We all love pie, especially when our desserts are hand held, but do you ever associate pie with savory food? These BBQ hand pies will certainly change that.

This post has been compensated by Marsh Ideas and its advertiser, Curly’s BBQ. All opinions are mine alone.

It seems I was always destined to be a BBQ fan. First of all I was born in Plano, Texas however I grew up in upstate NY which might not strike you as a popular place for BBQ but Rochester, NY has some killer BBQ. Then after graduating from Ohio State (which had decent BBQ at the time), I moved to Memphis, TN for grad school. And if Texas is known for BBQ beef, Memphis is the king of BBQ pork. Heck they even have a World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest every year, an event I rarely miss even since moving away.

Upon moving back to Columbus for the second time, I have been on a mission to scope out all the BBQ. Just like Rochester, it’s not a city known for it’s BBQ but if you look close enough you will strike gold. But my love of BBQ doesn’t stop at restaurants. As you can tell from my recipe archives I also like to make my own BBQ inspired dishes that remind me of all the BBQ-loving places I’ve lived.

Remember pop tarts – or may hot pockets are a better comparison? Well imagine saucy shredded pork stuffed inside of a pie crust. And while you’re at it, imagine dipping that savory pastry into a hot and gooey cheese dip. This recipe is so stinking simple and crazy delicious that it’s almost not fair, particularly due to the fact that the pork is actually from a rack of Curly’s BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs which can be found in the refrigerated meat case in your grocery store. Yes I made ribs, pulled off the meat, and turned it into something even more amazing.

Want a step by step? I cooked the ribs, allowed them to cool until I could handle them to pull the meat from the bones, tossed in BBQ sauce, cut pie crust into long rectangles, placed the pork on half, folded the crust over and sealed with a fork, brushed with beaten egg, sprinkled with dry rub seasoning, and baked for 20 minutes.

But don’t forget that cheese dip (as if you could forget that) which is also easy to throw together. You just blend the cream cheese, shredded cheese, beer, and seasonings together, spread in a cast iron, sprinkle with more cheese, and place in the oven at the same time as the hand pies. How perfect that they both some out of the oven, hot and ready, at the same time? And if you somehow have some leftover it’s also great on corned beef nachos.

As you can imagine, these delectable little BBQ hand pies also happen to be perfect for watching all the big games on TV at home with family and friends. So be sure to pick up at least 2 racks of ribs, one to enjoy straight off the bone, and another to make these hand pies! Hosting a party? Make it 4 and double up. I promise you won’t regret it.

Two years ago: Boozy Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Three years ago: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Four years ago: Mini Chocolate Caramel Peanut Butter Cheesecakes

Five years ago: Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Seven years ago: Banana Pecan Waffles

BBQ HAND PIES WITH BEER CHEESE DIP

Makes 6 hand pies

Ingredients:

HAND PIES

1 (1.5 lb.) rack of Curly’s BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

2 refrigerated pie crusts (or homemade), chilled

1 egg, beaten

BBQ dry rub, for garnish

BEER CHEESE DIP

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

1/4 cup beer

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp sriracha

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp fresh minced parsley, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wrap ribs in foil, place on a baking sheet, and cook until warmed through, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
3. Once cool enough to touch, pull pork from ribs and shred. Place in a medium bowl and toss in BBQ sauce. Set aside.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll one chilled dough into a 10-inch square. Cut into 3 equal rectangles (approximately 3.5×10-inches).
5. Place 1/6 of the pork onto half of each rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Brush the edges with egg, fold the dough over the filling and seal the edges using a fork. Brush tops with egg wash, sprinkle with seasoning, and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Set aside.
6. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add all but 1/4 cup of shredded cheese, beer, garlic powder, and hot sauce and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
7. Bake hand pies and cheese for 20 minutes or until hand pies golden brown and cheese is melted. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Source: Hand pies an original recipe by The Spiffy Cookie. Beer cheese dip adapted from Fox and Briar.

Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary product from Curly’s and was compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Homemade BBQ sauce is a must make this summer, especially when it involves fresh sweet cherries and root beer! Slather it on ribs or your favorite grilled meats.

Well, Argentina laid into the USA soccer team last night. While the outcome was not surprising, I had hoped it would’ve at least been a good game. Alas, it was not the case. Thankfully prior to such destruction I had a most enjoyable time with friends, testing out Lineage’s new rhubarb beer made from local rhubarb. I love that we are able to walk to such places from our neighborhood, especially with weather as beautiful as it was last night. Then on the walk back home the lightning bugs were working overtime as they looked like twinkling Christmas lights in all the trees along the river trail.

As I’ve mentioned before, with all this wonderful weather I’ve been making sure to make use of the grill as much as possible. That patriotic dessert I shared on Monday? It was not the only thing to appear on the menu this past weekend. I also whipped up a homemade BBQ sauce that has sweet cherries and root beer in it – heck yea! I then slathered it on ribs and plan to put it on pretty much everything from now until the end of time (or until I run out). This recipe certainly makes plenty of BBQ sauce to use for many other purposes.

