Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Ribs

Sweet and spicy pineapple ribs make the perfect addition to your backyard grilling and BBQ. These sweet and spicy ribs get complimented perfectly with a homemade pineapple barbecue sauce.

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I LOVE grilling weather.

Everything tastes great on the grill from bacon cheese burgers to grilled buffalo wings to these sweet and spicy pineapple ribs.

We don’t limit grilling to only Memorial Day, the 4th, or Labor Day. If it’s nice enough, we will often serve grilled sweet and spicy ribs as the entree for an Easter dinner or fire up the grill on a warmer winter day.

Homemade pineapple barbecue sauce is super easy to make and really gives the ribs a nice, sticky glaze.

We also don’t limit ourselves to just ribs. We’ll often make pineapple barbecue sauce to put on burgers, fries, wings, chicken, and steak.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies for Pineapple Ribs

Here’s what you need to make sweet and spicy ribs with a pineapple barbecue sauce:

• Crushed pineapple – You can find this with canned fruit in almost every grocery store. You will want to drain the pineapple, but reserve the juice in a bowl.
• Soy sauce – Soy sauce helps give a subtle flavor and a bit of salt to the sweet and spicy ribs.
• Olive oil – You could use another type of oil.
• Spices – They wouldn’t be sweet and spicy ribs without spices. We use chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and ginger.
• Hot sauce – This gives the ribs some kick, but you could omit if you want a milder flavor. In terms of what hot sauce, we typically use Frank’s Red Hot, but you could use your favorite brand or type.
• Light brown sugar – You could use dark brown too. The sugar helps to bring out the sweetness of the pineapple. If you are trying to eat lower carb, you could use brown sugar substitute.

For the homemade pineapple barbecue sauce, you’ll need:

• Garlic cloves – You’ll want to dice or crush the garlic using a garlic press.
• Olive oil – You can sub in a different oil if you prefer, just try to pick one with little to no flavor.
• Soy sauce – Adds a bit of flavor and saltiness to the pineapple barbecue sauce.
• Molassess – Molassess adds color, some flavor and sweetness, and helps to thicken the BBQ sauce as it cooks. You could use a molassess substitute if you are trying to cut carbs a bit.
• Light brown sugar – You can use dark brown if you like or a brown sugar substitute to reduce carbs.
• 1 tbs worceister sauce
• Spices – For the pineapple BBQ sauce, we use cayenne pepper and ginger.
• Crushed pineapple – Crushed pineapple has a similar texture to a thicker tomato sauce, which makes it a great choice for a BBQ sauce. If you want a slightly smoother sauce, you can run it through a food processor or blender.
• Reserved pineapple juice – You get this from the crushed cans of pineapple. To make the ribs and sauce, you will need two cans of crushed pineapple total.

Tools and gadgets for sweet and spicy ribs include:

• garlic press
• food processor or blender – only if you want really smooth pineapple barbecue sauce
• grill with smoker – while any grill – gas, charcoal, or pellet – we find a grill with a smoker box works really well for smoking ribs over indirect heat

How to make sweet and spicy ribs with pineapple BBQ sauce

1. Start the fire going

If you are using a charcoal grill or smoker, get the charcoal ready.

Once they are ready, place the charcoal to one side of the grill or in the smoker box (if you have one).

If you are using a pellet or gas set the temperature to low or about 200-225 degrees.

2. Prep and cook the ribs

Combine all the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and then use a brush, spoon, or your hands to rub it onto both sides of the ribs.

Place the ribs, meat side down, away from direct heat.

Smoke or cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. This can vary a bit.

You will need to periodically add more hot charcoal to keep the smoke going.

The sweet and spicy ribs are done when the meat starts to fall off the bones or when the internal temperature reachs between 190 to 203 degrees F.

3. Make the pineapple barbecue sauce

When there is about an hour of cook time left on the sweet and spicy ribs, start the pineapple barbecue sauce.

To do this, mix all the ingredients for the pineapple barbecue sauce in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer.

Redue heat to low and continue to cook, stirring occassionally, for about 30 minutes.

The sauce should start to thicken.

Once ready, brush or spoon the pineapple barbecue sauce onto the ribs and let them cook for about 30 more minutes.

Serve with extra BBQ sauce, sweet potato fries, a strawberry salad, red potato salad, mashed potatoes, or your favorite side.

Storing sweet and spicy pineapple ribs

Sweet and spicy ribs are best served fresh off the grill, but if you want to either make them ahead or store left oves, you certainly can.

To store, either wrap the ribs tightly in plastic wrap or place in an air tight container.

You can reheat them gently in an oven set to 300 degrees for a few minutes or until they reach the temperature you like.

You could microwave them, but the meat may get a bit rubbery.

Tips and tricks

• Low and slow works best for sweet and spicy ribs – or any kind of rib recipe really. We prefer to smoke them, but indirect heat for several hours also works. If you have to, you can cook them faster on an electric grill, but you’ll lose a lot of smokey flavor from the fire.
• You can add or reduce heat by playing with how much hot sauce you use. You can also add more or omit the cayenne pepper. If you like them spicy without as much sweet, you can reduce the amount of brown sugar you use.
• To make these low carb, sub in low carb options such as brown sugar and molasses substitutes.
• Only add the pineapple barbecue sauce towards the end of cooking. This will allow the sauce to pick up the smokey flavor and to carmelize, becoming nice and sticky. Do not add it too early, or it can dry up a bit or even burn.

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Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Ribs

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Ingredients

• 1 rack of Smithfield Fresh Pork Extra Tender St. Louis Ribs

For Rub

• 1 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple drained with juice reserved
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1/2 tbs cumin
• 1 tbs onion powder
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tbs ginger
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar

For Pineapple Sauce

• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 4 tbs soy sauce
• 1/3 cup molassess
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tbs worceister sauce
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbs ginger
• 20 ounce can crushed pineapple
• reserved pineapple juice

Instructions

• Stack the charcoal to one side of the grill to ensure a smokey fire.
• Combine all the ingredients for the rub and spoon onto both side of the ribs.
• Place the ribs meat side down over the other side of the grill.
• Smoke for 6-8 hours, depending on how hot coals are. The ribs are done when the meat begins to fall from the bone or the internal temperature reaches between 190 and 203F for maximum tenderness.
• About 30 minutes prior to removing from grill, brush with pineapple sauce and move over direct heat. Serve hot with extra sauce.

For the sauce

• Combine all the ingredients for the pineapple sauce in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or serve with ribs.

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