Best Paleo Ribs ever

One thing I sometimes miss is a sweet BBQ sauce….especially when it comes to ribs. I’ve made ribs before using spice rubs and/or other Paleo/Primal BBQ sauces, but I haven’t found the perfect recipe that gives me that sweetness without using sugar. UNTIL NOW!!! This is by far the BEST Rib sauce EVER….And there is zero added sugar in it. I didn’t make this sauce recipe up myself….a quick google search for “Paleo Slow Cooker Pulled Pork” lead me to this Paleo Eats blog. We first made a slightly modified version of the pulled pork recipe (which is amazing), but then decided to use the same type of sauce for ribs. The combination of the Orange juice and Chipotle peppers makes this recipe amazing.

Ingredients (serves 2-4)
- 2 racks of ribs
- 2 tablespoons coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 8 whole cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 chipotle peppers – we used canned
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups of FRESH squeezed orange juice
- ~1-2 cups of beef broth

Directions:

1. ALERT! You need 3-4 hours for the braising, so make sure you’ve got time. You can do it 1 or 2 days before then pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to grill.
2. To braise, pre-heat oven to 200. Yes, 200.
3. Prepare the rub by mixing together all of the spices. Spread the rub over the ribs to create a light layer.
4. Put the ribs in a baking/casserole dish. Pour the tomatoes, chipotle peppers, orange juice and garlic into the baking dish on top of the ribs. Mix it around to combine the mixture. You want the ribs to be slightly covered with liquid, so use the beef broth to make sure they are covered. You’ll have to modify the amount you use based on the size of the baking dish and # of racks of ribs.
5. Cover tightly with foil and pop in the oven for 3-4 hours. You want to take it out as soon as the meat starts to feel tender and come away from the bone.
6. Once it’s finished braising you can grill it right away or let it cool, pop it in the fridge and grill it another day.
7. Grill the ribs at medium-high heat for ~5 min per side. Depending on whether you had them in the fridge or not will impact the cooking time. Ours were in the fridge so it took 5 min per side with the bbq lid down.
8. While the ribs are BBQ’ing, pour the sauce into a saucepan and let it simmer and reduce. Apply some extra sauce to the ribs before you serve.
9. Enjoy!

Fully Primal Husband lost his mind after eating these….“Wow, these are amazing. These are by far the best ribs that we’ve ever made. This sauce tastes like actual BBQ sauce.”