Some of my family members are going to be shocked out of their mind to see this recipe on here. “What?! Stacy HATES ribs!” And yes, my friend…it is true. Ribs make me want to yak.
BUT, I love cooking for my man. And my man loves ribs. For the same reason I made myself learn how to make Chicken and Dumplings, I occasionally cook ribs – for Barry. The way to a man’s heart is through his ribs…medically and emotionally. Ha!
There are lots of different ways to prepare ribs, but I like the ease of this recipe. No boiling and then baking and then basting. Nope…none of that mess. Just plop these babies in the crock and then thicken the sauce later. That’s it. You’re welcome.
This recipe uses a dry rub that’s massaged into the meat. This meat is dead and it’s getting a massage. Does that seem wrong to anyone else? I’d like a massage too, please – minus the garlic…and the whole dead thing.
I once saw an advertisement for Boston Butt dry rub that said “Everything is better with a little butt rub.” How true. How very true.
You’re going to make a homemade barbecue sauce to pour over the meat – it cooks in this sauce all day long…and it smells pretty stinkin’ good, even for someone who hates ribs. Later, when the meat is done, we’ll thicken the sauce to serve over the meat.
Stinkin’ good. Is that an oxymoron?
My ribs were too big to fit all in one layer, so I had two layers. No sweat – they still cooked up fine.
I used country-style ribs for this particular batch but you can use any cut of ribs that you want. Make it beef or make it pork. But probably not chicken.
Cook until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, get one today. They make life easier…no more wondering if the middle of the meat is still frozen.
Remove the ribs when done and thicken the sauce using a cornstarch/water mixture. I used organic cornstarch from Vitacost. But you could also use arrowroot. The truth is I grabbed the cornstarch first out of the cabinet. That’s pretty good reasoning for me.
Serve meat with sauce poured over top. I DID eat some…mostly because I was hungry. I ate mine without the sauce, but Barry poured his sauce over top. And he enjoyed every bite.
And I got a kiss. And THAT my friends, is why I cook ribs.
Easy Crock Pot Ribs
5 pounds ribs, any style
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sucanat (or brown sugar)
5 tablespoons ketchup
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons water
Combine garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Rub into meat. Lay ribs in the bottom of a 5-6 quart greased crock pot. Layer if necessary.
Combine sucanat, ketchup, water, Worcestershire, mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours – until meat has a temperature of 170 degrees.
Remove meat from crock and keep warm. Skim grease from sauce if desired (I don’t). Combine cornstarch and water. Stir into juices. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes or until thickened. Serve sauce over meat.