Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Espresso BBQ Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

2.7 kg (3 racks) pork baby-back ribs
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup ketchup
1 cup honey
½ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup strong home brewed coffee

Preparation

1. In a medium saucepan, combine olive oil and garlic and sauté on medium heat until golden.
2. Remove from heat and let the garlic cool in the oil.
3. Whisk in the ketchup, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, and espresso.
4. Return to heat and simmer for 15 minutes to blend flavours. Remove from heat.
5. Season ribs with salt and pepper and smoke for 3 hours at 110°C, in preheated smoker. Use hickory chips during the first 2 hours.
6. After 3 hours, remove ribs, baste generously with espresso BBQ sauce and wrap in heavy-duty aluminium foil.
7. Return to smoker and cook for an additional 1 to 1½ hours, or until internal temperature reaches 70°C.
8. OPTIONAL: During the last 10 minutes, remove ribs from the foil and baste again; place them back in the smoker, directly onto the rack, allowing the ribs to caramelize.
9. Transfer to cutting board, cut and serve hot.