Delicious sweet spare ribs from the slow cooker with homemade barbecue sauce slowly stewed. This makes them incredibly tender and gives them a lot of flavors. And if you like ribs, you will definitely enjoy this recipe.
The homemade BBQ sauce, without packages and bags, gives the spare ribs a delicious sweet taste. And because the meat is slowly cooked in the slow cooker, it has time to absorb all those tasty flavors. The perfect choice for an evening where you feel like some comfort food.
Can You Make Spare Ribs in the Crockpot?
Spare ribs are high on my sons' list of favorite meats. And in summer, we like to light the BBQ, or I make these delicious sticky ribs in the oven. But since I became a fan of the slow cooker, the question was, is it also possible to make them in it?
Fall-Off-The-Bone Slow Cooker Spare Ribs with Homemade BBQ Sauce
It was the middle of winter when I started making this; believe me, there are better times to search for fresh spare ribs. After the shopping was completed, I began to work in good spirits. Unfortunately, it didn't work out the first time because the spare ribs contained too much fat (I didn't know on forehand that would become a problem), and it completely melted away in the slow cooker. There was little left over but bones and scraps of meat.
The next attempt with new spare ribs with much less fat immediately succeeded, and the tender meat fell off the bone. Fingers were licked clean. And since that moment, we have eaten this recipe many times (the sons insisted that we had to test this recipe thoroughly), and it has been made so many times that I can say that this recipe has now been perfected to get the most flavor and tenderness. Try it yourself. I'm very curious about what you think!
What do you need for Crock Pot Sweet Ribs Recipe?
To prepare this Slow Cooker Barbecue Spareribs, you require the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:
Ingredients Barbecue Sauce from scratch
- Onion and garlic: Give the sauce a delicious flavor.
- Red pepper: For the kick in the sauce. If you like spicy, wash the pepper and cut it into small strips. Do you want a little less spice in the sauce? Then first half the pepper and remove the seeds before you cut the pepper further into small pieces.
- Brown sugar: to sweeten the sauce. Brown sugar is also used because it gives a caramelized flavor to the sauce.
- Tomato ketchup: a tomato sauce that falls under the umami flavor. It is made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices. If you prefer to make it yourself, you will find a tasty homemade tomato ketchup recipe here.
- Fennel seed, ground: This herb has an anise, spicy, and slightly sweet taste.
- Soy sauce: All-purpose soy sauce (or Japanese soy sauce). It's light soy sauce with more flavor (but you could use light soy sauce too)
Ingredients Sweet Spareribs
- Spare ribs: or pork ribs. It is the middle part of the ribs. And you can slowly cook this meat in a marinade. Because the preparation is longer, it absorbs the flavors from the marinade. Also, make sure the ribs don't contain too much fat. Due to the long stewing, the fat melts, and you have little meat left.
- Homemade Barbecue Sauce: see above
- Onion Powder: The dried ground form of onion. It has a sweet onion flavor.
- Sunflower oil: a neutral flavor oil.
- Brown sugar: to sweeten. Brown sugar is also used because it gives a caramelized flavor to the sauce.
- Soy sauce: All-purpose soy sauce (or Japanese soy sauce). It's light soy sauce with more flavor (but you could use light soy sauce too)
- Garlic: gives extra flavor to the sweet spare ribs.
How to prepare the Best Slow Cooker Ribs
You can find a printable recipe with a detailed description at the bottom of this blog.
- Put oil in a saucepan and fry the onion and garlic for a minute while stirring. Put the fennel seeds, sugar, pepper, soy sauce, and ketchup in the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and cool to room temperature.
- Pour the sauce over the ribs and make sure every piece is covered (I used a brush to distribute it evenly). Next, turn on the slow cooker and let it do its magic. In total, the ribs cooked on low for 8 hours. Next, place the ribs on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Pour the remaining sauce from the slow cooker into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Brush the ribs with the thickened sauce and bake in a preheated oven at 430 °F (220 °C) for 10 minutes. This gives the ribs a crispy exterior, and the BBQ sauce caramelizes and becomes wonderfully sticky. Place on a plate, drizzle some extra BBQ sauce on top and serve.
This is delicious with oven-baked fries and a delightful Amish potato salad in the summer, and a delicious cucumber salad.
