This no muss, no fuss competition-style butter bath will take all the guesswork out of wrapping your pork ribs. All you have to do is combine this butter bath with a little liquid for wrapping your BBQ ribs or pork. This recipe makes enough for two racks of spare ribs.
What is a butter bath?
A “butter bath” refers to a buttery liquid in which foods like steaks or corn are submerged. However, a barbecue butter bath refers to the wrapping stage of barbecued meats. With ribs, wrapping takes place after the first 3 hours of cooking time. The ribs are placed into a large sheet of aluminum foil, then drizzled with apple juice, brown sugar, and butter before sealing it up and returning it to the grill. Our homemade competition-style butter bath is a convenient powder-based variation similar a BBQ rub. That means it can be made ahead of time, and stored in an airtight container until ready to use.
What you’ll need to make a BBQ butter bath:
- Honey Granules: I used the Spiceology Honey Granules
- Butter Buds or Molly McButter Butter Sprinkles
- Brown Sugar
- Paprika
- Onion Powder
How to make this competition-style butter bath:
Measure out your ingredients, and whisk them together until well combined.
Combine the powdered butter bath and apple juice with a fork. After a few seconds, the dry ingredients will start to dissolve.
How to use it
- Use 1/4 cup of competition-style butter bath mixture, with 1/2 cup of apple juice per 1 rack of ribs.
- Place your rack of ribs onto a large sheet of aluminum foil. Carefully pour the competition-style bath butter around and onto the ribs. Seal the ribs up and place them back into the smoker, and continue cooking for 2 hours.
- Please note: If you are plan to use this butter bath on pork shoulder, combine 1/2 cup of the powder with 1 cup of apple juice and wrap as directed.
Storing:
Make up a large batch of this competition-style butter bath, and store it in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard for up to 1 year.
Try this butter bath on my Pellet Grill Pork Ribs Recipe
Photos by: Sabrina Baksh for derrickriches.com
Competition-Style Butter Bath
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup honey granules
- 5 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Butter Buds or Molly McButter Butter Sprinkles
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl using a whisk or fork.
- Use 1/4 cup of mixture with 1/2 cup of apple juice for 1 rack of spare ribs. Use 1/2 cup mixture plus 1 cup of apple juice for 1 pork shoulder.
- Make a large batch and store it in an airtight container in the cupboard for up to 1 year.
