BBQ Sauce for Ribs: Three Ways to Cook Them

The single biggest mistake people make with ribs is saucing them too early. Whichever way you cook them, the sauce goes on at the end. Here are three methods that work, and why our Apple Whiskey & Mesquite BBQ Sauce is the BBQ sauce for ribs we reach for every time

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Why Does the Sauce Go On Last?

Because this sauce has real sugar in it. Ontario-grown apples, honey and Ontario maple syrup are what give it that thick, caramel edge, and those same sugars will scorch if you leave them over direct heat for an hour. Cook the ribs first. Sauce them in the final ten to fifteen minutes.

Method One: The Oven

The most forgiving option and the one most people should use.

Pull the membrane off the back of the rack. Season, wrap tightly in foil, and cook at 275°F for two and a half to three hours until the meat pulls back from the bone. Unwrap, brush generously with Apple Whiskey & Mesquite, and put it under the broiler for five minutes until the glaze tightens and bubbles.

Method Two: The Grill

Set up two zones: coals or burners on one side, nothing on the other. Ribs go on the cool side, lid down, around 275°F for two hours. Move them over direct heat for the last few minutes, sauce, and turn once.

The Forty Creek Double Barrel Whiskey in this sauce brings vanilla, caramel and oak, which is exactly the register live fire pushes into. This is the method where you taste what the sauce is doing.

Method Three: The Smoker

If you own one, you already know the drill. Low and slow at 225°F, three hours on, two wrapped, one unwrapped with sauce. The mesquite note in the bottle sits with the smoke rather than fighting it.

Which BBQ Sauce for Ribs Should You Use?

It depends who is eating. Apple Whiskey & Mesquite is the default: thick, sweet, tart and smoky, built for smoked ribs.

If there are kids at the table, use the Maple Honey BBQ Sauce instead. It is smoother and more candied with no sharp edges, and it placed 38th out of more than 2,000 entries worldwide at the Kansas City BBQ Society in 2022.

Want heat? Brush the rack with Apple Whiskey & Mesquite, then finish with a few drops of Jalapeno & Habanero Pepper Sauce. Careful, there are ghost peppers in it.

What Goes on the Side?

Something sharp, to cut all that richness. Toss a slaw or grilled vegetables with our Herb Vinaigrette, which is fresh dill, oregano, garlic and lemon. It does more for a plate of ribs than another starch will.

Ready to cook? Shop the Apple Whiskey & Mesquite BBQ Sauce, handcrafted in small batches in Toronto and shipped across Canada.