Sweet Heat Cajun Ribs

This recipe was given to me by Dave Riley. Yes, that Dave Riley. This recipe is so simple I wasn’t expecting much. I mean it’s pretty much just three ingredients. Well, I was wrong on that one. This Sweet Heat Cajun Ribs recipe is as delicious as it is simple.   

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Sweet Heat Cajun Ribs Ingredients:

• 1 slab spare ribs, membrane removed
• Riley’s Cajun Seasoning (or use whatever cajun/spicy seasoning you have access to)
• 2 cups brown sugar, reserved for later

Riley’s is available all over the midwest. You can also get their seasoning online. Oh, this post is not sponsored by Riley’s, they’re just good people and make a great product I believe in. If you are from St. Louis, you can also try this similar recipe using the iconic Red Hot Riplets seasoning. 

Now back to this Sweet Heat Cajun Ribs recipe.

Remove the membrane off the bone side of the ribs and then coat it heavily with the Cajun Seasoning. Lay it on thick:

Flip over and repeat:

If you are worried that the ribs will be too spicy, don’t sweat it. HAHAHA! See what I did there? Sweat? Trust me, it won’t be that spicy. Actually not hot at all. More on this later.

How to Grill Sweet Heat Cajun Ribs

Prepare the grill for two zone/indirect grilling with coals and smoke wood (in this case cherry wood) on one side and nothing on the other. For this grill, coals on the bottom and a place setter between the meat and the fire inside my kamado style grill. Target internal temperature of the grill is 250F:

If you want to know what smoke woods pair with what meats, we have quite the extensive list. 

Notice the white stuff in the background and flakes on the meat? That would be a glorious snow storm:

Other, normal people, when the weather casters predict snowmageddon, stock up on milk, bread and eggs. I have no idea why French toast is so popular when it snows. Me? I buy ribs and beer!

Close the lid for two hours:

After two hours the ribs have become a wonderful golden brown and the rub is now stuck tight to the meat:

That little chunk off to the side was part of the flap at the end of the ribs. I decided to make it a little pitmaster’s prerogative and do some quality control. The quality was marvelous.

Time to add the Sweet to the Heat

Take the ribs inside at this point and put on two sheets of aluminum foil (otherwise known as the Texas Crutch) and get that brown sugar out:

Make sure you use two sheets of foil because if you poke a hole in the bottom the best part of this recipe will be lost.

Since making this recipe, I have started doing foil boat ribs where the foil is open on top allowing more smoke to penetrate.

Lay the ribs meat side up and give them a thick layer of brown sugar (about 3/4 cup of sugar):

Pat the sugar down so it sticks to the meat and then flip them over to the bone side and repeat with another 3/4 cup of brown sugar:

I added the rest of the sugar to the bone side and closed up the foil:

Put the foiled ribs back on the grill for 2.5-3 hours at 250-300. Don’t worry if the temperature spikes a little. The foil and the fat and the sugar will keep the ribs from drying out.

After 2.5-3 hours remove the foiled ribs from the grill and take a look:

This is why the ribs were bone side up and extra brown sugar added:

That pooled liquid sugar, combined with the fat that rendered out of the meat and the heat of the cajun seasoning is your ticket to flavor town, my friend.

But are they done? Let’s check the bones:

I’d give that a resounding yes.

Now for what brings this whole recipe together into the genius that it is. Slice the ribs and then spoon that wonderful sauce from the bottom of the foil over them:

The sauce is sweet and thick with just a little heat to it that perfectly balances the spiciness of the Cajun Seasoning. I was floored at how terrific these ribs were. I’m doing these for a crowd soon. They are the perfect ribs for a big crew as they are extremely simple leaving time to prep for the party and enjoy company of your guests when they arrive.

If you have any questions about the foiled ribs above please feel free to comment below or shoot me an email.

You can find other rib recipes here. 

Also, you can follow us on our GrillinFools Facebook page and Instagram.

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5 from 3 votes

Sweet Heat Cajun Ribs

Sweet Heat Cajun Ribs are pork spare ribs slathered in cajun seasoning, smoked then foiled with brown sugar. The sweet perfectly counters the heat.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time5 hours hrs

Total Time5 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Entree, Main Course, Ribs

Cuisine: American, American Fare, Barbecue, BBQ, Pork Ribs, Ribs

Keyword: Akorn, Aluminum Foil, Barbecue Ribs, BBQ Ribs, Foil, Foiled Ribs, Kamado, Kamado Grill, Pork Ribs, Pork Spare Ribs, Ribs, Smoked Ribs, Spare Ribs

Servings: 3 People

Ingredients

• 1 slab spare ribs membrane removed
• Riley's Cajun Seasoning
• 2 cups brown sugar divided and reserved for later

Instructions

• Skin the ribs
• Coat the bone side with the Riley's Cajun Seasoning
• Flip over and coat the meat side
• Prepare the grill for two zone/indirect grilling with coals and smoke wood on one side and nothing on the other
• Target temperature inside the grill is 200-250
• Place the ribs on the side with no heat and close the lid for two hours
• Remove from the heat and place meat side up on two large sheets of aluminum foil
• Cover the meat side with 3/4 cup of brown sugar, spreading evenly across ribs
• Pat the sugar down to make sure it sticks and flip the ribs over
• Cover the bone side with the rest of the brown sugar
• Fold the foil up into a pouch and return the ribs to the grill for 2.5-3 hours
• Remove the foiled ribs from the grill
• Remove the ribs from the foil, reserving the sauce
• Slice the ribs and drizzle the sauce over them or put in a bowl for a dipping sauce
• Serve while the sauce is still warm

And one final picture – a collage of the process:

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

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BBQ Grilling

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This article was initially published on: February 25, 2013