Smoked Coca Cola Ribs Recipe

This Smoked Coca Cola BBQ Ribs Recipe may be some of my best ribs to date! I love to use Coca-Cola in my brines, so it was about time to try it out on ribs, right?  Nothing beats ribs when tailgating or at a summertime bbq!

Now smoked bbq ribs are a favorite of mine! I took my Rib Brine and combined it with my Coca-Cola Brine.  There were no leftovers and the kids fought over the ribs at dinner.  I am going to have to make these for the next fight night!  

Coca-Cola Brine Recipe Ingredients:

• Coca-Cola– You can change this up with any dark soca, Diet Coke, Root Beer, cherry coke aka cherry cola, Dr. Pepper, or Coke Zero. The soda flavor will slightly alter the taste, but it will work.
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Minced Garlic
• Salt
• Ice

Coca Cola Ribs Ingredients:

• Boneless Pork Ribs– You can use baby back ribs, spare ribs, or a rack of ribs
• BBQ SAUCE
• Brown Sugar
• Ketchup
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Coca Cola

How To Brine Ribs For Smoking

In a container large enough to hold the brine and the ribs in.

I used boneless pork shoulder-style ribs to make these ribs. I prefer to use thicker boneless ribs when I brine for flavor and tenderness. I had about 4lbs of ribs that I made this with. 

Pour in your Coca-Cola, I start with two or three cans and then mix in the dry brine ingredients.  

Give your brine mixture a stir with a whisk and then drop in your ribs.  My ribs were frozen, so I put them in the freezer to thaw in the fridge in the brine.  I really find that this tenderizes and flavors the meat more.

Add in more Coca-Cola till the meat is completely submerged. 

Store in the fridge for at least 12 hours to allow the brine to flavor and tenderize the rib meat.  I often get asked how long to brine ribs; there is no magical answer. 12 hours is my time for ribs to allow the Coca Cola to tenderize.

If you are doing a long brine, go out and mix the brine a couple of times to make sure everything is well coated.  

If your ribs were frozen, allow them to thaw by food safety standards. 

The day you are ready to smoke, remove the ribs from the brine and lay out on a plate forall the meat to warm up a bit.

How To Smoke Ribs On A Pit Boss

Fire up your smoker to a smoke setting, or if you are cooking right away to a low 225 setting. 

I smoked these ribs on my Pit Boss Pro 1000, but its will work on on smoker.

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 Place the ribs on the top rack of your smoker and smoke them on the smoke setting.

You can pour a can of Coca-Cola into a glass and mop your ribs as they smoke, and then later on, when you turn the heat up.  If you don’t have a meat mop, I recommend these -> here on Amazon.   

I smoked mine for an hour, then moved and turned the smoker up to 200 degrees. 

The kids were getting hungry so I turned it up to 250 for another hour, you can keep smoking at 200 degrees you will just smoke longer. 

In a container, mix together the BBQ sauce ingredients, making sure the container is large enough to add ribs to as well.

Use a whisk to mix everything together until smooth.

Remove your ribs from the smoker and put in into the container of the sauce and shake it really well to coat the ribs in the sauce. 

Place back on the smoker and allow to cook another 30 minutes. I did flip the ribs at about 15 minutes.  This was to make sure both sides had a chance for the sauce to caramelize and thicken. You can brush on more of the remaining sauce if you want.

Use a meat thermometer to make sure they are cooked to food-safety temperatures.  Pork has to be cooked to 145 degrees; many choose to cook ribs to 190 degrees. Mine are tender enough, I pulled them at 150, the brine makes a difference in the ribs.

Serve and enjoy!!

Alternate Brine Ingredients

Now you can use any of your favorites to add to this brine. They will change the brine’s flavor but you know your palette best.

• Onion Powder 
• Black Pepper 
• Apple Cider Vinegar 
• Pork Rub Spice Blends
• Garlic Powder 
• Mustard
• Cherry Cola- the cherry Coke will add a sweetness
• Mustard
• Garlic Powder
• Apple Juice 
• Butter

What To Serve With Smoked Coca-Cola BBQ Ribs:

Smoked Side Dishes: Smoked Baked Potatoes, Smoked Green Bean Casserole, Smoked Sweet Potato Casserole, Smoked Baked Potatoes, Smoked Loaded Cheesy Potatoes, Smoked Deviled Eggs, Smoked Loaded Baked Beans, Creamy Smoked Macaroni And Cheese, Smoked Loaded Cheesy Potatoes (see my huge list of the smoked side dishes -> here)

Grilled Side Dishes: Cheesy Grilled Asparagus, Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, Grilled Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes, Grilled Corn On The Cob, Grilled Zucchini, Grilled Bacon Wrapped Asparagus (see my huge list of the grilled side dishes -> here)

Other Side Dishes: Air Fryer Bacon Asparagus, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, Air Fryer Brussell Sprouts, Broccoli Slaw, Cole Slaw

How To Store Leftover Smoked Ribs

Store in an airtight container, such as a Rubbermaid container or a Ziploc bag, in the fridge. You can add extra sauce to them before storing them. Keep them for up to four days.

How To Reheat Leftover Smoked Ribs

You can reheat smoked bbq ribs in an oven by turning it to 250 degrees or do the same with your smoker. You can add more sauce, or a bit of liquid, Coca-Cola works great. Do this in a pan and then cover it with foil. Cook to an internal temperature of 145 degrees, not by time.

You can also reheat them in the microwave.

Recipes Using A Coca-Cola Brine:

While there is no limit to what you can make with a Coca-Cola Brine, below are my favorites. You can swap out Coca-Cola for any dark soda; this is just my go-to flavor.

• Boneless BBQ Ribs
• Cornish Game Hens
• Chicken Legs 
• Chicken Thighs
• Coca-Cola Smoked Turkey
• Pork Shoulder Roast
• Chicken Leg Quarters
• Chicken Wings
• Pork Shoulder