Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (2024)

FAQs

What does brown sugar do to ribs? ›

Indeed, the perhaps surprising amount of brown sugar will form a crust of the ribs making them especially tender.

Select a lean rib and cut off the visible fat. We like our ribs lean, tender, and beautiful. Cook them low and slow. Two pounds or less will take 4 1/2 hours at 225 degrees F.

Essentially, the vinegar solution "cleanses" the meat and makes the flavors shine through without any "gamey" flavor. According to Elizabeth, you don't need a charcoal grill to achieve deliciously-barbequed ribs.

Put ribs on. Spritz with apple juice at one hour, and two hours. After three hours, remove ribs. Apply butter, brown sugar, and honey to both sides.

Salt is, of course, a major ingredient in many recipes, and so is pepper. For pork ribs, everything else comes after sugar. The sweetness of the sugar perfectly complements the sweet and savory pork and brings out its intense flavor.

The best, most fool-proof way to make sure that your ribs are fall off the bone tender is to bake them, covered, at a low temperature in your oven. We bake our ribs in a 275°F oven for two to three hours. It is this simple method that guarantees tender ribs!

The longer simmering time helps break down the connective tissue and skin and brings out the tenderness and flavor. The key to this method is to simmer, not boil. If you boil the meat for an hour it can lead to prematurely cooking of the ribs and you'll end up with awful, tough meat.

Your goal is to get good color and caramelization on the outside of the ribs, but also to cook them long enough that the tough collagen breaks down and the meat becomes tender. Generally, the ribs will be browned before the meat is done, which is where the balancing act comes in.

This Apple cider brown sugar ribs recipe combines some of our favorite flavors; crisp apple flavors combine with brown sugar to create some of the most tasty ribs you will ever put in your mouth. This is also a great chicken marinade and works well with pork too. We hope that you love these Apple Cider Vinegar Ribs.

When to put apple cider vinegar on ribs? ›

START SMOKER: Preheat smoker to 265° using charcoal and peach wood. CHECK AFTER 2 HOURS: At the 2 hour mark, open the lid and check the ribs. Spritz with apple cider vinegar. SAUCE RIBS: Heat BBQ sauce and add to a squirt bottle.

For tender, flavorful ribs, marinating is the way to go. Our baby back ribs marinade comes together quickly just using a whisk; it's made from soy sauce, whiskey, and honey that's seasoned with fresh ginger, white pepper, sesame oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

My favourite choice for spritzing meat is a mix of apple cider vinegar and water as it helps balance fatty cuts of meat, add moisture, and inject flavour. Avoid spritzing too often as it will increase your cooking time.

Pour 3 cups of the cider over the ribs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove ribs from the refrigerator and discard the marinade.

Marinating the ribs overnight will add tons of flavour. Yet, it's that slow-roasting on a relatively low temperature that really does the trick. I have a tiny oven here at the cottage, so I rotate the ribs on the upper and lower racks just to make sure they all cook evenly.

Along with salt, sugar (either brown or white granulated) is a dry-brine must-have, essential both for its browning capabilities and flavor-enhancing properties. Breaking out the sugar is my favorite way to ensure that my turkey comes out perfectly tender and golden brown every November.

As a general rule, use one part sugar to two parts salt to tenderize your meat. (Be sure to add some black pepper in there too.) If you're doing a dry rub, we recommend using granulated sugar or brown sugar (like in this recipe for Seared Steak-and-Field Pea Salad).

I think the best rib rubs start with sugar as a base. Pork and sweet were just made to go together. From there, you'll see recipes with salt and pepper plus a mix of things that are custom to each pitmaster. I like to add in smoked paprika for a boost of wood-fired flavor as well as a gorgeous red color that pops.