Dr. Pepper Spare Ribs

Oct 03, 2023 • Tom Jackson

Expect the unexpected with Chef Tom’s Dr. Pepper Spare Ribs. They are Savory, Sweet and fun to eat! Can you handle the taste? Short ribs that are smoked and then braised in Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper, it makes the world and short ribs taste better especially when they are slathered with Dr. Pepper reduction sauce. This is just what the doctor ordered.

Dr. Pepper Spare Ribs

Tom Jackson

Rated 4.6 stars by 17 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

8

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

5 hours

Calories

311

Savor the flavor of the “Friendly Pepper Upper” with these Dr. Pepper Spare Ribs. Be sure to eat these slow, it’s doctor's orders. These ribs are smoked and braised in Dr. Pepper and topped with a Dr. Pepper infused sauce. These ribs are out of the ordinary but Chef Tom and the doctor knows the right touch.

Ingredients

Ribs

2 racks Creekstone Farms St. Louis Duroc Pork Spare Ribs
Bear & Burton’s The W Sauce (Worcestershire)
Meat Church Texas Sugar Rub
Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub

Braise:

2 cups Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup butter

Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce:

2 cups Dr. Pepper
1 cup Firebug Grillin’ Sauce Mild

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Directions

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 275ºF, set up for smoking/indirect grilling.
Remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs. Trim the ribs to remove any sharp bones from the ends.
Rub all surfaces of the ribs with a thin layer of Bear & Burton’s The W Sauce. Season the bone side of the ribs first with Meat Church Texas Sugar Rub. Let the ribs sit until the seasoning darkens and looks wet on the surface, then season with a layer of Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub. Let sit until the rub is well attached before flipping the ribs over and repeating this process on the other side.
Transfer the ribs to second shelf of the smoker. Smoke the ribs until a dark red/mahogany bark is formed on the surface, about three and a half hours.
Remove the ribs form the grill. Lay out two sheets of heavy duty foil, long enough to fit the ribs, one on top of the other. Place four tablespoons of unsalted butter across the foil. Place a rack of ribs, meat side down, on top of the butter. Turn up the edges of the foil to prevent liquid from running off the foil, then pour one cup of Dr. Pepper over the ribs.
Wrap tightly with the two sheets of foil. Repeat with the other rack of ribs. Return the ribs to the grill.
Cook the ribs meat side down until tender, about one hour. The meat should move freely from the bones when twisted.
While the ribs finish cooking, combine the ingredients for the Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce in a Lodge 12” Steel Skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the sauce cook until it is reduced by two-thirds (you should now have one cup of the glaze). Let cool to room temperature.
When the ribs are tender flip them over to sit bone side down inside the open foil packet and brush with the Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce. Close the lid and let cook for about 20 minutes more, to allow the glaze to set up.
Remove from the grill. Rest 10 minutes. Slice to serve with extra Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce on the side.

Recipe Note

Other Recipes You Might Enjoy:

Dr Pepper Glazed Ham
Salt Pepper Pork Spare Ribs

link to Creekstone spare ribs: https://shop.creekstonefarms.com/collections/pork-ribs/products/natural-duroc-pork-st-louis-style-spareribs

Recipe Highlights and Insights:

Brief History of Dr Pepper

Even before Coca-Cola was bubbling its way to the world another soda was starting to fizz into existence. Dr Pepper is the oldest, MAJOR soft drink in the US. Dr Pepper is America’s unique flavor of soda and people to this today cannot capture the name of the flavor in a few words other than, Dr Pepper flavor. Dr. Pepper is a native Texan. It was created, and manufactured in 1885 in Waco, Texas. A pharmacist by the name of Charles Alderton worked at the Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store. He is believed to be the inventor of Dr Pepper. When Alderton was not mixing up medicine for the people of Waco, he would mix up carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. He appreciated the smell of the drugstore and wanted to find a taste for the smell. He journaled and experimented with different fruit syrups until he produced one, he liked. It’s said, Dr Pepper is a combination of 23 fruit flavors. It’s no wonder why the slogan, “There’s just more to it” is fitting for the carbonated beverage. It’s unclear how the name, Dr Pepper originated but the drugstore owner, Wade Morrison is credited for naming the unique beverage. One story suggests, that Morrison named it Dr Pepper after Dr. Charles Pepper, a Virginia doctor who was the father of a girl Morrison was once in love with. The period after the doctor abbreviation was dropped in the 1950s.The 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis is where millions discovered they loved the unexpected flavor of Dr Pepper. It was an instant success.