One year ago: Sweet Orange Risotto with Strawberries

Five years ago: Roasted Potato Salad

CHERRY-ROOT BEER BBQ RIBS

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

BBQ SAUCE

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups dark sweet cherries, pitted

12 oz. tomato paste

1 cup cider vinegar

1 cup honey

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1 cup root beer

2 Tbsp chili powder

1-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

RIBS

5 lbs. Baby Back or St. Louis ribs

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. For the sauce, heat the oil in a large saucepan over low heat, add the onions, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the onions are translucent but not browned.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until cherries are tender and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Use the sauce immediately or pour into a container and refrigerate.
2. For the ribs, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil.
3. Place the ribs on the sheet pan meat side up and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  Pour a generous amount of the BBQ sauce on each rack and cover the ribs loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake for 1-1/2 hours for baby backs and 1-3/4 hours for St. Louis ribs, or until the meat is very tender when tested with a fork.  As soon as the ribs are out of the oven, spread them generously with additional BBQ sauce.  Grill right away or refrigerate to grill later.
4. Heat a gas grill to medium-high heat.  Brush the coking grate with oil to keep the ribs from sticking.  Place the ribs on the grill ribs-side-down, put the lid on top (be sure both vents are open), and grill for 5 minutes. Turn the ribs meat-side-down, put the lid back on, and grill for another 4-5 minutes, until nicely browned.  Place on a cutting board, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow the ribs to rest for 10 minutes.  Cut into ribs and serve hot with extra BBQ sauce on the side.

Source: Adapted slightly from Ina Garten’s Foolproof Ribs with BBQ Sauce.

No smoker? No problem. Ina Garten’s foolproof ribs are slow cooked in the oven and finished on the grill and topped with crazy delicious BBQ sauce.

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It’s that time of the month again! It’s the 4th Thursday and the month and therefore Pass the Cook Book Club time! For July, we were given three recipes from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten. I almost made the blondies but ended up going for the ribs as I have never cooked them myself before.

Bonus points to this recipe because even though I now have a smoker, when I first made these I did not, so an oven method finishing on the grill was more feasible for me. As I am sure it is for many people out there because, while smokers are more common, they are not a standard household appliance.

I prepared the Ina Garten BBQ sauce the day before to make my life easier the next day when cooking the ribs. The BBQ sauce alone smelled amazing as it simmered on the stove and this recipe made a TON of BBQ sauce (I had a lot of BBQ sauce leftover, but I am actually excited about it because it’s delicious).

Then the next day, my plan-ahead-preparations were thrown off by going to the store to buy the ribs and finding out they were frozen solid! I then had to thaw them in the sink full with water but it worked fairly quickly.

Finally, once they were in the oven topped with BBQ sauce, their aromas began seeping through the surrounding rooms. Despite the treat my nose was enjoying, I was still nervous somehow about whether they would be good or not because I am not a grill-master.

But as soon as they were transferred to the grill I was convinced they had to be good when one of the bones literally fell off the meat. This was further verified upon finally sinking my teeth into the ribs and cleaning off every bone – not a trace of meat left on those suckers. Foolproof Barefoot Contessa ribs indeed!

On the side, I served these ribs with scalloped potatoes with bacon & jalapeno and a Ranch version of corn spoon bread. But you could serve it up with whatever your favorite sides are. Maybe get some greens on your plate with a kale slaw or broccoli salad.

Post updated 6/24/2024, photo above is the original.

One year ago: Strawberry Malted Pancakes

Two years ago: Peanut Butter Sandwich Bread

FOOLPROOF RIBS WITH BBQ SAUCE

Print

Yield: 4-6 Servings Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 2 Hours 40 Minutes 2 Hours 40 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

BBQ SAUCE

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped (1-1/2 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 oz. tomato paste
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

RIBS

• 5 lbs. Baby Back or St. Louis ribs), membrane removed
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Directions

1. For the sauce, heat the oil in a large saucepan over low heat, add the onions, and cook for 10-15 minutes until the onions are translucent but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Use the sauce immediately or pour into a container and refrigerate.
2. For the ribs, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil.
3. Place the ribs on the sheet pan meat side up and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  Pour a generous amount of the BBQ sauce on each rack and cover the ribs loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake for 1-1/2 hours for baby backs and 1-3/4 hours for St. Louis ribs, or until the meat is very tender when tested with a fork.  As soon as the ribs are out of the oven, spread them generously with additional BBQ sauce.  Grill right away or refrigerate to grill later.
4. Heat a gas grill to medium-high heat.  Brush the coking grate with oil to keep the ribs from sticking.  Place the ribs on the grill ribs-side-down, put the lid on top (be sure both vents are open), and grill for 5 minutes. Turn the ribs meat-side-down, put the lid back on, and grill for another 4-5 minutes, until nicely browned.  Place on a cutting board, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow the ribs to rest for 10 minutes. Cut into ribs and serve hot with extra BBQ sauce on the side.

Source: Adapted slightly from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust