This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HogWildThrowdown #CollectiveBias
There are so many sights, sounds, and songs that make you think of summers past. There are feelings you associate with your best summer days and nights. Cool, beachy breezes. Songs that remind you of beach towns. The feeling of your feet in sand. The feel of cotton candy on your tongue. The smells of a barbecue coming together, and of course, the tastes. The tastes!
Without a doubt, I’m somewhat new to the culinary world. Something about having my second kid in school (daycare) made me realize it was finally time to learn to cook and bake better. And how cool it would be! A Supertaster, with a very discerning taste, who also loves kid foods like rainbow sprinkles and chicken nuggets? I think my food may be many things, but it never gets boring. My husband is such a grill master, that we worked together on my favorite recipe for Smithfield Extra Tender Back Ribs with a Honey Soy Ginger glaze. The smell is so good, and the taste blows me away. And it’s simple!
Smithfield Ribs are an easy meal solution, not only for barbecues and parties, but also for any night of the week! I used to be intimidated by grilling ribs, but with the help of Cassidy, who’s a wonderful chef/baker/griller, I’ve grown more confident!
As I touch upon in my recipe, using a charcoal grill for meat can really bring out an intense and smoky flavor. Since my taste buds are so sensitive to begin with, I generally put a lot of thought into ingredients and how they’re cooked.
It’s easy to pick up the ingredients for my favorite, delicious glaze, because it contains mostly all ingredients we already have! So it’s just a matter of picking up last minute garnishes – like green onions – and also focusing on side dishes.
What I love is a complete meal. I love side dishes, gathering around a powerful main dish. I prefer the smokier, richer taste of these ribs. The ribs are tender and smoky on their own, but the sauce/glaze really knocks them out of the park.
You’ll also find some tips and tricks in my recipe. Grilling ribs does not have to be intimidating. You can make sauces and rubs with ingredients you already have, and buying ribs is as easy as going to the meat section at Walmart and grabbing them!
Ingredients
- Smithfield Extra Tender Back Ribs
- 1 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup favorite soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
- Sesame seeds
- Sliced green onions/leeks/scallions, etc.
- 1/4 cup chopped peeled fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pepper
Instructions
- There are so many ways to cook ribs, but we're focusing on a charcoal grill because it gives them more flavor, and the long, slow cooking will make them tender with a crisp crust.
- Open the package of Smithfield Ribs and rinse them in water. Pat them dry with a paper towel and remove the membrane with a knife. This will make more tender ribs!
- Make your sauce/glaze with ingredients above mixed together in a medium bowl. Set aside until the last half hour of cooking or so, to prevent burning.
- Cook your ribs slowly for 1.5 to 2 hours over medium heat (325-350). Cook them over a drip pan half filled with water. This is a long and slow way to cook ribs, but if they are browning too quickly, which can happen, shut the grill vents. Here's the breakdown of timing (flexible):
- Grill the ribs covered for 45 minutes. Reposition the ribs for equal heating for all. Grill for another 45 minutes up to an hour, basting with your sauce/glaze every 20 minutes.
- You will know they're done after 1.5 to 2 hours because the meat shrinks and exposes the bone at the thinner end as it cooks. When 1/4 of an inch of bone is exposed, that's a way to tell they're done. When you pick up the middle of the rib with tongs, the meat will separate from the bone. If it feels rubbery, it needs more cooking.
- Remove ribs from grill and let them stand for ten minutes. Take pictures!
As you can see, it’s a bit of a fun process. You don’t really add the sauce/glaze until the end, because you don’t want the ribs to burn. So they will change form a lot during the cooking, and you’ll also break them apart as you best see fit.
Smithfield Ribs are hand-trimmed, extra-tender, and juicy, with no added hormones or steroids. What’s cool, especially for me, is that the Smithfield Extra Tender fresh pork is so juicy and tender, that it will come out great no matter what level of grilling experience you have. They’re my secret weapon for looking like a grill expert!
Now side dishes vary so much. I personally love an Italian Marinade Pasta Salad with my main course. This can be done easily, and can also be pre-made the day before. You cook any form of pasta according to the package, drain, and rinse in cold water. Then place the pasta in a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag, along with meats – like salami or pepperoni, cheeses, vegetables, and olives. Add salad dressings and seasonings, turn over, and put in the fridge until serving!
I also love these gooey Honey Cornbread Muffins. They absolutely drip with delicious honey as a topping! This recipe makes 12 large muffins. Preheat oven to 400. Mix 1.5 cups of flour, 1 cup of cornmeal (you can get anything from soft to gritty, depending on your tastes), 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of making powder, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of salt, 1 stick of melted butter, 1 cup milk, 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup honey, 2 tablespoons of canola oil, and 2 tablespoons of sour cream. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray. Scoop the batter into the muffin tins – about 75% full. Sprinkle with more cornmeal, bake for 15-17 minutes, and then drizzle with more honey! I love mine with butter over the domed top.
Now are you ready for the Smithfield® Hog Wild Throwdown? You can grill, vote or play for the chance to win. Prizes include (2) Ford F-150’s! Celebrity Pitmasters Moe Cason and Tuffy Stone have been partnered with Smithfield® for the last two years, to show their excitement for the products, and are brand ambassadors for the Hog Wild Throwdown.
Meal Ideas
Marinated Pork
Ohmygosh I am SO hungry for ribs now! Those look AMAZING!!! Pinning!
Me too!! Like.. I can’t even help myself. Lunchtime hunger is fierce.
Ok now I know what I want to make for dinner tonight! Seriously those ribs and cornbread too are so tasty looking and cannot wait to try your recipes now 😉
The muffins are so good! I’ll share the recipe in more detail for tomorrow’s post. It’s about fast get-togethers!
