Pork Barbecue Ribs
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
We only have a few short months to fire up the grill for Pork Barbecue Ribs, one of our char-grilled favorites. We live on the east coast and the cold weather combined with winter season makes up for nearly 8 months of wintry mix here. So, for safety reasons, we shut off the outdoor grill.
One summer weekend, I phoned my grown sons that I had slabs of pork ribs. I also had leftover pineapple juice and so I put this together in a large pot, with a whole can of Sprite, some seasonings and let the pork ribs boil and tenderize in a simmering stew. Yes, Sprite was used for the broth. I have been asked by friends here in the States why I use Sprite or 7-Up often to marinate meats. It must be a Filipino thing, I tell friends.
As Pampanga-based Filipino food writer Karen Shih (of ‘The Pilgrim’s Pots and Pans’) confirmed to me, ‘It’s the Filipino penchant for sweet-savory flavors’. In addition, I also thought that it was a way to tenderize meat, remembering how my mom used to add 7-Up to grilled pork barbecue skewers. If one looks around, other Filipino recipes of barbecues or grilled meats have often used soda like Sprite or 7Up in marinades. It has an added dimension that extends the flavors or can help dilute the strong savory zest of soy sauce or banana catsup, other usual ingredients in Filipino marinades.
These ribs you see were the result of our family grilling endeavor. After tenderizing the meat stove top by simmering it a few minutes, we transferred the ribs to the outdoor grill. My son, Tim finished it off by grilling over medium high for the last 25 minutes.
The pork was crisp and had browned grilled edges on the outside, yet the soft, succulent insides were nearly falling off the bone, as we transferred it to the platter. We’ve cooked the ribs several times since this first photo. The second time, after char-grilling, I served it with a bed of steamed fragrant jasmine rice and a fresh tomato salad. The heavenly sweet-salty flavors of the very tender pork ribs made us all wish we could hang on to summer just a little bit longer.
Pork Barbecue Ribs
Ingredients
- 7 lbs. bone in Pork loin ribs
- 2 cups pineapple juice
- 1 can Sprite or 7-Up soda
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- for serving boiled jasmine white rice
Instructions
- Marinate pork loin ribs with the pineapple juice, Sprite, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Keep in a sealed container and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, place the pork loin ribs with the liquid marinade in a large stock pot. Over medium high heat, bring the mixture to a boil in about 5 to 6 minutes. After it boils, lower heat to a slow simmer and cook ribs for 1 hour till tender. Keep the pot covered while cooking.
- Preheat the outdoor grill to a medium high. Finish off cooking the pork loin ribs by removing from the pot after the hour of simmering. Place the ribs in the center of the grill and cook for 25 minutes more till edges of meat get brown.
- Serve ribs immediately while warm.
Nice to be back reading your blog after a long holiday, I miss your posts like this. Simple yet delicious, rice na lang kulang 🙂
Thanks, Raymund. So nice of you to stop by again ~ your kind comments are always so encouraging. Enjoy the rest of summer!
These look wonderful! My little boy would gobble these up, I’m sure – can’t wait to give it a try!
Thanks, Kate! I’m sure your son will love these barbecue ribs. Mine devoured them in seconds. Enjoy 🙂
I’m intrigued by the Sprite/7-Up used in this rib marinade. I’m going to try it soon.
Thanks, Paula. The Sprite/7-up marinade has been a favorite of Filipinos for many barbecue or roast dishes. Hope you try it. Let me know how yours turns out!
You know Hubby and I love grilling, and love devouring ribs:-) I love the unique flavors you have added to your rib recipe!!! Hope you are doing well! Sending big hugs, Terra
Thanks, Terra. I know you will and your Hubby will enjoy this one. Let me know how you like it. Glad you stopped by. Hugs 🙂
We need to enjoy char grilled food while it’s warm (sort of). As I was in Japan, we haven’t really had bbq food this year. After reading your delicious bbq ribs, I certainly started to miss all the food. This looks so good!!
Thanks, Nami. I’m sure you had a wonderful home visit to Japan inspite of missing your bbq favorites. This recipe has flavors your kids will love. Enjoy!
I can get behind a penchant for things being sweet and savory! These look fantastic!
Thanks, Laura. These barbecue ribs were great and I’ve made it a few times again since. Glad you came by 🙂
Hi, have you tried this marinade on lamb? Like deboned leg of lamb? Thanks , I enjoyed your ribs , I didn’t have a grill, so I broiled them after cooking them, great marinade!
Thanks, Olga. Glad you liked the marinade. Sorry, I have not tried this recipe on lamb yet. I hope it works for you 🙂
What do you think if I sub the boiling with cooking them in the instant pot?
Hi Melanie. That sounds like a good idea. But I’ve never tried it yet in the Instant Pot. Feel free to try it and keep me posted — I’d love to hear about it.