BBQ Rum Ribs

Dark rum in a rib glaze is the kind of idea that sounds wild until you taste it, and then it just sounds genius.

Four pounds of pork ribs get pre-baked in foil until tender, then bathed in a marinade of dark rum, packed brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, chili sauce, Worcestershire, crushed garlic, and dry mustard.

After an hour soaking up all that sweet, boozy, savory goodness, back into the oven they go (or onto the grill) for a final 30 minutes of basting until the sauce caramelizes into a sticky, glossy shellac.

The rum adds a warm, almost molasses-like depth that takes these ribs to a place regular BBQ sauce can’t reach.

Kitchen Tips

• Wrapping in foil for the first bake renders out excess fat and pre-tenders the meat so the final cook is all about flavor and glaze
• Drain the drippings after the foil stage so the marinade sticks directly to the meat instead of sliding off
• Baste generously and often during the last 30 minutes to build up layers of that sticky rum glaze
• Dark rum has the richest flavor here; don’t substitute with light or white rum