I think it was on Friday that I joined in an exchange with a few Twitter friends sharing how much I love my slow cooker. I’m pretty convinced that conversation put the idea into my brain to peruse my slow-cooker cookbook late Friday night. We’d already eaten chicken that week and we were out of beef, but we did have pork, ribs in fact, from a family friend’s farm. Aha! It’s hard to believe, but I had yet to make ribs in my crock-pot. I don’t know what I was waiting for, but I figured it was time to give it a try.
I was able to take inspiration from a couple of recipes. The results – Amazing! (If I do say so myself.) The meat pretty much fell off the bone, just a slight tug and they melted into our mouths. Oh yes, we will be doing this again.
Sticky Asian BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup hard cider
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger root
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- 3 lbs. St. Louis style pork ribs
- 3 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (optional)
- 2 thinly sliced green onions (optional)
Directions
- Whisk together the hard cider, grated ginger, minced garlic, brown sugar, tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and Sriracha. Pour into the slow cooker insert.
- Add the ribs and turn them around a few times to coat both sides of each rack with the sauce.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
- Remove the cooked ribs onto a plate and cover with foil. Make the sticky sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the liquid from the slow cooker to the pan. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water plus 1 tablespoon of the hot liquid. Pour into the saucepan with the sticky sauce and whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from heat and brush on top of the ribs.
- Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and green onion slices on top of the sauced ribs. Serve immediately.
Do you make ribs in your slow cooker? Any flavor combos you love?
