Jerk Ribs With Jalapeno Mango Barbecue Sauce

Grill season is officially upon us. Memorial Day will finally arrive in the next two months and it will be officially time for cookouts, barbecues, ribs, and fingers messy from barbecue sauce.

Smithfield’s St. Louis Style Ribs

This year I started grill season a week early and stopped by Wal-Mart for a rack of Smithfield’s St. Louis Style Ribs.

I had a taste for ribs, but ones that would have a good bit of meat on the bone, so I decided St. Louis Style ribs were going to be my choice of over Baby Back Ribs.

I don’t know about you, but I like my ribs to have one thing: Plenty of meat on the bone, and tender meat at that. Smithfield’s St. Louis Style Ribs satisfied that requirement.

St. Louis Style Ribs

Traditionally I rub my ribs down with whatever seasoning I have on hand at the time, and slather them down with whatever store brand barbecue sauce is on sale, but this time I wanted something different.

I went the Caribbean route and rubbed and marinated my ribs down in a jerk seasoning, for jerk ribs, and created a Mango Jalapeno Barbecue Sauce.

St. Louis Style Jerk Ribs

If you are ready set for ribs grab a $1 coupon off of Farmland or Smithfield Baby Back and St. Louis Style Ribs, on coupons.com while supplies last. And, grab some grilling tips from the BBQ Pitmasters at Ready Set Ribs.

Jalapeno Mango Barbecue Sauce

The jalapeno in the barbecue sauce gave a lingering heat but mild overtone to the sweetness of the fresh mango that was also in the sauce.

And the ribs, Lawd the jerk ribs. They were cooked slow and low on the grill, then popped in the oven some more until the meat was falling off the bone.

Although the Jalapeno Mango Barbecue Sauce was intended to be the star of the show, the ribs were so well seasoned in the jerk seasoning that I decided to leave the barbecue sauce as more of a dipping sauce for the ribs.

Jerk Ribs with Jalapeno Mango Barbecue Sauce

When the jerk ribs were slow cooking on the grill I thought back to all the times my mother held a barbecue at my grandparent’s.

My grandfather had a custom grill which my step-father would use to grill ribs on at family get-togethers at my grandparent’s house. And even though my step-dad was responsible for cooking the ribs, my mom always supervised the grilling because burnt ribs in my family is a sin.

Funny how cooking can remind you of better times. I still remember watching my mom make her barbecue sauce that was passed down from my great-grandmother. My mom is the only person that knows the recipe. Well technically I have a cousin that knows it too, but nobody makes our family barbecue sauce recipe like my mom can.

I think my mom puts a bit of magic in her barbecue sauce, when nobody is looking, if you ask me.

These Jerk Ribs and Mango Jalapeno Barbecue Sauce are a total left from the type of ribs and barbecue sauce I grew up on, but like my Honey Glazed Cornish Game Hens recipe, it will be a new tradition in my home and hopefully your’s.

Ingredients

1 rack of St. Louis Style Ribs

3 tbsp Jerk Seasoning

Bottle of liquid Jerk Marinade

1 cup "Satsebeli" Hunter Sauce

1 Mango (diced)

3 Jalapenos (diced)

Instructions

# Place ribs in a pan.

# Rub ribs down on all sides with jerk seasoning.

# Pour jerk marinade over ribs until the rack is covered.

# Cover pan with foil and marinate ribs overnight in a refrigerator.

# Take ribs out of the refrigerator after marinating overnight.

# Take ribs out of the pan and grill the ribs slow and low for 4 hours on indirect heat.

# Once ribs are grilled wrap them up tightly in foil and place them in the bottom of a glass baking pan.

# Turn oven to 250 degrees.

# Pour a bit of water in the bottom of the pan, but not enough to where it covers the foil.

# Cook ribs for another 2.5 hours in the oven, or until tender.

# Combine mango, jalapenos, and barbecue sauce in a blender.

# Blend ingredients until you have a smooth sauce.

# Pour sauce into a saucepan and cook on low heat for 30 mins, stirring periodically so the sauce will not burn.

# Remove sauce.

# Cut ribs and serve the sauce on the side, or dip ribs into sauce.