Double Sauced Ribs

The sweet and sassy contrast of flavors in this recipe is mouthwatering.  These baby back ribs are baked in a sticky sweet apricot and honey beer glaze and then finished with a tangy mustard vinegar sauce.  You'll think you died and went to heaven.

I used Yuengling lager for the Apricot Honey Glaze and my Spicy Guinness Mustard in the mustard vinegar sauce.

Double Sauced Ribs
with Apricot & Honey Beer Glaze and Spicy Guinness Mustard Vinegar Sauce

2 Tablespoon Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning
6 Pounds Baby Back Ribs

Apricot & Honey Beer Glaze 
1 Bottle Lager Beer
1 Cup Apricot Preserves
3 Tablespoons Honey

In a small saucepan, combine ingredients.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cook for 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened and reduced to 3/4 cup.


Spicy Guinness Mustard Vinegar Sauce
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Cup Spicy Guinness Mustard
1/4 Cup Onion Finely Minced
2 Cloves Garlic Pureed
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Hot Pepper Flakes
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Tabasco Sauce

In a small saucepan, combine ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For the ribs:

Preheat oven to 250° Fahrenheit.

Rub both sides of the ribs with the Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning.  Spread the Apricot & Honey Beer Glaze all over the ribs and bake on a large baking sheet for 2 hours. (You can also cook the ribs on a grill over indirect heat for the same amount of time. I find the oven is a more consistent heat source for low temperature cooking.)

Then grill the ribs over medium high heat for 15 minutes on each side or until done. The internal temperature should be 170° Fahrenheit at the thickest section of meat.

Remove the ribs from the grill and allow to rest for 5 - 10 minutes and then cut the ribs and top with the Spicy Guinness Mustard Vinegar Sauce before serving.

Enjoy!

Beerific Barbecue Bacon Meatloaf

A beerific variation to meatloaf that takes your mom's basic baked ground meat and takes it to a whole new level.

The meat is mixed with an onion beer reduction, spices and panko then topped with a glaze of spicy barbecue sauce and bacon.  

Moist, flavorful - perhaps the best meatloaf EVER.  




The flavor will change depending on the type of beer used.  I recommend a dark or amber beer. I used a bottle of my husband's home brewed nut brown ale.  Yum!

Beerific Barbecue Bacon Meatloaf


2 Teaspoons Canola Oil
1 Medium Vidalia Onion, Chopped
1 12-Ounce Bottle Beer
1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
1 Teaspoon Dry Mustard
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
2 1/2 Pounds 85%-Lean Ground Beef
1 Fresh Panko Crumbs
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 Large Egg, Lightly Beaten
1 Egg White, Lightly Beaten
1 Cup Spicy Beer Barbecue Sauce
8 Strips Bacon


Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a small baking dish with aluminum foil and coat with a thin layer of oil.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Pour in beer and increase heat to high. Bring to a vigorous boil; cook until the liquid is syrupy, 8 to 10 minutes. 

Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in thyme, dry mustard, salt and pepper. Let cool for 10 minutes.

While the onion mixture is cooling, cook bacon until just starting to crisp.

Add beef, panko, parsley, egg and egg white to the onion mixture. 

With clean hands, mix thoroughly.  Form into a loaf and place in the prepared pan.

Pour 1/2 of the barbecue sauce on the meatloaf and spread to cover.  Lay slices of bacon evenly over top and press gently into the sauce so they lay flat against the loaf.

Bake the meatloaf for an 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the rest of the barbecue sauce over the top of the meatloaf.  Bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes; drain grease from the pan and slice.

Spicy Beer Barbecue Sauce

A beerific twist on barbecue sauce that adds zippy tang to any meat dish.  I like it on grilled chicken or on my Barbecue Bacon Meatloaf.

A darker beer will produce a richer more flavorful sauce.  I used my husband's home brewed nut brown ale.  Yum!

Spicy Beer Barbecue Sauce


2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Medium Onion, Finely Chopped
1/3 Cup Chopped Celery
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 Tablespoon Hot Hungarian Paprika
3/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
3/4 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup Beer
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce



Over medium heat, warm oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 

Saute onion and celery until translucent  about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, paprika and cayenne; cook for about 1 minute.

Process in a food process or a blender until smooth and return to pan.

Add ketchup, beer, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. 

Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes, until sauce has thickened.  

Make ahead and store for up to a week in the refrigerator.

If I had my druthers

Hubby and I were off on a scenic motorcycle ride.  We have a totally spiffy helmet to helmet bluetooth intercom system that allows us to chat while we're riding.  While we were cruising along we had a conversation about barbecue ribs . . . styles of ribs, places that make the best ribs . . . that kind of thing.  We'd been riding a while and we were getting a little hungry.


Anyway, as the discussion progressed I said that if I had my druthers I prefer ribs dry rubbed and smoked and then slathered with a tangy barbecue sauce.

Whoah, wait!  Druthers?  What in the heck does that mean, where does that word come from . . . sounds like a blog post.  Yeah, that's how these things come about . . . really and truly, it is.


So, what's the deal with the word 'druthers'?  Here's the low down . . .


Druthers is a purely American word.  Specifically, from the south and is used to indicate a personal preference. It first came into usage around the mid-1800's and was originally 'drathers' . . . as in, I'd rather - a man can't always have his 'drathers.  It wasn't long before it morphed to 'druthers' -   a man can't always have his  druthers.

As luck would have it . . . my luck, that is . . . we stopped for lunch and I had my druthers.  Oh yes indeed I did!  I had me a half a rack of dry rubbed pork ribs with a spicy sweet barbecue sauce.  Mmm, mmm good!

Those ribs are from Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery and you can bet your sweet bippy I had myself an amazing brew (or two) to go along with those sloppy ribs!

Slow Cooker Ground Beef Barbecue

3 Pounds Lean Ground Beef

1 Large Onion, Chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

5 Stalks Celery, Finely Chopped

1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Prepared Mustard

1/4 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

3 1/2 Cups Ketchup

Place ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook until brown, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 15 minutes. Drain excess grease.

Place the cooked meat, onion, garlic, celery, salt, black pepper, cider vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, and ketchup into a slow cooker, and stir to combine.

Set the cooker on Low, and cook for 6 to 8 hours.

Serve on a Kaiser roll or over biscuits with cheese.