Grilled Ribs with Watermelon BBQ Sauce

Grilled Ribs with Watermelon BBQ Sauce are super easy to make and pack a serious flavor punch. Your family and friends will be begging for second helpings of this one. Be sure to have extra napkins on hand!

This recipe is easy and delicious which just happen to be my two favourite things in the world.

I'm obsessed with watermelon! Ever since I was a little kid it has been my favourite summer fruit. I can never get enough it during the summer months.

Honestly, I can eat an entire watermelon in a day. Once I slice one open I just keep grabbing bowls of it all throughout the day. I can't help myself.

Watermelon is so versatile. Not only is it good on its own but it's fabulous in both sweet and savoury recipes. The recipe possibilities are limitless.

One of my absolute favourite things to use it with is spare ribs. I know, I know. Some of you are blinking your eyes right now thinking I've lost my mind.

I have, just not about this!

Watermelon and pork go really well together and watermelon ribs are a thing of beauty. If you have not tried making them yet you really need to hop on the bandwagon.

Not even kidding. Make these immediately. Then, invite me over to help you eat 'em all up!

You can use the watermelon juice as a marinade. If you're smoking ribs you can use it as cooking liquid for tender ribs. It also makes a great barbecue sauce.

Once you grill your ribs I highly recommend adding watermelon salsa over top of them. I have a recipe for it included on my honey lime chicken tacos with watermelon salsa recipe.

Other Amazing Grill Recipes:

• Mexican Street Corn Salad
• Grilled Beer Brats with Boozy Salsa
• Teriyaki Salmon Bowls
• Grilled Caesar Salad
• Mexican Hot Dogs
• Chicken, Peach and Sausage Kebabs
• Grilled Steak Bites from my grill blog - Kiss My Smoke

Ingredient List:

Marinade:

Watermelon - Buy a seedless watermelon if you can, it'll make things easier.

Lime - For this recipe, I used a fresh lime but you could use lime juice instead.

Spices - I used salt and pepper to add a little oomph to the sauce.

Dry Rub:

Brown Sugar - Using brown sugar in dry rubs helps the meat develop a nice crust while cooking.

Spices - This rub recipe uses garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper. You add other spices that you love.

Watermelon BBQ Sauce:

Watermelon - Again, use a seedless watermelon if you can find one. It also helps to cut the watermelon into cubes before putting it into the blender or food processor.

Brown Sugar - This will add sweetness to the sauce and take it to the next level.

Tomato Paste - Personally, I love using tomato paste to thicken and add depth of flavor to sauces. Any brand is good.

Balsamic Vinegar - This gives the sauce a nice sweet and tangy zing, while also adding depth of flavor. I highly recommend using vinegars in sauces. It really helps balance everything out.

Tamari Sauce - Honestly, this is my favorite thing to add to a lot of sauces. Adding a nice garlic Tamari sauce really enhances the flavor of bbq sauce.

Minced Garlic - Fresh minced garlic is one of the best things to add to bbq sauces but if you don't have fresh garlic on hand you can add garlic powder or garlic salt instead.

Ribs:

For this recipe, I used two racks of pork spare ribs. You can use baby back ribs if you prefer them over regular spare ribs. St. Louis ribs would also work for this recipe.

Directions for Grilled Spare Ribs:

Marinade:

Puree the watermelon in a blender or food processor. Use a sieve or cheesecloth to press the mixture though to remove all the bigger pieces. Add the juice to a large container to will fit the spare ribs and juice for marinating.

Juice the lime and add it to the container with watermelon juice.

Add salt and pepper to the container.

Stir the mixture and set it aside.

Dry Rub:

Add the ingredients together in a small bowl. Use a whisk or fork to mix them. Set aside.

Watermelon BBQ Sauce:

Cube the watermelon and remove any seeds if necessary. Toss the cubes into a blender or food processor. Drain through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove any larger bits.

Transfer the watermelon juice to a medium sized saucepan, and add brown sugar. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Allow to cook for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, Tamari sauce and minced garlic to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens a bit. Stir it occasionally to check the consistency. Once it's thickened slightly you can remove it from the heat and set aside.

Ribs:

Preheat the grill to 350 degrees F. Be sure to have one side of the grill for direct heat, and the other side for indirect heat. Basically you want two zones for this recipe which is achieved by having one side of the grill turned on, and one side turned off.

Remove the membrane from the ribs. It's pretty easy to do. Just use a small knife to cut one corner edge slightly, then grab that edge with a paper towel and pull.

Put the ribs in the marinade container. Allow them to marinate for 15 to 60 minutes. Most grills will take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes to preheat so factor that into when you start your grill. Generally, I like preheating mine for about 15 to 20 minutes to be sure I can make any adjustments needed before putting the meat on.

Remove ribs from marinade and discard the excess marinade.

Place the ribs on a cutting board and use sprinkle the dry rub over all sides. You can use your hands to help spread it out.

Place the ribs on the grill over the side that is indirect heat and cook for about an hour with the lid closed.

Flip the ribs over and cook for another 30 minutes with the lid closed.

Now move the ribs over to the side of the grill that has direct heat. Cook each side until the meat just starts to char slightly. If you want to add a little sauce while you char you can, but if you prefer to sauce after cooking that's cool too.

Remove ribs from grill and place on a rimmed sheet or platter. Turn the grill off.

Slather the ribs with sauce and serve.

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