BBQ JACK & COKE RIB MARINADE

hey there! this recipe is the latest and greatest from my recipe swap club. This month I partnered with The Culinary Taste to bring you this oh so summer perfect ribs with a Jack & Coke marinade. This particular collaboration was extra fun because I got to interview the chef behind the recipe as well as see one of my recipes come to life on his blog. For those of you who may be new to my blog the recipe swap club is a group in which I collaborate with a new blogger each month to try out one of their recipes and vice versa - I love it because it helps me learn and try new things, which in turn I get to share with you! 

Marvin of The Culinary Taste originally developed this recipe because well, ribs is one of his favorite foods, and Jack & coke is his favorite quick drink. I give him credit because this recipe is seriously delicious! The taste of the whiskey boils out but adds such a nice flavor to the BBQ sauce. Interviewing Marvin was fun for me because he is a full time chef at a restaurant in the Netherlands (so cool, right?!), so his blog is not only a hobby for him but a real extension of his career path. He started with a passion for food, hospitality, and journalism so eventually started working in a restaurant and become head chef. (I love a good follow your dream story)! When I asked him why blog recipes when that is what you do for a living I found it funny to hear he started blogging because family and friends would always request certain recipes he made up and he figured putting them online would be the easiest way to share - although we have such different careers / backgrounds, that is one of the main reasons I started blogging as well! He and I also agree that one of the reasons we love having a blog is getting to connect with others and see them recreate your recipe is so rewarding and fun. Thank you, Marvin, for sharing this recipe and your story with us! 

To see The Culinary Taste's take on my Cajun Shrimp recipe as well as my interview with him, click here! Being the chef he is, he even asked me to talk about my favorite foods and created a signature Luca risotto recipe - so cool!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbs. butter
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. chili flakes
• 1/2 cup Jack Daniels 
• 1 cup coke
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tbsp. Paprika powder
• salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add the butter and when the butter is melted add garlic and red chili flakes. Cook for about a minute to allow garlic to soften. 
2. Add the Jack Daniels and bring heat to medium / high - boil until you reduce the whiskey by about a quarter.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and turn the heat down and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes
4. Pour some of the marinade over ribs and let sit for about an hour so your ribs get to room temperature while soaking in some flavor. Reserve some of the marinade so you can baste on a little more when finished cooking. *This is a generous portion of marinade so you may even have some leftover! 
5. Cook your ribs on the BBQ or in the oven per instructions on your pack of ribs. I baked at 350' until at temperature (between 60-90 minutes). 
6. Baste a little more sauce before serving if desired. 
7. Enjoy! 

The original recipe called for diced onion to be added with the garlic in the very beginning, which would be a great addition! I only omitted as my guy does not like onion - and I wasn't about to eat a whole rack of ribs myself, haha! You can find the original recipe here!