These Smoky Apricot BBQ Sticky Ribs Will Be a Guest Favourite
Updated: Jun. 21, 2022
A recipe for sweet and savoury ribs with fresh summer apricots, excerpted from Peak Season, a cookbook by Deirdre Buryk.
The popularity and excellent PR of an August peach has cast a shadow on the poor apricot, which makes me believe that apricots are the most underrated fruit of Ontario. Not only wonderful eaten fresh from the market but in a sticky barbecue sauce, an apricot will bring out the best of these grilled rib’s smoky flavours (which may have gone barely noticed otherwise). Always, always, always pick a good-quality meat; your ribs will be as good as the farm the animals were raised on. I like to serve my ribs with a side of potatoes made however my guests like them. If you have time, marinate these ribs 1 day ahead of grilling—that 24 hours will make them even better.
Apricot BBQ Sticky Ribs
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) beef back ribs
- Kosher salt, to season
Sticky Apricot BBQ Sauce
- 4 ripe apricots, stoned and roughly chopped
- ½ cup (125 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup (60 mL) canola oil 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup (60 mL) honey
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to season
Directions
Season the ribs with salt and place evenly across a shallow baking dish.
Place the apricots, olive and canola oils, garlic, honey, mustard, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper into a blender and blend on high until a smooth sauce has formed. Pour the sauce over the ribs in the baking dish. Cover the dish and marinate the ribs for 6 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat a well-oiled grill to 250ºF (120ºC). Wipe excess marinade off the ribs. Close the grill and cook the ribs for 1 hour and 20 minutes, flipping every 20 minutes (and with an internal temperature of 160ºF/71ºC; see Note). Transfer the ribs to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Note: The only accurate way to check when your ribs are done is checking their internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Ribs are safe to eat at any point after 160ºF (71ºC) but will be fall-off-the-bone at 190ºF (88ºC).
Excerpted from Peak Season by Deirdre Buryk. Copyright © 2022 Deirdre Buryk. Photography © 2021 Janette Downie. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
