Today is part four in our summer long Outdoor Cooking Series. Every month from May thru September, Joyce from In The Wild Kitchen will be stopping by to share a recipe that you can cook and enjoy outdoors – whether it’s at the cabin, at the beach, camping or even in your own backyard. Today she shows us how to barbecue wild boar ribs with a maple syrup marinade and a tangy sauce.
Ribs, delicious ribs. I love ribs, they’re one of my top favorite foods. I’m constantly looking to perfect my ribs. Honestly, most of the time I throw a bunch of ingredients in with the ribs and call it a day, usually without measuring or keeping track of the recipes. There have been many times my husband has said, “Keep that recipe, make them just like that next time.” For the most part though, I’m constantly tweaking my ribs, adding this and that.
Sometimes though, with just tossing stuff in, I can forget things. One day in particular I threw the ribs in the slow cooker, added my ingredients and let them cook away. We sat down to eat that night and I gave my husband the usual question, “How are they?”
“They’re okay, something’s different though, but they’re not bad.”
I agreed with him, something was missing. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t great either.
As we ate for a while on these ribs that were just okay, I finally realized what was wrong with them. I forgot the molasses! I couldn’t believe it; for me, molasses and ribs are like ice cream and chocolate sauce, they just go together. I haven’t made that mistake again.
A big thing to consider is the type of ribs: back ribs or side ribs, pork or beef. Really it’s all about preference. Some may swear by one cut, while others sing the praises of another. Choose your favorite and go with it.
Last month we hit the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market and picked up some wild boar ribs. These bad boys are delicious! I quite enjoy wild boar products and try to get to the market every time I’m in the city.
Also, remember to prepare your ribs for cooking by removing the silver skin. If you’ve never done this before, you can learn how in my post about it here.
Keep in mind, when making these ribs you need to allow four to five hours of marinating time.
- 4 to 5 lbs wild boar ribs (or your rib of choice)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 cup maple syrup
- Mild Molasses BBQ Sauce or favorite BBQ sauce (but I highly suggest making the Mild Molasses BBQ Sauce!)
- Place your ribs in a marinating style dish or a dish with a tight seal that can be flipped. Using gloves, first rub in the brown sugar and let sit for 10 minutes. Next rub in the molasses. Pour the maple syrup over top and gently rub into the ribs. Seal the container and let marinate for 4 to 5 hours, flipping every hour.
- Set your grill on low, then place ribs on grill for a few minutes. Flip ribs and baste the top with BBQ sauce. Grill for a few more minutes and flip again. Baste the top with BBQ sauces. Repeat a couple more times, adding BBQ sauce each time you flip.
- These ribs should take about 15 to 20 minutes to cook through, depending on size and heat. With wild boar ribs the meat does shrink a little on the bones, and once it stops shrinking this is a good sign they are done.
The layering of the molasses from both rubbing it in and in the BBQ sauce paired with the sweetness of sugar and maple syrup makes the perfect combo of tanginess.
Enjoy the wild!
More Reading
For more summer outdoor living and entertaining recipes, check out these ideas:
Shore Lunch Fish Fry
A Red and White Picnic
Outdoor Skillet Kale and Sausage Pizza
Half Your Plate – Tips For Grilling Fruits & Veggies
The Summer Outdoor Cooking Series is written by Joyce Schmalz. Joyce is the brains behind the scenes at In the Wild Kitchen. She hunts, fishes and enjoys the outdoors with her family. She is also a public speaker and upcoming host for her new show In the Wild Kitchen on Wild TV.
You can unsubscribe any time!
Joyce, you’re convincing me that I need to step out of my comfort zone and try more game!
Interesting marinade for the ribs! I am an avid slow charcoal roasting rib cooking freak, so I can totally appreciate this! I’m also glad to see that there is no “cheating” in this dish – putting them into the oven first. Man, I hate that. For a little more fun, add a few wood chips to the mix, and get a little smoke on. It would make it taste even better!