Crock Pot Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
1 rack of baby back ribs
1 large onion, sliced into slivers
4 carrots cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces
2 medium potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 crunchy apple, peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup Kansas City style tomato based barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
About liquid smoke. Liquid smoke is made by catching the smoke from smoldering hardwood, concentrating it, and dissolving it in alcohol. Many commercial barbecue sauces already have a nice jolt of liquid smoke in them. If you are using a commercial sauce, taste the sauce and if it tastes smoky, leave the liquid smoke out of the recipe. If you want more, add up to 1 tablespoon.
I have specified baby back ribs above because one slab can be enough for two people, and because they are lower fat than spares.
Doctor the sauce as you see fit. Add a teaspoon of hot sauce or a minced hot peppers. Try a tablespoon of match-sticked ginger slivers. If you want it sweeter, add 2 tablespoons of honey or molasses or even your favorite jelly for a fruity flash. I ike to garnish with chopped scallions.
1) Skin and trim. Slice into 2-3 rib sections. Optional. If you have a broiler, place the meat about 6" under the broiler for about 15 minutes per side until brown. Keep an eye on them because they can start smoking in a very hot broiler. If you don't have a broiler, don't sweat it. The little bit of flavor added by browning will not be missed.
2) Mix the liquid smoke with the barbecue sauce.
3) Line the bottom of the crockpot with the onion slices, carrots, apples, and potatoes. Place a layer of ribs on top, meaty side up. Pour some of the sauce over the ribs and coat the surface with a brush, spoon, or your (clean) fingers. Place another layer of ribs on top of the first layer, pour on more sauce, and spread. Keep going until all the ribs are in. Pour the remaining sauce on top. Resist the temptation to put the meat on the bottom. It will just get mushy.
3) Cover and cook on low (about 200F) for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Leave the lid on! Resist the temptation to peek. Opening the lid lets a lot of heat escape and slows down the cooking, some say 20 minutes per peek. The same rule we use for outdoor barbecue applies: If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'!
4) When you're done you will notice that the sauce is not as thick as when you started. A lot of the juices from the meat and other gredients will be extracted and you'll have a rich, but runny sauce. If you have a stovetop, you can cook it down and thicken it, but I never bother. The thin sauce is concentrated in flavor and delicious.
