Ribs, Crock-pot

By Judge99

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. of pork ribs (I used St. Louis Style because they're meatier)
• Sea salt, to taste (like THIS) - adjust according to the saltiness of your barbecue sauce
• Black pepper, to taste (I like to add a generous amount)
• 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic or garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 2 teaspoons of your favorite seasoning blend or rib rub (I used a pineapple serrano seasoning)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of barbecue sauce* (homemade or store-bought)

Preparation

Step 1

Season your rack of ribs with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and favorite seasoning blend. Feel free to use my measurements as a guideline and add more if you want a thicker coating of dry rub. Place the ribs in the crock-pot on their side (standing up) with the meatier side facing the inner wall.

Pour the barbecue sauce over the ribs on both sides and let it drip down. You can add more sauce here if you want a thicker coating, but I like to keep it a bit lighter (enough to form a glaze while it cooks) while still having the rub shine through. Plus, you can always add more sauce at the end. :)

Close the lid and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours or until the ribs are very tender (meat easily comes off the bone and/or the ribs separate without much effort).

To serve, gently move the ribs to a large platter or baking sheet and spoon some of the cooking juices all over the rack, making sure to supply extra barbecue sauce on the side for those who want it (I never end up using more).

Store any leftover ribs + the cooking juices in the fridge. To reheat, place the ribs in an oven-safe baking dish, spoon over more cooking juices, cover with a lid or foil and bake at 350 degrees until warmed through (about 30 minutes or so). Reheating covered in the oven helps to keep the meat juicy and tender, whereas other methods (like the microwave) may overcook and dry out the ribs.

Notes & Tips
In case you're wondering, I've only used the HIGH setting so far and they still turn out amazing! It's great for when you're surfing Pinterest or Instagram after lunch and get a sudden craving for ribs. By then it's too late in the day to cook something low and slow, but not when you using the high heat feature. :)
Cooking time may vary slightly depending on the size of your crock-pot and ribs. If your slow cooker typically cooks faster, check on them earlier. If your ribs are bigger, give them an extra 30-60 minutes or more.
If you want to double or triple the recipe (you may need to adjust cooking times) you should have enough room for 2-3 racks of ribs when they're placed in the slow cooker this way.
My guy & I can polish off 2/3 of a rack at this weight by ourselves served with small portions of sides (like salad and mac n' cheese). You could definitely stretch it to serve 4 people if you give each person a smaller portion of ribs and serve with 2-3 larger portioned side items.