I usually don’t grill ribs because they do take awhile, but have to admit those look pretty good! One person I talked to pre-cooks her ribs in the oven, then just finished them on the grill. I actually love the burned parts!
I hear ya! It’s not really a quick fix. And you can totally pre-cook them in the oven, or even boil them in water! So many tricks!
Lawwwd haz mercy. I’m gonna do this!!! Momma gonna make some ribs.
And ya, I took a break from reading today’s photo class blog so I could comment here. What have I learned so far today? “Shoot all the things!”
haha, is that something new to learn? I’m so glad you’re taking such a wonderful class!
OH MY! These look super tasty! My husband is crazy for ribs, that’s his thing. 😉
I’m the sides gal to his super ribs.
XO
I’m so about the sides, especially in a BBQ restaurant. Oh man!
Holy smokes, this looks so good! My 8 year old Rebekah is a rib-a-holic! She loves them, can’t get enough of them! The kid can put them away too 🙂 It always makes me laugh because she loves meat and one of my other children won’t even touch it. Their loss i say. Thanks for sharing your amaze-balls recipe 🙂
Rebekah has good taste!! My kids also have vastly different tastes.
Wow. Your photos are so amazing I can feel my mouth salivating…and I’m a vegan. I do find other items to BBQ, though.
Oh wow – I’ll take that compliment! And I agree with you – we grill vegetables and they’re wonderful.
Yum. That’s all I got.
That’s all you need!
Oh my goodness – this looks and sounds so yummy!
I haven’t had a charcoal BBQ for ages. I miss the flavour you get with charcoal.
My oldest daughter recently “discovered” ribs. She’s obsessed! lol
Thanks for sharing!
xoxo
That’s awesome! I remember that happening to me as a kid!
Can you GUESS what my favorite food is to throw on the grill. I will give you ONE guess! LOL!
Landon?? Bison?? Salmon??
Sorry I took THREE guesses!
BAH HA! Well, I mean… Landon on the grill 😉
But really – SALMONNNNNN!!! <3 you guessed right… We can still be friends!
Salmon was truly my first guess, of course. Then I thought it would be funny to mention Landon, and of course, you mentioned bison on one of my posts recently.
SO glad we’re still friends.
This is so perfect for Memorial Day weekend! Making me crave ribs, mmm…
Me too, and it’s only 9:30 in the morning. Two days of craving ribs now!
OMG salivating over here! Total insomnia and I’m starving!! Your pics (as usual) are succulent!!
Sorry about the insomnia! Can you imagine eating ribs in the middle of the night? (I can..)
These look incredible! We are getting a a grill delivered tomorrow and I am elated! I could literally eat BBQ for every meal. Such a Southerner at heart. 😉
Congrats on the new grill! I have never lived in the south at all.. and I think there’s a Southerner in my heart too. The food!!
OK Tamara you know that I want to try your recipe right. We’re not doing any bbq this Memorial Day weekend but we’re also going to be bbq’ing for 4th of July and this is going on the menu.
I hope you do! It’s delicious. However you best cook ribs – this sauce is divine! Cassidy and I argued a bit over how it should be done, and now I realize there are a million ways to cook ribs.
I’m drooling read your post! This all looks so delicious. I’m so ready for summer bbq’s.
Me too! I feel like we waited so long for.. spring.. and today is already like summer! Ah, New England!
My husband is all about grilling. I love that he loves it. I haven’t tried Smithfield meats. This looks delicious!
Ah, if you try them, let me know how you like them! I thought they were awesome.
These ribs sound incredible…perfect for the upcoming long weekend! And that sauce…yes, please! #client
Exactly!! We have our game faces ON to grill for people this weekend. Honestly the smell of the sauce was so good that I nearly ate it for breakfast the next morning.
These look great and your pictures certainly make me want some ribs…that is if I ate them 😉 Great recipe!!
I will take that as a high compliment! Although I’m sure you could do magic with this sauce and something non-meat.
Well, now I want some ribs. These look so good!
And I want a cornbread muffin.
Ooh, they are so good! Drizzled with honey. I need one right now!
Oh how I love summer! Those ribs look so tasty! I love having corn bread with our barbeque too! Will definitely check those out next time I am in Walmart.
There’s something about it that screams summer. Sometimes you just have to do it!
my husband would love the ribs, I don’t really love ribs lol
the pasta salad and muffins look awesome 🙂
Hey, it happens. I didn’t like ribs until recently!
Summertime barbecue is the best, and those ribs look amazing! I’m getting hungry just looking at them 🙂
Me too.. for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
The honey soy ginger glaze sounds amazing. Unfournately, neither my husband or I are good at grilling. So, we haven’t even tried to grill outside in ages. But we do occasionally use an indoor grill pan 🙂
Well hey, whatever works! I think grilling is an art form to some.
I think even I would like these!
Well I’ll have to make them for you! I was surprised at how much I liked them.
Mm mm. I love grilling season, and I especially love summer corn. Honey cornbread is my favorite, so I can’t wait to try out your recipe!
I am so hungry right now, like seriously! T.T I love grilled food and those ribs look so delicious. Everything is.. even the salad and the muffins!! What sorcery is this?! LOL ;D
These would be good for my son’s graduation party. We finally dusted off the grill for the first time this season – my favorite way to cook!
Hi Tamara, my husband, being from South Africa,loves nothing more than chilling out beside the fire and cooking some meat. It’s something we do more in the spring and autumn due to working hours. Both your recipes sound good, the honey coated corn muffins intrigue me!
Pinning for sure.
xx