Root Beer Pork Rib Marinade
Use root beer as both a pork rib marinade and the base of a tangy barbecue sauce for the most juicy and flavorful baby back ribs you'll ever serve. Readers have raved about this recipe for years!
Ingredients
- 2 racks baby back ribs
- 1 bottle root beer 2 liters
- 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ small white onion finely chopped
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Place ribs in single layer in large baking dish or roasting pan. If necessary, cut rib racks into halves or thirds to fit into pan easier.
- Reserve 1 cup root beer and set aside. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons salt over ribs then pour remaining root beer over ribs. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight, turning once if possible.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove ribs from marinade and pat dry with paper towel. Discard marinade in pan.
- Place ribs back into pan. Add 1 cup water to bottom of pan; cover tightly with foil. Transfer to oven and cook 2 hours or until meat is nearly falling off the bone.
- While ribs are cooking, making Root Beer Barbecue Sauce: In small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until onion is soft, stirring frequently. Add ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, thyme, black pepper, chili powder, cayenne, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and reserved 1 cup root beer. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
- Just before ribs hit the 2 hour mark in the oven, preheat grill or broiler to finish ribs.TO GRILL: Preheat grill for indirect grilling over medium-high heat (preheat one side of the grill, while leaving the other side off). Put ribs on cooler side of grill, bone side down. Brush with some Root Beer Barbecue Sauce and cook 10 to 15 minutes, then flip. Brush with sauce again and cook until ribs are lightly charred and meat is falling off bone. Serve with any remaining sauce.TO BROIL: Preheat broiler to high. Brush ribs with some Root Beer Barbecue Sauce and place under broiler for a few minutes, watching them very carefully. Move them around as they broil so they evenly char a little bit.
Notes
Instead of baking, you can cook these ribs in the crock pot, if you want! You'll have to make the root beer barbecue sauce before the slow cook, rather than making it while the ribs are cooking (like for the oven directions), but it's worth it. For slow cooker ribs with root beer:
- Make the root beer barbecue sauce according to the instruction in the recipe card.
- Remove the ribs from the marinade and pat them dry with a paper towel, then brush the ribs all over with 3/4 cup of the root beer barbecue sauce. Refrigerate any remaining sauce.
- Place 5 garlic cloves, 1 white or yellow onion (peeled and quartered) and 1 cup apple juice in your slow cooker bowl.
- Place the ribs on top of the garlic and onion. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Grill or broil to finish as desired, brushing with remaining barbecue sauce.
Calories: 530kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 37g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 130mg, Sodium: 2941mg, Potassium: 662mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 411IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 86mg, Iron: 2mg
This website provides estimated nutrition information as a courtesy only. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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