Pineapple Wrapped BBQ Ribs ❧ ❧ ❧

We love a good barbecue — anything low and slow, wrapped in smoke, is our kind of weekend. And if there’s one thing that’s never let us down at a cookout, it’s BBQ baby back ribs. They’re one of the easiest things we make and always, always a crowd pleaser: rub them, get them on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker, and let the hours do the work while everyone else shows up with a side dish and a lawn chair.

We’ve been making these ribs for years now — they’re one of our kids’ favorite summertime classics, the thing they ask for on repeat all season long. This summer, we decided to take it up a notch. We took our go-to ribs and wrapped the whole rack around a whole pineapple, pinned it shut with skewers, and let it smoke low and slow at 225°F until the meat pulled clean off the bone and the pineapple underneath turned into the best surprise side dish!

Here’s the thing — we are never going back to just regular ribs, it’s pineapple wrapped ribs for now on! Once the ribs have basted in sweet, tangy pineapple juice for almost six hours on the smoker and come out sticky and caramelized instead of just smoky, plain ribs just taste plain next to these!

Slice them between the bones, scatter on some green onions, pile the pineapple wedges alongside, and you’ll see what we mean. Going a little more extra is totally worth it.

Stay tuned for our next newsletter where we show you our favorite sides: Islands Inspired China Coast Slaw and Cornbread that go with these amazing rib!

Serves 4 • Prep 20 minutes, plus at least 2 hours to chill • Cook 5 hours 45 minutes

• 3 pounds pork baby back ribs

• ¼ cup yellow mustard

• 1 whole pineapple

• 1½ cups barbecue sauce, divided

• ½ cup sugar

• ½ cup non-iodized salt

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 2 tablespoons cumin

• 1 tablespoon paprika

• 1 tablespoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon onion powder

• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

• ¼ cup orange juice

• Sliced green onions, for garnish

1. Stir the dry rub ingredients together. Remove the membrane from the ribs and smear yellow mustard all over the meat side only, then generously apply the rub to both sides. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

2. Cut the top off the pineapple, trim off the skin, and coat the pineapple with barbecue sauce. Wrap the ribs around the pineapple and pin them in place with skewers or toothpicks.

3. Set a smoker to 225°F. Smoke for 3 hours.

4. Combine the apple cider vinegar and orange juice in a spray bottle. Spritz the ribs well, then wrap tightly in foil and smoke 2 more hours at 225°F.

5. Unwrap, brush heavily with barbecue sauce, increase the smoker to 275°F, and cook 45 minutes more, until glazed, caramelized, and tender.

6. Rest 10 minutes, slice between the bones, garnish with green onions, and serve — with wedges of that BBQ-roasted pineapple alongside.

   

• The rub makes more than one rack needs — store the extra airtight and it’s ready for the next cookout.

• The ribs, mustard, pineapple, barbecue sauce, spritz, and green onions were all in the original method but missing from the ingredient list — they’re now listed with quantities.

• Don’t skip resting; 10 minutes lets the glaze set so it doesn’t slide off the ribs when you slice.

• Also serve with your favorite sides, we love to pair these with our Islands Inspired China Coast Slaw and Cornbread