
Purple Glaze Ribs
September 24, 2017 0 By Admiral BigGunIf you like sweet and tangy barbecue, you just might want to give this purple glaze sauce a try. I thought I would change it up just a bit today, so in addition to marinading the ribs in beer and spices before smoking, I’m topping these baby back pork ribs with a special glaze based off of a fantastic recipe that my wife uses for her famous slow cooker meatballs. I’m calling them Purple Glaze Ribs. Man… I love smoking ribs.
There are several different ways to cook these ribs, but i am going to show you how I did it today, and then I will give you a few alternate methods that will also work, at the bottom of the page.
For these Purple Glaze Ribs you will need:
RIBS!
3-4 lbs of baby back ribs
Water and Wood for the smoker (Apple)
FOR THE MARINADE:
2-3 cans of Beer
4 ounces pork rub spices … I bet you can guess what I used. đ (make sure they contain onion and garlic)
1 container large enough to hold the ribs
(I used an aluminum pan, but a large zip-lock type freezer bag works great also)
FOR THE PURPLE GLAZE:
1 Cup Grape Jelly
1 Cup Chili Sauce
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbs Garlic (minced)
1 Tbs Lime Juice
1 Tbs Hot Sauce
1) If we want these purple glaze ribs to be truly amazing, we first want to prep our ribs by removing the membrane.
Tip: Removing the Membrane: Rinse the ribs in some cold water. Flip the ribs over so the bottom of the rack is facing up. Use a dull butter knife and insert it right below the hazy white membrane covering the entire bottom of the ribs. Wiggle the knife around a little bit to loosen the membrane. In your other hand, grab the membrane with a few dry paper towels, and once you get a solid grip on it, pull it off the entire bottom of the rack.

Removing the membrane will allow more flavor soak into your ribs.
2) Season pork ribs heavily with spices coating both sides completely.

COVER those babies with spices!
3) Add beer! Make sure that your ribs are submerged at least half way. I had to use about 4 cans of beer here.

Mmmmmm BEER!
4) Cover and allow to marinade for at least an 1-2 hours at room temperature (if leaving over night… refrigerate then remove from cooler for the last 1-2 hours)

Mix this stuff together
5) While you are waiting, prep your purple glaze by placing all the ingredients (grape jelly, brown sugar, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, lime juice and hot sauce) into a bowl and mix well.

Mix Mix Mix this up
6) Prep your smoker with water and (apple) wood. We are going to want to smoke low and slow. We are going to use the 2:2:1 method on these. That means 2 hours directly on the smoker grate, then 2 hours wrapped in foil, then 1 hour unwrapped.

Here is what they look like when they first go in the smoker.
7) Smoke the ribs directly on the smoker grate for two hours at 220 F.

Mop those ribs with purple glaze
8) Remove from smoker. Mop on your purple glaze sauce covering the entire surface of the meat… wrap the ribs in foil return to smoker to continue cooking for two more hours at 220 F

Wrap in foil and return to smoker
9) Remove foil. Mop on a fresh thick layer of purple glaze sauce. Smoke (uncovered) for an additional hour at same temp.

Here they are after 4 hours just removed from foil
10) Near the end of this final hour, pick up the ribs using BBQ gloves or tongs and give them a slight âbend.â If the ribs tear just a little between the bones, they are ready to come out of the smoker. If the ribs refuse to tear at all, you will need some more time. Cooked ribs can range anywhere from very tough to overly tender (âfall off the boneâ). Your preference will probably be somewhere in between.

Purple Glaze Ribs ready to eat
Send us a photo of your results!!! Tweet using #TailgateMaster we would love to see how your Purple Glaze Ribs turned out!
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About The Author
Scott "Admiral BigGun" Backstrom is a tailgating fanatic, avid barbecue taster and semi-professional fist-bumper. He was selected as the featured "Griller Guy" in Tailgater Magazine and his photos and expert tips have have been shared in multiple print and digital publications including USA Today, MSN, Business Insider, Forbes, CNN, Vikings Gameplan & FĂștbol Americano. When not raising money for Special Olympics MN, cheering at the game or high-fiving people in the tailgating lot, he can most likely be found creating new ways of combining spices, bacon, beer and fire. Backstrom is the founder of TailgateMaster.com , a site site focusing on Fans, Food and Fun. TWITTER.com/Tailgate_Master FACEBOOK.com/TailgateMaster PINTREST.com/AdmiralBigGun INSTAGRAM.com/admiralbiggun