt and pepper to a saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a boil over a medium-high heat.

Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, then set it aside to cool.

When the baby back ribs are tender and cooked through, remove them from the oven.

Heat the broiler to a medium-high heat.

Liberally brush the baby back ribs with the honey bourbon glaze.

Place under the broiler for around 4 to 5 minutes to allow the glaze to caramelize.

Serve immediately.

Though pork ribs are most widely known and enjoyed for being a messy yet deliciously succulent summer barbecue classic, they have a tendency to steal the show no matter when they are served up due to their rich flavor and wonderfully tender, fall-off-the-bone meat. When it comes to pork ribs, there are two kinds of rib you'll want to know about; spare ribs, and baby back ribs. Although the descriptor "baby" may give you pause when shopping around, you'll be relieved to know that the term has nothing to do with the age of the pork, it is merely used to denote the shorter ribs, which are found closest to the spine. In comparison, spare ribs are found instead by the sternum and are both longer and fattier than baby back ribs.

While these two types of rib are fairly interchangeable, they do each have specific pros and cons, and it is worthwhile knowing your way around both. Spare ribs are found closer to the pork belly, and, due to their larger size, as well as their higher fat content and greater quantity of connective tissue, they are wonderfully flavorful but will need to be cooked for longer than baby back ribs. Baby back ribs, on the other hand, are much leaner and contain more meat than spare ribs. They cook faster and are wonderfully tender when cooked well. Baby back ribs tend to be more popular and pricy, but are well worth the cost for a mouthwateringly tender dinner.

While baby back ribs may be a little pricier than other cuts of meat, their fall-off-the-bone and melt-in-the-mouth qualities make the cost thoroughly worth it. Another wonderful thing about ribs is how simple they are to cook, and how flavorful and versatile they are as a dinner option. This honey bourbon glaze adds a wonderful sticky sweetness to the ribs, but can easily be adapted according to your personal preferences. A simple way to switch things up is to dial up the spiciness of the glaze. Simply add a pinch or two of chile flakes or hot chili powder, and embrace the heat. Alternatively, you can add extra flavor to your ribs by adding a dry rub to the cooking process. Simply pick your favorite spicy and herby mix, and massage it into the ribs before wrapping them up and popping them in the oven.

For more smokiness to your ribs, why not add a dollop or two of barbecue sauce to the glaze? It pairs wonderfully with the bourbon and adds a tangy balance to the sweetness of the other ingredients. One final idea is to swap out the honey for some cola in the glaze for the ribs. This popular fizzy drink pairs wonderfully with bourbon to make a deliciously rich glaze with just the right amount of sweetness.