Dahlicious: Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Friday, April 18, 2014

Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs... Do you ever get an idea in your head and then obsessively consider how you could pull it off? I get those often, usually around cooking things outside of my normal comfort zone. Actually cooking meat often falls in that category. I love meat, I'm a meat eater, however I don't currently have a grill which generally limits what I think I can make at home. Lately though I've gotten more comfortable with letting the slow cooker do the work, and it has really made me branch out on what I cook indoors. The baby back ribs I made yesterday were a perfect example of taking the risk (relatively low, I'm talking under 20 bucks low) and hoping I didn't come home to either a pile of charred bones or a crock pot of mush. To my delighted surprise what I came home to was totally Dahlicious and seemed to be a crowd pleaser. They definitely fell off the bone, they were moist, they got a nice crust on them, and the "rub" I made up in addition to a bit of sauce for dippin created a pretty flavorful experience.

The Rub & How To:
I really just made it up based on things I'd seen online and what I had in my spice rack. I didn't use exact measurements so here is my rough estimate below:

1-2 cups brown sugar
small spoonful of cumin
small spoonful of cayenne
small spoonful of dried oregano
salt & pepper

I mixed it all up and then lathered by the handful on both sides of the rack. Then I wrapped it in saran wrap and put it in the fridge to marinate about 24 hours. The next morning before work I unwrapped my precious bones and put them in the crock pot. I had read that the way to do it is to place the backs (meaty side) of the ribs against the wall of the crock pot, so they are standing on their sides. Then I set it on low, went to work and that was that. When I returned home 8 hours later I had fully cooked ribs, slightly falling off the bone! I removed them from the slow cooker and turned it off, then I brushed on a thin layer of sauce and covered them with foil on a baking sheet. We weren't eating for a few hours so I let them rest until I was ready to make the sweet potatoes and sauteed kale for the sides. Once those were getting close to ready I popped the covered ribs back in the oven to warm up (about 250 degrees) then just 5 minutes before serving I removed the foil and turned on the broiler. This made the sauce on the top bubble a bit and added an additional bit of warm crust.