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Smoky Blood Orange BBQ Ribs with Avocado Butter Greens
5 from 18 votes

Smoky Blood Orange BBQ Ribs with Avocado Butter Greens

This recipe serves pork ribs rubbed with a smoky, spice-filled seasoning and baked slowly before finishing on a high-heat grill with a blood orange barbecue sauce glaze. Accompanying the ribs are butter lettuce greens tossed with avocado slices and a tangy, bright blood orange dressing, rounding out a smoky and fresh meal.

Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
3 hrs
Total Time
4 hrs
Servings: 6 to 8 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

ribs
  • 2 pork spare ribs about 2 lbs each, or baby back ribs
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt coarse
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon ground mustard
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin ground
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
blood orange BBQ sauce
  • 2/3 cup ketchup
  • 3/4 cup blood orange freshly squeezed juice
  • ½ cup honey
  • 3 garlic minced, cloves
  • 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
avocado butter greens
  • 8 cups butter lettuce
  • pinch salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • 2 avocado thinly sliced
  • 2 blood orange segmented
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 garlic finely minced or pressed, cloves
  • pinch salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes crushed
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

ribs
    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Place each rack of ribs on a doubled sheet of aluminum foil.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the salt, paprika, mustard, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder and chipotle chili powder. Rub the mixture all over both sides of the ribs, then wrap the ribs up in the aluminum foil. Place the racks on a baking sheet and put them on the center rack in the oven.
  3. Bake for 2 1/2 hours.
  4. After 2 1/2 hours, gently pour the juice in the foil packets into a large bowl or measuring cup. The ribs are fine and ready to eat now, but they get DELISH if you throw them on the grill. To do this, whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons of blood orange BBQ sauce into the juice from the ribs.
  5. Heat the grill to the highest setting and remove the ribs from the foil. Once the grill is hot, place the ribs on the grill and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are charred and slightly crisp on the outsides, basting and rubbing the juices/BBQ sauce mixture on top. Let cool slightly before slathering and serving with lots of blood orange BBQ sauce. Serve alongside the avocado butter greens!
  6. Another option to not grilling: heat the broiler in your oven to the highest setting and baste the ribs with the juices/sauce mixture. Keep the rack in the center of your oven and broil for 2 to 3 minutes per side, basteing th ribs in between.
blood orange BBQ sauce
  1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk together until combined. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for 30 to 60 minutes, until thickened. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat and let sit at room temperature until it cools and thickens even more.
  2. Store in a jar or sealed container in the fridge.
avocado butter greens
  1. Toss the greens with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the sliced avocado and orange slices.
  2. Whisk together the vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.