Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs

Cooking ribs in the slow cooker and then finishing them under the broiler helps recreate the fall-off-the-bone slow smoked awesomeness of barbecued ribs. 

These slow cooker baby back ribs are so easy to make, require little hands on time, and you don't need a barbecue to make them. 

Thai Red Curry Baby Back Ribs (Instant Pot)

 Easy and delicious fall-off-the-bone ribs made in your Instant Pot! Prep the ribs in the morning and pop them in the Instant Pot when you get home. 

These ribs are worth getting your hands all sticky when eating them.

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Sticky Baby Back Ribs

The photos for these slow cooker sweet and sour sticky baby back ribs are actually of the leftovers.

I had invited my son and my grandsons over for dinner.

The ribs had spent eight hours in the slow cooker, 30 minutes resting while the sauce was reduced, 15 minutes under the broiler, and another 10 minutes resting before the kids walked in the door. The boys' favorite dinner ever is ribs.

Me: Hi!
Older grandson: Did you make ribs? Did you make ribs?
Me: Yes!
Their dad: I didn't tell them what you were making.
Me: Are you guys hungry?
Both grandsons: Yes!!!
Younger grandson: I love ribs!!

At this point, who would deprive these cuties of their dinner in order to take a photograph? Not me. Sometimes you just have to go with it, especially when your two favorite boys are hungry-bungry. Plus, they already think I'm weird because I take pictures of food (they usually try to photo bomb my pictures).

These ribs are definitely sticky, with a sauce of reduced pineapple juice, onion, red bell pepper, ginger, garlic, tomato paste, apricot jam, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and brown sugar. My grandsons declared these "the best ribs ever," and their dad had pretty much a half rack of them.

This is definitely not a "dump and run" slow cooker recipe. There is a lot of prep prior to cooking the ribs, and once the ribs have spent several hours in the slow cooker, you will need to strain and reduce the sauce to baste the ribs in the broiler. It's worth it. Trust me.

Give everyone a lot of napkins. Once everyone has had their fill, hand out a pile of wet paper towels. I guarantee everyone will be very happy. And well fed.

P.S. The leftovers are delicious too.

We served these with rice and an Asian slaw. Killer good.

Sweet and Sour Sticky Baby Back Ribs

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

2 T vegetable oil

1 large onion, minced

1 finely chopped red bell pepper

3 T minced ginger

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 T tomato paste

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 C apricot jam

6 ounces frozen pineapple juice, or 30 ounces pineapple juice, reduced to 6 ounces

1/3 C soy sauce

5 T rice vinegar, divided

1/4 C packed dark brown sugar

6 pounds baby back ribs (do not remove the membrane on the underside of the ribs)

Salt and pepper

Spray oil

1 T cornstarch

1 T water

2 T minced fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. In a 12 inch skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, ginger, garlic, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are slightly browned. 
2. Add the apricot jam, pineapple concentrate, soy sauce, 1/4 C of the rice vinegar, and the brown sugar to the onion mixture and stir. Simmer for about 5 minutes. 
3. Sprinkle the ribs on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange them standing on end in a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker with the meaty side of the ribs facing outward. 
4. Pour the sauce over the ribs and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. 
5. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack over the foil. Spray the rack with spray oil. Place the ribs, meat side down on the rack and tent with foil.
6. Skim the fat off of the braising liquid in the slow cooker, and strain it into a large sauce pan. 
7. Mix the cornstarch and water together, and add it to the braising liquid. Bring the liquid to a simmer, and cook, whisking constantly for about 20 minutes, until the liquid is thickened and reduced to about two cups. Add the cilantro and remaining tablespoon of vinegar. 
8. Place a rack about 10 inches below the broiler, and turn the broiler on. 
9. Brush the ribs with the sauce, and broil for 2 to 4 minutes, until they are browned. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip the ribs over (I use two sets of tongs to do this). 
10. Brush the other side of the ribs with the sauce, and broil for about 10 minutes more, basting a few more times to get them good and sticky. 
11. Move the ribs to a cutting board and tent with foil for about 10 minutes. 
12. Slice and serve with the rest of the sauce. 

Recipe slightly adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution. The book incorporates several techniques to get the most flavor out of food in your slow cooker. I have been really happy with everything I've made from the book, including the Barbecue Baby Back Ribs, Hearty Beef Stew, Barbecue Beef Brisket, Beginner's Pulled Pork, Tomatillo Taco Filling, and the Shredded Beef Taco Filling. 

Slow Cooker Asian Beef Short Ribs

These slow cooker Asian beef short ribs were "melt-in-you-mouth" tender and flavorful. The beef ribs are braised in hoisin sauce, chicken broth, chili garlic sauce, and scallions. To finish these short ribs, just skim the fat from the resulting sauce, and pour the sauce over the ribs, serve with rice, and garnish with green onions. To separate the fat from the sauce, I really love this gadget.

This is the perfect easy slow cooker company dinner. If you have a rice cooker, it's even easier. The ribs are amazing fresh from the slow cooker, and just as good the next day. According to Mr. Kitchen, this dish is delicious. I would agree.

