Description
Tender and flavorful slow cooker pork ribs seasoned with a smoky spice rub and coated generously with your favorite BBQ sauce. These ribs are slow-cooked to perfection, resulting in fall-off-the-bone texture with minimal effort, and can be finished under the broiler for a caramelized finish.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Meat
- 1 rack pork baby back ribs (~3 lbs)
Spice Rub
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Salt and pepper, be generous
BBQ Sauce
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups BBQ sauce, use your favorite
Instructions
- Remove the membrane: Use a knife to lift one corner of the membrane on the ribs. Grip it with a paper towel and pull it straight up and away to remove and discard.
- Pat dry and slice: Thoroughly pat the ribs dry with paper towels and slice the rack in half with a sharp knife.
- Prepare dry rub: Mix light brown sugar, cayenne, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a small dish until well combined.
- Season ribs: Generously season all sides of the ribs with the dry rub mixture.
- Layer ribs with BBQ sauce: Place half a rack of ribs in a 6-7 quart slow cooker, meat side up. Brush or pour BBQ sauce over the ribs to coat thoroughly. Add the other half of the ribs and repeat coating with BBQ sauce.
- Slow cook: Cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-5 hours. For slightly chewy but tender ribs, cook high for about 3 ½ hours. For fall-off-the-bone tenderness, cook low for 6-7 hours.
- Optional broiling: Transfer ribs to a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush with additional BBQ sauce and broil for 3-5 minutes until sauce bubbles and thickens for caramelized ribs.
- Serve: Slice ribs and serve warm with your favorite sides. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Notes
- Choose a BBQ sauce with bold flavor since slow cooking doesn’t impart smoky BBQ flavors.
- Baby Back or St. Louis style ribs both work well; adjust cooking time based on rib thickness and tenderness preferences.
- If possible, ask your butcher to remove the membrane to save prep time.
- Monitoring slow cooker time is key; under- or over-cooking affects tenderness and chewiness.
- Broiling at the end gives ribs a delicious caramelized finish but is optional.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 120 mg
