One thing I sometimes miss is a sweet BBQ sauce….especially when it comes to ribs. I’ve made ribs before using spice rubs and/or other Paleo/Primal BBQ sauces, but I haven’t found the perfect recipe that gives me that sweetness without using sugar. UNTIL NOW!!! This is by far the BEST Rib sauce EVER….And there is zero added sugar in it. I didn’t make this sauce recipe up myself….a quick google search for “Paleo Slow Cooker Pulled Pork” lead me to this Paleo Eats blog. We first made a slightly modified version of the pulled pork recipe (which is amazing), but then decided to use the same type of sauce for ribs. The combination of the Orange juice and Chipotle peppers makes this recipe amazing.
Ingredients (serves 2-4)
– 2 racks of ribs
– 2 tablespoons coarse salt
– 1 tablespoon cumin
– 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
– 1 tablespoon dried oregano
– 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
– 8 whole cloves garlic, smashed
– 4 chipotle peppers – we used canned
– 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
– 2 cups of FRESH squeezed orange juice
– ~1-2 cups of beef broth
Directions:
- ALERT! You need 3-4 hours for the braising, so make sure you’ve got time. You can do it 1 or 2 days before then pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to grill.
- To braise, pre-heat oven to 200. Yes, 200.
- Prepare the rub by mixing together all of the spices. Spread the rub over the ribs to create a light layer.
- Put the ribs in a baking/casserole dish. Pour the tomatoes, chipotle peppers, orange juice and garlic into the baking dish on top of the ribs. Mix it around to combine the mixture. You want the ribs to be slightly covered with liquid, so use the beef broth to make sure they are covered. You’ll have to modify the amount you use based on the size of the baking dish and # of racks of ribs.
- Cover tightly with foil and pop in the oven for 3-4 hours. You want to take it out as soon as the meat starts to feel tender and come away from the bone.
- Once it’s finished braising you can grill it right away or let it cool, pop it in the fridge and grill it another day.
- Grill the ribs at medium-high heat for ~5 min per side. Depending on whether you had them in the fridge or not will impact the cooking time. Ours were in the fridge so it took 5 min per side with the bbq lid down.
- While the ribs are BBQ’ing, pour the sauce into a saucepan and let it simmer and reduce. Apply some extra sauce to the ribs before you serve.
- Enjoy!
August 1, 2011 at 11:14 am
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August 1, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Mmm, sounds good. Have added to my stack of recipes I’d like to try. 🙂
August 1, 2011 at 1:38 pm
This sounds like a great recipe! Sending it to my Grillmaster right now and requesting it in the near future 🙂 Thanks!
August 1, 2011 at 4:04 pm
[…] https://cosmopolitanprimalgirl.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/best-paleo-ribs-ever/ […]
August 1, 2011 at 4:22 pm
That sounds awesome! I’ll definitely be trying this.
August 1, 2011 at 4:25 pm
Hey- what is the brand of chipotles you found that has no sugar added?
thanks
August 1, 2011 at 6:00 pm
The brand is “Casa Fiesta”….it’s a small can. There is no sugar in the ingredient list.
August 1, 2011 at 11:40 pm
making these for my husbands birthday on Aug7th! Can’t wait! Thank you!
August 6, 2011 at 11:03 am
I’m just wondering, taste/healthwise if beef or pork is prefered.
August 8, 2011 at 12:36 pm
With respect to the flavours in this sauce, I think pork would be preferred. In terms of health, grass-fed beef rules.
August 15, 2011 at 7:43 am
Hello! Thanks for sharing this recipe, I am brand new to Paleo/Primal living and am curious if you used store brought beef stock and if so, what did you look for as exclusions in the ingredients? Obviously all natural, but I am concerned that the use of preservatives would be abundant. Thanks for any tips! 🙂
August 16, 2011 at 8:36 pm
I look for stock with all “paleo” ingredients – water, veggies, spices. I make sure there are no chemicals, ‘natural flavours’ and also that there is no Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). I buy mine at a local butcher where they make it in house. Alternatively you can usually find an organic brand that is pretty good.