Slow Cooker Asian Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients

1/4 C chicken broth

3/4 C hoisin sauce

3 scallions, thinly sliced and the white parts separated and minced

2 T chili garlic sauce

1 T instant tapioca

5 pounds bone in short ribs, trimmed of fat and with the silver skin removed. 

Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Combine the broth, hoisin sauce, the white parts of the scallions, garlic sauce, and tapioca. Add the mixture to a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker. 
2. Salt and pepper the trimmed short ribs and add them to the slow cooker so that the bones are vertical and the ribs are evenly nestled into the sauce. 
3. Cook on low 9 to 10 hours, or on high 6 to 7 hours. 
4. Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and place them on a serving platter. Tent with foil for at least 5 minutes. 
5. Skim the fat from the remaining sauce. 
6. Serve the ribs and sauce over rice and garnish with the green parts of the scallions. 

Slightly adapted from The Make Ahead Cook.

Honey Maple Garlic Baby Back Ribs

I made these honey maple garlic baby back ribs for my son's birthday. He loves ribs. His two boys love ribs, How could I go wrong? (And I love, love, love all of these boys and get so much pleasure out of feeding them with food that they love).

I've always been intimidated by making ribs, but I'm not sure why. I guess because I thought a barbecue would be involved. I'm pretty sure I could figure out a barbecue... pretty sure....

But this recipe is so much easier. Marinate the ribs.... bake them in the oven.... and then toss them in a glaze. All I know is that everyone loved them. (Can you keep a secret? I had leftovers for breakfast.)

So here's the deal about these ribs. They are not overly "barbecue-y" flavored. They are really meaty and inherently sweet.. but not too much. Just make them. You will love them. And so will the men in your life.

Honey Maple Garlic Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients

3 racks of baby back ribs, about 9 pounds total, membrane removed, and each cut into thirds

1 1/2 C honey

1/2 C maple syrup

1/3 C soy sauce

1/2 C Dijon mustard

1/2 C apple cider vinegar

6 scallions, white part minced, and green part sliced

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Whisk the honey, maple syrup, soy sauce, Dijon, vinegar, minced white scallions, garlic, cayenne, and salt and pepper in a large bowl.
2. Divide the ribs among three one gallon plastic bags. 
3. Add the marinade to each bag and seal. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours. 
4. Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees F.
5. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty foil and place a wire rack on top of the sheet. Spray it with spray oil. 
6. Place the marinated rib racks on top of the wire rack. 
7. Place the baking sheet onto the oven rack, and add 2 cups of warm water to the baking sheet. 
8. Tent the baking sheet with foil.
9. Pour the rest of the marinade into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
10. Bake for about 75 minutes.
11. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another hour.
12. Meanwhile, bring the rest of the marinade to boil in a large (6-8 quart) Dutch oven and allow it to boil down to a glaze. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Brush the ribs with some of the glaze and continue to bake for another 15 to 30 minutes. 
13. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board and tent with foil. Allow them to rest for about 10 minutes. 
14. Cut the ribs into individual pieces and toss them with the rest of the glaze in the Dutch oven. 
15. Transfer them to a plate and sprinkle with scallions. 

Inspired by the Feb/Mar issue of Cook's Country magazine. 

Asian Take-out Style Spareribs

Believe it or not, I had never made ribs before. Ever. And I love them!

One of my favorite things to do is cook both with and for my grandsons. I just learned that one of their all time favorite foods is spareribs when their grandpa asked the oldest to list their favorite foods, and he said, "Ribs, pizza, and orange chicken."

I can do this!

Unlike other recipes I've seen, these spareribs are baked uncovered at a fairly high temperature after being marinated in honey, ketchup, hoisin, and Chinese five-spice powder.  The marinade also includes dark soy, which I found at an Asian grocery store. If you can't find it, regular soy is fine.

The verdict? The kids mowed through them. I think the four adults each had one rib and and the boys ate the rest. The rest of the adults weren't thrilled about that, but it sure made me smile.

Luckily for the rest of us, I served these with orange chicken, a pork tenderloin, wok-seared vegetables, and white rice.

Asian Take-out Spareribs

Slightly adapted from The Chinese Takeout Cookbook: Quick and Easy Dishes to Prepare at Home.

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds spareribs, preferably St. Louis style, cut into individual ribs

3 T honey

2 T dry sherry or Chinese rice wine

3 T ketchup

1 T hoisin sauce

1 T dark soy sauce (regular is fine, the ribs will be lighter in color)

1 tsp sesame oil

2 T minced garlic

1/2 tsp Chinese five spice

Instructions

1. Mix all of the ingredients (except the spareribs) and divide it in half.
2. Place the ribs in a shallow dish and cover them with half of the marinade. Cover and refrigerate the ribs for about three hours. 
3. Refrigerate the reserved marinade.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with a rack in the middle.
5. Line a half sheet pan with foil and place the ribs, bone side up, on the foil.
6. Bake for an hour, basting the ribs with the reserved marinade every 20 minutes.
7. After an hour, baste the ribs one more time and turn on the broiler. 
8. Broil the ribs for about 5 minutes, until crusty. 
9. Place them on a serving platter and watch them disappear. 

I mixed up some Chinese mustard to go with these ribs but forgot to serve it. The spareribs were good on their own and I don't think the boys would have touched the hot mustard anyway. =)