Pineapple BBQ Wild Pig Ribs

Wild pig ribs aren’t as meaty as those from their domestic kin, but they are very tasty, particularly when brushed and smoked with homemade pineapple BBQ sauce

By author of Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes Print Recipe
prep time
cook time
4-6
serves
Medium
difficulty

We saved the ribs from a large Texas wild boar and smoked them in our Traeger Timberline grill with a homemade pineapple barbecue sauce. The results were as good as any we’ve had at our favorite BBQ joints.

Pull the ribs from the grill, allow to rest, then slice between rib bones for serving.

Since wild pig ribs are often less meaty than domestic, figure a few more per serving. Otherwise, cook them the same way you would store-bought spareribs.

I like to dust the ribs well with BBQ rub. For this recipe, we used Myron Mixon Wild Game Rub, then smoked the ribs with the Traeger Super Smoke function turned on for a few hours before saucing and wrapping them in foil. After a couple more hours, we crank the heat up and finish the ribs on the open grill rack to set the glaze. 

After pulling the ribs from the foil, brush on more sauce and continue cooking directly on the grate to set the sauce.

Ingredients

2 or more racks of wild pig ribs

BBQ rub of choice

 

Bourbon Pineapple BBQ Sauce

1 cup pineapple tidbits in juice

1 cup ketchup

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup Evan Williams bourbon

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pinch red pepper flakes 

1 to 2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 to 2 tablespoons water

Cooking Instructions

Use a paper towel or butter knife (or a combination of the two) to grab the clear inner membrane at the corner of the ribs and peel it away from the inner side.

Use a paper towel or a table knife to work the membrane away from the inner side of the ribs.

Shake the BBQ rub onto the ribs in an even coating on both sides. Grill at 225 degrees for 2 hours on the open grill rack. 

Cover the ribs with your favorite BBQ rub.

While the ribs smoke, make the sauce. To a medium saucepan, add all sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch and water. Bring to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch into the water to form a slurry, then pour it into the pan. Return to a simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. 

Cook the sauce as the ribs slowly smoke for 2 hours.

Move each rack to a sheet of foil, meat side up. Brush or pour on enough of the sauce to coat the ribs. Seal and return to the smoker at 225 degrees. Cook for an additional 2 hours. 

Gently move the ribs from the foil to the open grill grate. Brush on additional sauce to form a thin coating, reserving remaining sauce for serving. Increase grill temperature to 250 degrees, cooking for an additional hour to set the sauce into a glaze. Cooking times may need to be reduced for smaller racks of ribs.

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