Annie’s 3-Step BBQ Ribs Recipe

Today’s recipe is the result of a few years of experimentation that finally resulted in Annie’s 3-Step BBQ Ribs. It is called this because it does take 3 steps as well as a day to make these because they are cooked twice and refrigerated in between! Don’t worry though, they are not labor intensive. However, you do need to plan these in advance though. And you need a large crock pot.

Ribs are frequently on sale during the summer and our family loves them. What we do not love is tough or poorly cooked meat. When my kids were young, I found out that ribs cook nicely in a crock pot and turn out fork tender. In fact, the meat was often falling off the bone it was so tender and good. However, we like BBQ ribs as well. What to do? Crock pot them and BBQ them of course! Basically, I cook them long enough in the crock pot to get them tender but pull them out before the meat falls off the bone. Next, I cool them completely in the fridge. After this they are slathered in BBQ sauce and grilled. Yummy! These are rib perfection and are a favorite around here. So, now on to the recipe!

Annie’s 3-Step BBQ Ribs Recipe

This recipe uses 8 lbs of ribs and requires a large crock pot. I use a large, oval 7-8 quart size.

7-8 lbs of pork ribs cut into sections of 4-5 ribs each

1 recipe of seasoning (see below)

1 bottle of favorite BBQ sauce

To start, make seasoning recipe below and liberally coat rib sections on both sides. You probably won’t use all the seasoning. Cook ribs in a large crock pot on high for 5 hours- DO NOT ADD ANY LIQUID!!! Don’t be tempted to add even a little liquid. Just put the seasoned ribs in, put the lid on, turn on high, and walk away. Start checking ribs at 4 hours to see how tender they are. You want them really tender, but you don’t want to meat to fall off. The trick is to catch the ribs at the right point in cooking. When you see the meat pulling away from the bone and you can stick a fork easily in the meat it is usually a sign they are close to done or done.

Put cooked ribs on a baking sheet and cool in fridge. Cover later with plastic and keep overnight in fridge. To serve, preheat BBQ on high heat on put rib sections on slathering both sides liberally with BBQ sauce. Cook until heated through. Serve.

Rib Seasoning:

2 tbsps. of sea salt

2 tbsps. of Hungarian Paprika

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 tbsps. of sugar

2 tsps. of garlic powder

Combine.

Try serving with this Red, White & Blue Potato Salad here or this Nectarine and Fresh Corn Salad here!

Have a beautiful day!