Sticky Pineapple Wild Pig Ribs

I’m a big fan of slow smoked pork ribs. I also enjoy an occasional wild pig hunt. It just makes sense that I cook a lot of wild pig ribs. But most wild pigs are skinny and lean, and the best tasting ones are generally young animals. That means you won’t get the thick, meaty ribs that you find on their barnyard cousins.

Wild pig ribs have less meat than farmed pork ribs, but they more than make up for it with flavor. Images by author

But just because they are on the thin side doesn’t mean they can’t be turned into a tasty meal. It starts with processing. On commodity pigs, the pork belly, the cut you make bacon from, lies just over the lower ribs and down onto the belly of the pig. With larger farm pigs, that gets cut off and cured for bacon. With wild pigs, I like to leave that meat attached to the ribs for some extra meat.

Leave the belly meat attached for a better finished bite.

Since they are generally smaller than store-bought ribs, wild pig ribs tend to cook faster, too. This means they don’t always get the time they need to get nice and tender. I get around this in two steps. First, I marinate the ribs overnight in a mixture that contains pineapple juice and cider vinegar. Both of those help to break down connective tissue and tenderize the meat. Next, I cook them LOW and slow. I like 190 to 200 range on my pellet grill or smoker.

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Place the ribs in a zip-top bag. Depending on size, you might need to do some creative folding to get them in there. Or just use a 2-gallon bag. Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl, then pour it over the meat in the bag.

Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl.

Every 3-4 hours, turn the bag so that all portions of the meat get some marinade time. Stash the bag in the fridge and let it set overnight.

When you are ready to cook, remove the ribs from the marinade and pat them dry. Shake on a good layer of your favorite BBQ rib rub.

Shake on a good layer of your favorite BBQ rub.

I usually go with something that has a little sweet and a little heat for this one to balance the sweetness of the pineapple glaze, but use your favorite.

Place the ribs on the grill.

Place the marinated and seasoned ribs directly on the grill.

While the ribs smoke, mix the glaze ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a light boil and hold it there, stirring often. You want the mixture to thicken a bit into a nice glaze.

Simmer the glaze ingredients while the ribs smoke.

About an hour into smoking, spoon over some of the glaze onto the ribs. Use a brush to spread it evenly.

Spoon and brush on the glaze as the ribs smoke.

Repeat this process 3-4 more times as the ribs smoke. Once the ribs are tender, about two and a half hours for this rack, paint on one more layer of glaze, give the ribs another 30 minutes for it to set, then slice and serve.

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