August 15, 2011 at 8:01 pm
[…] Recipe – Best Paleo Ribs Ever – Cosmopolitan Primal […]
August 16, 2011 at 9:59 am
These look really tasty. But, really, what’s the difference between using a sauce with a little raw sugar, on the one hand, and using a sauce with OJ, tomatoes, and peppers, on the other hand. Let’s not be too dogmatic about what is paleo. Using two cups of OJ alone–60 grams of sugar–in place of a little raw sugar is like having anal sex to save your vaginal virginity. Let’s not turn paleo into a religion.
August 16, 2011 at 8:33 pm
Actually there is a big enough difference….The OJ is coming from a whole food directly that I squeezed myself….not out of a jar or a can or a bag. If you’re actually tapping maple syrup from a tree or getting sugar from a cane that you bought, then go for it. In my mind Paleo is about eating directly from the source and removing anything refined or packaged. In terms of sugar content, you are only getting about 1 Tbsp of the OJ at the end of the day as this nets a hell of a lot of sauce, which is pretty nill in the sugar department. The orange is also more nutrient dense that raw sugar. This is WAY better for you than a sauce with ‘raw sugar.’
March 1, 2012 at 5:45 pm
“…not out of a jar or a can or a bag.”
Yet you are using canned tomatoes, canned chipotle peppers, packaged beef broth, and dried packaged spices. None of these would be considered source ingredients. So would these not be considered paleo under the standards that you have set forth?
March 1, 2012 at 7:26 pm
wow, relax. They are still whole foods and you can make them from scratch. I just chose to use the packaged versions because I work 3 different jobs and go to school. I never said Paleo was ‘nothing from a package’ as evidenced by my post on my favourite pantry items. I was referring to traditional BBQ sauce that is loaded with chemicals, sugar and garbage. Chiiiilllll.
February 21, 2012 at 4:10 pm
I feel like this analogy is straight up crazy.
November 7, 2011 at 1:03 am
Hi – I have just come across your website… FANTASTIC is all I can say. I have been eating low carb and recently realised I am really eating paleo. Heck I love your blog simply because of what you said about Dr Oz!! I cringe when I see him promoting his low fat, high carb diets.
Thanks again – great recipes too 🙂
February 6, 2012 at 11:11 pm
Found this today and made it. Tasted great and seemed more filling than when I have had ribs in the past.
Thanks for the great food ideas. Right now I am learning about the Paleo diet, intrigued, but not sure I can make the full lifestyle change with a hubby and kids not interested in this lifestyle. With that said, they had no idea that their meal was completely Paleo and they were happy.
March 4, 2012 at 9:20 pm
The whole family was happy about this meal! Thanks for sharing it! Refreshing to find a tasty barbecue sauce that’s not full of refined sugar! I used blood orange juice – yum!
March 30, 2012 at 5:51 pm
[…] My whole family likes ribs, but the recipe I used to use contains a fair amount of brown sugar. Of course there are plenty of recipes that call for prepared barbecue sauce, but I have never liked sweet barbecue sauce. I like the ribs you can get in the South that have a dry rub on them, and if I put any sauce on them it will be the vinegar barbecue sauce. However the rest of the family aren’t as keen on vinegar as I am, so I had to come up with a compromise. Ribs should be falling off the bone tender, and they are meant to be eaten with your hands. I have this thing about sticky hands, but there’s no other practical way to eat ribs. In order to get tender ribs, they must be cooked very slowly. This is a recipe to reserve for a weekend or a day off when you can set aside about 4 hours for these to cook (mostly unattended). I was suspicious of a ribs recipe developed by a Canadian city girl, but I would not dispute Cosmopolitan Primal Girl’s claim that these are the Best Paleo Ribs Ever. […]
August 28, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Quick question. 200 F or 200 c for cooking temp?
August 31, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Ah sorry for the delay – I rarely check this site anymore. It’s Celsius…slow and low!
September 1, 2012 at 6:17 pm
Oops!! I mean Fahrenheit!!! Sorry!!!
October 1, 2012 at 2:19 pm
I tried this bbq sauce and rub on Tuesday and the hubz LOVED it. We had company on Sunday and I asked what I should make. He said I should def make this and so I did. In one week I made this twice. I LOVE IT. I will be dl’ing your book.