My recipe for slow cooker baby back ribs is marinated in a dry rub overnight then cooked low-and-slow in the slow cooker until fall-off-the-bone tender. Finished under the broiler with a sweet barbecue sauce, they are an easy hands-off Southern dinner.
When you need a dinner you can forget about all day, this is the one. It’s a recipe I come back to often, especially when I’m leaning on my go-to collection of tons of dump-and-go Southern slow cooker recipes. Serve it with fluffy cheese biscuits and some majorly creamy Southern mac and cheese for a meal no one’s going to complain about.
Everyone in the South has their favorite baby back rib recipe, handed down for generations or just tweaked until it’s just the way they like it, and this is mine. In the oven, on the grill or in the slow cooker, all have one thing in common, that long slow cook.
These come out so tender they practically fall apart when you pick them up.
They’ve got just enough heat from the red pepper flakes and a sweet, sticky finish from the honeyed barbecue sauce. If you’re going to splurge and eat ribs, I think you’ll find that this version is worth every calorie.
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How to Plan Ahead for Slow Cooker Pork Ribs
The night before, remove the membrane and add a dry rub. The next day, let the ribs cook low and slow with a little liquid, then finish them under the broiler with barbecue sauce.
How do you remove the membrane from pork ribs
If you’re new to ribs, you might not realize that baby back ribs have a thin white membrane that should be removed if you want really tender ribs.
Sometimes this can be a bit difficult because your hands are wet from holding the ribs. Use a knife or your finger to pull up the edge and then grab it with a paper towel and pull it off. It’s not the end of the world if it comes off in pieces.
Here’s what you’ll need to make these tender slow cooker pork ribs.
- Baby back ribs – these typically come in racks of 2-3 lbs. Ribs don’t have as much meat as you’d think, one rack usually feeds about 4 people. If your slow cooker is big enough you can double the recipe. If you do this, about half way through, rotate the ribs from top to bottom so that they cook evenly.
- BBQ sauce – you can just use a bottled version, but I like to doctor up my favorite bottled version, Rufus Teague, with honey, vinegar, dry mustard and red pepper flakes
How do you make crock pot ribs
Step 1: add a dry rub
The night before, remove the membrane and then rub the ribs with a dry rub which is a mixture of brown sugar and seasonings.
Step 2: add some liquid
Step 3: Cook
Cook on high for 1 hour and then on low for 5 hours. If you have doubled the recipe, it might take longer than 5 hours.
Step 4: Create a sauce
Step 5: Broil the sauce
Broil for a minute or two until the bbq sauce is bubbly.
No basting, no checking, just finish under the broiler when you’re ready to eat.
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Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs with Sweet Southern BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
RUB
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon onion salt
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
RIBS
- 2-3 lbs baby back pork ribs
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
BBQ SAUCE
- 1 cup tomato based BBQ sauce Rufus Teague Sweet Honey
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Equipment
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together all of the rub ingredients.
- Rinse slabs of ribs and pat dry with paper towels. Remove the thin membrane from the back of the ribs by slicing it and then pulling it off. Reserve ½ tablespoon of the rub. Sprinkle remaining rub on both sides of the ribs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 8-12 hours.
- Combine pineapple juice, vinegar and garlic and reserved rub in a 6 quart slow cooker. Cut the slab of ribs in half and stack in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce to low and cook for 5 hours or until tender.
- SAUCE: Stir together all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Boil for 1 minute. Remove and cover to keep warm.
- Preheat broiler with oven rack 10 inches below the heat. Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and place in a single layer on a foil lined rimmed pan. Brush both sides of ribs with the BBQ sauce and broil for 2-3 minutes on each side until caramelized. Serve with remaining sauce.
- Can easily be doubled
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs before adding the dry rub.
- You can easily double the recipe, if you do so, rotate the ribs half way through.
- Ribs will be done when they reach 200º with a meat thermometer.
- You can heat the bbq sauce in the microwave until it boils.
Nutrition
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Old Fat Guy says
I smoke most of my ribs but this looks like a great recipe to try in our cold winters. Thanks.
The Old Fat Guy
Barbara Curry says
It’s also great if you are busy and need to be able to forget about them while they cook.
Lorna Boies says
My ribs matched your title. The meat literally fell off the bones when I tried to take them from the slow cooker to the roasting pan. I had loose pieces of meat instead of a rack of ribs. The taste was awesome. What can I do differently so the rack stays intact?
Barbara Curry says
It’s hard to get both, but just don’t cook it as long in teh slow cooker.