Barbecued ribs are a treat in my household. My husband likes to grill them long and low over charcoal and slather them with our favorite barbecue sauce. Or sometimes I toss ribs in the slow cooker with some onions and seasonings and let them spend all day getting fall-off-the-bone tender.
I’ve purchased limited-edition frozen, fully cooked ribs with sauce from Aldi in the past. During the grilling season, Aldi also sells some refrigerated fully cooked, ready-to-heat baby back pork ribs. They come in two different sauce options: sweet bourbon BBQ or smoky BBQ. I bought one package of each to serve to my family.
Park Street Deli Baby Back Pork Ribs cost $9.49 for a 24-ounce package at the time of publication.
The shelf label was not clear in my local store, but these are listed as a Seasonal Item on the Aldi website. Seasonal Items are stocked at Aldi for longer than Aldi Finds, but they don’t stick around on the shelves all year. I found these in late summer, so they’re most likely a spring and summer barbecue season type of food that won’t get restocked during the fall and winter months. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products that are not currently in stock at your local store.
If you’re looking out for allergens, both of these types of ribs contain soy and wheat.
One package contains about three servings. These do have a lot of added sugar because of the barbecue sauce. One serving has 290 calories, 12 grams of total fat (16% DV), 5 grams of saturated fat (24% DV), 55 mg of cholesterol (18% DV), 580 mg of sodium (25% DV), 29 grams of total carbohydrates (11% DV), 27 grams of added sugars (54% DV), and 15 grams of protein.
Nutrition information, ingredients, and heating directions. Sweet Bourbon BBQ on the left, Smoky BBQ on the right. (Click to enlarge.)
These have instructions for heating in the microwave, conventional oven, or on the outdoor grill.
To microwave, peel back the film and remove the ribs from the package. Place the ribs meat side up, single layer, into a microwavable container. Cover the ribs with microwavable plastic film or a paper towel. Heat on high for 4-6 minutes or until hot. Carefully remove from the microwave.
To heat in a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel back the film and remove the ribs from the package. Place the ribs meat side up, single layer, on a sheet or tray in the middle of the oven. Heat for approximately 25 minutes or until hot. Apply remaining sauce s desired.
To grill, heat the grill or barbecue to approximately 375 degrees or medium heat. Peel back the film and remove ribs from the package. Place the ribs meat side up either directly on the grill grate or use a sheet or tray to minimize cleanup. Heat the ribs for approximately 25 minutes or until hot. Apply remaining sauce as desired.
These ribs are sold refrigerated, but they can be frozen for later use. Thaw in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before heating. Use product within three days of defrosting. Keep an eye on the use or freeze-by dates when purchasing these, as the dates on my packages were just a couple of days out.
Ribs with sweet bourbon sauce.
I opted to heat these in the oven. It was easy to peel open the packages and drop these onto rimmed baking sheets. I made sure to use rimmed baking sheets to keep sauce from dripping off the edges and making a mess in my oven. The main thing you’ll want to be careful about when heating these is not to overheat them and potentially dry them out.
Ribs with smoky BBQ sauce.
These came out of the oven tender, and they smelled great. I cut them into smaller sections and served them with a side salad and some applesauce for a complete dinner. My husband admitted that grilling our own ribs would taste better, but these don’t taste bad and have the benefit of being about as easy as ribs ever get, and he gave these a thumbs up on that basis.
I liked these as well, although they are very sweet. In fact, the primary flavor I tasted was sweet rather than savory. That’s not a surprise given that these contain 54% of your daily allotment of added sugars. These have a lot of sauce slathered on them, and you could try wiping some of that sauce off to reduce the sugar content a bit.
The Verdict:
Park Street Deli Baby Back Pork Ribs come in sweet bourbon BBQ or smoky BBQ flavors. When Aldi stocks these during the grilling season, you’ll find them in the store’s refrigerated section. They’re fully cooked and all you have to do is heat and serve them. These are easy to warm up in a microwave, conventional oven, or on a grill. If you want ribs in a hurry and without a lot of fuss, these might be just want you’re looking for. Do be aware that their dominant flavor is sweet and they contain a lot of added sugar thanks to the sauce they’re covered in.
