Bourbon-Honey Baby Back Ribs
Food and Drink

Excerpted from The Outdoor Adventure Cookbook by Coleman. Copyright ©2017 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Time Inc. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

Bourbon-Honey Baby Back Ribs

"Take a lesson from your local barbecue joint and hand out hand wipes at the end of the meal. A cold water tap isn’t going to cut it with these finger-lickin’ ribs."

Coleman
Hands-on: 20 minutes Total: 1 hour, 50 minutes Serves: 6

 

1 cup bourbon

1/2 cup honey

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 3-pound slabs pork baby back ribs

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

Heat a camping stove or grill to high (about 400° to 450°F).

Place the bourbon in a saucepan on the camping stove or grilling grate. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1/2 cup, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the honey, vinegar, pepper, and onion powder, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. 

Reduce the heat to medium-low (about 300°F to 325°F). Rub the ribs with the salt and 1/4 cup of the oil. Wrap each slab separately in heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrapping tightly to form a packet.

Place on grilling grate, and cook until the ribs are tender and done, about 1 1/2 hours, turning the packets occasionally. Carefully remove from the grilling grate. Brush the grilling grate with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, and increase the heat to medium-high (about 375°F to 400°F).

Remove the ribs from the foil, and arrange on the grilling grate. Cook, basting often with the bourbon sauce, until a crust forms on the outside of the ribs, about 2 minutes. Remove the ribs, and brush with the bourbon sauce. Cut the ribs between the bones, and serve with the remaining bourbon sauce.