Slow Cooker Pork Recipes - Barbecued Baby Back Pork Ribs
Slow cookers are marvelous for cooking meats slowly, for a long time to
break them down and make them tender and delicious. This is especially
true when you are using a sauce, as the sauce will blend nicely with the
meat and even help tenderize it. This recipe calls for cooking the baby
back pork ribs on the grill for a short time, but if you don’t have a
grill or want to skip that step, you can. You will just miss out on a
lot of great flavor.
Slow Cooker Barbecued Baby Back Pork Ribs
1.4 kg pork baby back ribs (about 3 pounds)
1/4 tsp of black pepper (a pinch)
1/4 tsp of salt (a pinch)
1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper (a pinch)
500 ml of your favorite barbecue sauce (16 ounces), use more if
needed
375 ml bottle of dark beer (about 12 ounces) at room temperature
With a sharp knife, cut the ribs into sections of 2 large or 3 small
bones each. When cutting, try to cut down the center between the ribs to
allow each rib to have as much meat as possible on it.
Add the crushed red pepper, the back pepper and the salt to a Dutch oven
or large pot of water and bring it a boil. Once the water has come to a
hard boil, add the ribs to it and allow them to cook for about 20
minutes. Remove the ribs from the water and set them on a rack to rest
and cool for about 30 minutes.
When the 30 minutes is about over (with about 10 or 15 minutes left), go
outside and light a charcoal or gas grill and allow it to get to a high
heat. Also, this is a good time to turn on the slow cooker to high
temperature so that it’s heated when you add the barbecued ribs.
When the baby back ribs are done resting, smear a light coating of a
portion of the barbecue sauce on them. Place them on the grill and cook
them for about 10 minutes on each side. Keep an eye on them because you
don’t want to burn them due to flair-ups. They should have the nice
marks from the grill rack on them. You may be able to remove them from
the grill sooner if you see these.
After the pork ribs are finished cooking on the grill, remove them and
put them into the slow cooker. Pour the bottle of beer over the ribs and
add the rest of the barbecue sauce. Move the ribs around gently to get
the beer and the barbecue sauce to cover them, but it doesn’t have to be
thorough. You’re going to stir them in a little while.
Cook them on the high setting for about 1 hour. Remove the lid and stir
the ribs around again to get the beer and sauce on them. Replace the lid
and cook for another hour, then repeat the stirring. This time, if the
sauce is too thick, you can add a little more beer. Just be sure you
don’t dilute it too much. The total cooking time should be 3 to 4 hours,
so you will need to check the ribs again at 3 hours. If they are not
done yet, stir, cover and cook for another hour or so.
You will know the ribs have finished cooking when the meat starts to
come off the bones. Don’t let them cook so long that all the meat comes
off; you want to be able to pick them up and eat them right off the
bone.
Your pig-sicles are done! These are great with coleslaw and corn on the
cob. Be sure to bring plenty of napkins.
