Tag Archives: BBQ Ribs

Slow Cooked Ribs with Schlenkerla Rauchbier BBQ Sauce

Kris: Rauchbier (smoked beer) is a bit of a love/hate beverage. I personally really enjoy it. I think it is a great beer to match with food and it is the perfect ingredient in a smoky, sweet BBQ sauce as a condiment or used to marinate slow cooked pork ribs.

Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen is a 5.1% dark lager, brewed with hickory smoked malt. It has a light body and aroma and flavours of smoked ham hocks. It is not a beer for everyday drinking, but certainly an interesting talking point when you have friends over for dinner.

 Rauchbier BBQ Sauce

Olive oil

1 small brown onion finely diced

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

1 cup Tomato passata

3 Tbs tomato paste

1 Tbs Worstershire sauce

1 Tbs seeded Mustard

50ml balsamic vinegar

150ml Schlenkerla Rauchbier

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried chilli

Salt and cracked pepper

Method

Fry off onion and garlic in some olive oil over a medium heat

Add all the dried spices and mustard and fry for a few minutes

Add the sugar and cook for a further few minutes

Add the passata and tomato paste

Add the Balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and Rauchbier

Simmer for 15-20 minutes until thick

Season with salt and pepper

Marinade 4-6 Pork spare ribs in the BBQ sauce for at least 24 hours ( I left them in the fridge, covered for 2 days)

Reserve some extra sauce for basting and serving with the ribs

Pre-heat an oven to 150 C

Place the ribs in a tray  and cook for 2 1/2 hours

Whilst cooking, turn the ribs every half an hour and baste with BBQ sauce

When cooked, fry quickly in a frying pan or on a BBQ For a couple of minutes each side to caramelize the ribs

Serve with a potato or garden salad

Kris : An IPA, American Brown Ale,Belgian Brune or a Dark lager  works well as a match for the ribs. A lager or Pilsner cuts through the richness of the ribs also.
Kris: I love eating these ribs. They do take a while to cook but it is seriously worth the wait. I have been working on perfecting my BBQ sauce and this is the best one I have made. It’s sweet, spicy and smoky and when used to slow cook ribs it is a perfect dish to enjoy with friends and a few beers. We enjoyed them with some of the Schlenkerla Marzen that I had used in the BBQ sauce. I wish we had more than one rib each, they were so tender and perfectly matched with the Rauchbier.

Caroline : This dinner was great for me. I really feel like Kris mastered the BBQ sauce, which really, is the hardest part. It had the right amount of spiciness, sweetness and thickness, a tough combo to accomplish! The ribs fell apart when you ate them and had just a touch of the crunchy char-y-ness from finishing them off on the grill. Just as good as any ribs I’ve had back home! I even liked the match with the Rauchbier (a beer I do not enjoy by itself), but together, the ribs were even more juicy and smokey. DELICIOUS.

BBQ Ribs with American Amber Ale

Tonights dinner is American style ribs matched with Yeastie Boys Hud-a-wa Strong Amber Ale.  

Spicy Bourbon & Beer BBQ Sauce 

350g Passata (Tomato Sauce)

100ml Amber Ale

60ml Bourbon (I used my favourite Elijah Craig, but any bourbon will do)

150g brown sugar

1 diced red chilli (if you like it hot)

30ml malt vinegar 

2tbs Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 cloves of crushed garlic

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes until nice and thick. Use half of the mixture to coat 4-6 pork ribs and let them marinate for 2 hours (or more), saving the other half of the sauce to serve with the cooked ribs.

Preheat oven to 160C

Cook ribs for 1 1/2 hours basting with sauce about every half hour

Increase heat to 200C and cook for another 30 min

When finished allow to rest for 15 minutes and enjoy with potato salad and amber ale.

Yum…tender meat, crunchy-fatty bits, a bit sweet, salty, and spicy. delicious. melts in your mouth…okay now the beer…


Yeastie Boys Hud-a-wa is a great version of a strong American style Amber Ale.

It has a rich, malt character and a balanced hit of hops. I loved it. The sweet malt really matched the sweetness of the sauce on the ribs. To cut through the richness of the dish, you could also try matching it with a clean, crisp lager.

If you enjoy this beer, try Brew Dog 5am Saint (Scotland) or Bootleg Brewery Raging Bull (W.A., Australia)