Best Dutch oven barbequed rib's you'll ever taste!
Barbecue ribs in a Dutch oven! Could this ever be as good as smoked ribs? Rubbed ribs? Smothered in sauce ribs? I will wager these ribs will make you think twice about doing them any other way. It took me almost a year to perfect this recipe. Trial after horrible trial, really, I had to eat every one of those ribs until this recipe was perfect! It’s tough work and someone must do it…
I had tasted BBQ'd ribs in a Dutch oven a couple of years ago. Quite a surprise tasted like BBQ, very juicy and falls off the bone tender. Resolved to duplicate this incredible meal outdoors and with the same style, flavor and finesse, I set to work. My original plan was an exact duplicate of the original recipe, which tends to change at every attempt unless you follow a written recipe.
A 12” Dutch oven was my first choice of pots. Cut my ribs in half and layer them. This seemed to result in an uneven coating of BBQ sauce so I switch to a 14” with the same results. Stacking the ribs was not what I was looking for; do not get me wrong, the ribs were awesome every time.
Cabela’s had my solution, an oval Dutch oven which they call a “Oval Roaster/Griddle”. You can see the roaster in the pictures below and I will do a thorough review in my next post. I will also be sharing my rub and Dutch oven equipment, so stay tuned…
After many enjoyable trials and maybe a couple of errors, here you go:
Ingredients:
1 – Rack of ribs (Trimmed, I prefer St. Louis cut)
(New) Honey mustard to coat
Rub of your choice or use one of my favorites: (http://www.cooking-outdoors.com/basic-barbecue-rub.html)
1 – Red Bell Pepper
1 – Yellow Bell Pepper
1 – Red Onion
1 – Bottle of BBQ Sauce (I use Trader Joe's Kansas City BBQ sauce)
1 – Bottle of Dark Beer.
1 – 14″ Dutch oven or 1 Oval Dutch oven roaster (Cabela's)
Recipe:
Wash and trim ribs. Remove skin on back of ribs with a paper towel. Dry completely , apply a light coating of Honey mustard to all surfaces of ribs and coat your ribs with the BBQ rub on all sides. Slice Bell peppers and Onion, place in bottom of Dutch oven.
Place rubbed ribs on top of Bell peppers and Onion.
Pour BBQ sauce on top of ribs, enough to cover thickly.
Pour 1/2 to 3/4 of beer around sides to coat bottom, I usually same some for me, maybe 1/3 of cooks sample.
Cooking time:
Try to cook at least two hours. Depending on your pot and weather conditions, start out with the basic three up three down formula and work from there. 350 degrees seems to be the best for me. (I’ cover this later also) Cook up to three hrs and you might have to use a spoon to eat your ribs.
Here is my oval roaster sitting on two lid holders. Worked great!
All done and lookin good!! The soupy pepper and onion mess at the bottom is excellent spread on top of the ribs…..
Give this recipe a try and I bet you’ll share this with your friend when they come over for some Outdoor Cooking.
Note: (2012) I have since updated this recipe to include a Honey Mustard binder. Basically you apply a small coating of honey mustard to all surfaces of the ribs before applying your rubs. This will help the rub to stick to the ribs and adds an additional flavor layer that I enjoy.
You’re right, these were the best ribs I’ve ever tasted! I made mine in a turkey roasting pan in a conventional oven. Fantastic! Thanks for a great idea.
Thanks for the rib recipe. Looks great. I will be trying these.
I “smoked” mine first in the Camp Chef Ultimate for two hours , then placed them in my Oval to finish another two hours .
well, a few minor things… I only have a small 12″ Le Creuset, so I thought I’d try my Hamilton Beach 18 quart roaster oven. I had to settle for back ribs as that was all i could find. Stupid stores. I used the red, yellow bell peppers and a large red onion. Followed the recipe almost to the letter, Trader Joes BBQ sauce (a little sweet but very good), dark beer (I used a Guinness}, etc. Fired up the roaster and in less than an hour everyone wanted to eat because of the wonderful smell. If you use the roaster you have two small holes to vent steam and a very light lid. Very important to remember because you are venting moisture faster than a cast iron Dutch oven. Also, the Hamilton is wider than Gary’s oven so the vegetable and liquid depth was more shallow. Not a problem. I added an extra bell pepper (orange – almost like Christmas!) and put a full 12 oz Guinness in the mix. No left overs so I’m afraid the cook had to crack a second one (Guinness I mean) to add a few extra drops and had to unfortunately drink the remainder… ::)) We cooked the ribs for two hours and my granddaughter could not wait any longer. It was good for an indoor rib but should have gone to 2.5 – 3 hours. It wasn’t tough or dry, just could have been a slight bit more tinder. Only other change I would make is maybe half the salt. I have high blood pressure so many of you can relate to me but it did taste salty to my whole family. Gary, this is a really great recipe and since I live in Wisconsin I think I can be the pride of the neighborhood because I can make (with your help) great BBQ ribs in the dead of winter in the middle of a blizzard. Thank you!
Due to meds, alcohol does not fit my life anymore. Is there someone who can tell me what would substitute for the beer? Or, is all of the alcohol burnt off while the ribs are cooking?
Great update Larry! So happy to hear the recipe was a win for you and the family 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing your experience with everyone!
Gary
Anytime you cook alcohol, it burns off. I take a lot of meds too, but LOVE to cook with Bourbon. (KY girl) 🙂
Thanks for letting me know about the alcohol burn off. I should have remembered on my own, but that sort of flew the coop on me. 🙂
No worries Carl! Hope you get a chance to try the recipe 🙂
I love Bourbon too!
whats the recipe for the rub. for the worlds best dutch oven ribs
These ribs are killer!