I so very much wish you could just reach into the screen and take a piece! I’d be more than happy to share with you if I could! But since I can’t, I’m at least thankful for the internet that allows small town home cooks like me to be able to share recipes and help others to be able to experience all of the homemade good things that come from humble kitchens just like mine from all over the world! It’s truly quite amazing when you think about it, and think how far we’ve come in just the last few decades. Wow. Mind-blowing, really. When I was born, air conditioning was a new thing and complete luxury to have in cars to put things into perspective! And I’m not even old! We didn’t have computers, and calculators didn’t even hit the public market until I was in high school! They were considered “cheating”, weren’t allowed in our schools, and were several hundred dollars for a large, awkward, hand-held version at Sears! Crazy, huh? Change is ever present, and though change is, (most of the time), a good thing, there’s nothing wrong with going back to your roots and doing things “old school”, either. With 100 gazillion barbecue sauces on the market today, from your local super store to an exotic jar purchased on the internet with a just a few simple clicks, you might ask, why make your own?? Because it’s good. It’s better. And you can control what’s going into it. And a whole lot more economical, too. And it’s really easy and fun to make to boot! There’s no better feeling of having accomplished something, and more appreciation for something, when you created and made it yourself. I don’t buy a lot of fancy, high-priced, exotic, trendy, pre-made products that are the newest “craze”, (weekly), on TV food shows. Though I do pay attention to what’s new in the food world, I prefer to make my own homemade rather than buy it. If they did it, so can we, right? That’s what I say, too! And that’s just what I did! Boy is that an understatement! I was wanting a different barbecue sauce for my ribs and had just received some wild blackberries from the kind folks at Northwest Wildfoods , and thought, well gosh, I should just make my own barbecue sauce with these pretty little berries! And they worked beautifully for this! Wild blackberries are much smaller and more intense than their larger cousin, but do still have seeds. You can leave them in if you’d like, but I wanted a rich and creamy consistency without seeds so I strained mine and was so glad I did! There were a lot more in them than I had thought there would be.
Here they are simmering on the stove in a little chicken broth.
Then it was simply a matter of letting them cool, blending them in the blender, pressing the good stuff through a strainer right back into the same pan, adding the rest of the ingredients and simmering until thick! SO easy!!! Check out this rich-colored, decadent sauce that you can whip up while the ribs are slow-cooking!
This is some SERIOUS sauce!! This would make such pretty, sure to be well-received gifts at Christmastime, too, I’m sure!
And it made the perfect amount to nicely coat both sides of two full racks of baby back ribs! Here are the ribs after 2 1/2 hours in the oven and fall-off-the-bone tender!
And here’s the first side getting a slathering of my “should be illegal it’s so good” blackberry barbecue sauce!
Mouthwateringly delicious already! I had to broil mine this time, rather than toss them on the grill and hit them with flames due to the threatening storm clouds and darkening skies, but that worked quite well. So you can do this either way you’d like.
And under the broiler they go! Only for about 2 minutes until the sauce starts to bubble. Then remove immediately, turn, coat other side, and broil again.
After broiled. Sorry for the bad pic! Had to hurry and beat the rain!
Another rather awkward shot taken in a BIG rush, but showing you anyways so you can at least see. I’m not a professional photographer and helping is most important to me. Meat was literally falling from the bones! So juicy and tender!! 🙂 (Not saying how I knew that at that time… 😉 )
With Labor Day weekend coming up, I hope this gives you a new idea to fix for the last of summer celebrations, a special occasion, or for the upcoming football games! Nothing beats a good slab of ribs, and with homemade blackberry barbecue sauce, these ribs are outstanding! Fruity, barbecue-y, sweet ‘n sticky yet tangy at the same time! A touchdown in our books! I so hope you make these and enjoy all!
BABY BACK PORK RIBS with FRESH-PICKED N. W. WILD BLACKBERRY BARBECUE SAUCE
2 Full Racks Baby Back Ribs / Serves 4-6
For Ribs:
2 full racks baby back pork ribs (about 4 lbs.)
“Kelly’s Dry Rib Rub” from my Rib Shack-Style Barbecued Ribs
For Wild Blackberry Barbecue Sauce:
2 cups fresh or frozen wild blackberries, we enjoy ordering from Northwest Wildfoods
3/4 cup chicken broth, (freeze leftover if using canned for another use)
3/4 cup ketchup
1/16 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup + 1 Tbl. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/8 cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed or concentrate
1 1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. molasses
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. yellow table mustard
1/8 tsp. instant espresso powder
1/16 tsp. cinnamon
1/16 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
*Make my Rib Rub from my Rib Shack-Style Barbecued Ribs and prepare, bake ribs, and follow same directions up to sauce, of course, baking at 300 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. (*Don’t forget to remove that icky, tough “silver skin” off of the back.)
For Wild Blackberry Barbecue Sauce:
While ribs are slow-cooking in the oven, place wild blackberries and chicken broth into medium-sized saucepan. Over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool for 20-30 minutes. Gather rest of ingredients and measuring utensils.
When cooled down, pour into blender and blend until smooth. Place same saucepan into sink, and strain blackberry mixture through fine metal mesh strainer, pressing and scraping with spoon, back into saucepan. *The only thing remaining should be about 2-3 Tbl. of seeds. Discard seeds. Place saucepan back onto stove.
Add rest of ingredients, bring back to a simmer, and simmer on low or 30 minutes. *Do not leave unattended, and stir, especially during last 10-15 minutes, so sauce doesn’t burn on the bottom or splatter everywhere. Sauce will get very thick. Remove from heat and set aside, uncovered, until needed.
When ribs are done, remove from foil to a clean, foil-lined baking sheet back side-up. Baste each back side evenly using a little less than half the sauce total. Place under boiler (sauce side-UP) or onto pre-heated hot grill (sauce side-DOWN) and cook just until sauce starts to bubble. Turn, baste with rest of sauce, and repeat. Remove to platter to rest. Enjoy!!