Garnish the sweet spare ribs from the slow cooker with some finely chopped parsley for a fresh taste.
Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
- BBQ sauce: Replace with a honey mustard sauce or a teriyaki marinade.
- Instead of pork ribs, you can also use beef ribs, short ribs, and even chicken thighs.
- Extra vegetables? Add some carrot or bell pepper cubes to the slow cooker. Very tasty!
Spare ribs are cooked on a low for 7 to 8 hours. On high, they are deliciously tender in 4 hours.
Yes, you can. If you have a favorite sauce, use 1 ½ cups (350 ml) of barbecue sauce to prepare this recipe.
Yes, that's possible. Place the spare ribs on aluminum foil and brush them with the sauce. Close the foil and place everything on a baking tray. Cook it in a preheated oven at 265 °F (130 °C) for three hours. Remove from the oven and carefully open the aluminum foil (steam can escape here). Brush the meat with barbecue sauce and place them side by side on a baking tray. Return to the oven at 430 °F (220 °C) for another 10 minutes until the ribs are crispy.
Did you make this recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram. I enjoy seeing what your creation looks like. Video recipes can be found on my YouTube channel. And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest so you can easily find them next time!
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Equipment
- A conventional oven is used. When using a convection oven (with air fan) decrease the temperature with 30 °F / 20 °C
- slow cooker
- baking plate
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
homemade BBQ sauce
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, squeezed
- 1 red chili pepper, without seeds, chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
- ¼ cups dark brown sugar
- ¼ cups light soy sauce
- 1¼ cups tomato ketchup
Sweet spareribs
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- bbq sauce, homemade, recipe above
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, white, ground
- 3 lb short ribs
Instructions
Homemade Bbq sauce
- Heat oil in a saucepan and stir-fry the onion and garlic for 1 minute.1 tablespoon sunflower oil, 1 small onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the fennel seeds, sugar, chili, soy sauce, and tomato ketchup, and cook for 5 minutes.1 red chili pepper, 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds, ¼ cups dark brown sugar, ¼ cups light soy sauce, 1¼ cups tomato ketchup
- Let the sauce cool to room temperature
Sweet spareribs
- Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic, oil, and season with salt and pepper to the saucepan with barbecue sauce and stir it well.2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, bbq sauce, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 4 cloves garlic, ¼ cup sunflower oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Brush the spare ribs with the barbecue sauce and place them in the slow cooker. Pour the rest of the sauce over it.3 lb short ribs
- Put the lid on the slow cooker and let it slow cook on low for 8 hours.
- Meanwhile, line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- For the last 15 minutes, preheat the oven to
430 °F or 400 °F - Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and place them next to each other on the baking sheet.
- Pour the remaining sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened.
- Brush the ribs on both sides with the barbecue sauce and slide the baking tray into the oven. Leave in the oven for 10 minutes, making the ribs nice and crispy.
- Remove from the oven and baste with more BBQ sauce and serve!
Notes
- BBQ sauce - Are you short on time? Use a store-bought barbecue sauce. You then need 1 ½ cup (350 ml).
- Instead of pork ribs, you can also use beef ribs, short ribs, and even chicken thighs. Make sure the ribs don't contain too much fat. Due to the long stewing, the fat melts, and you have little meat left.
- Extra vegetables? Add some carrot or bell pepper cubes to the slow cooker. Very tasty!
- BBQ sauce: Replace with a honey mustard sauce or a teriyaki marinade.
Place the spare ribs on aluminum foil and brush them with the sauce. Close the foil and place everything on a baking tray. Cook it in a preheated oven at 265 °F (130 °C) for three hours. Remove from the oven and carefully open the aluminum foil (steam can escape here). Brush the meat with barbecue sauce and place them side by side on a baking tray. Return to the oven at 430 °F (220 °C) for another 10 minutes until the ribs are crispy. 5. Storage
To store leftover slow cooker spare ribs with BBQ sauce, let them cool quickly to room temperature.
- Refrigerator: Put the spare ribs in an airtight container or wrap them in plastic or aluminum foil. You can store the spare ribs in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Wrap the sweet spare ribs in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place them in a freezer box or bag. This keeps them good for up to 3 months. Then, let them thaw in the fridge (take them out of the freezer the night before).
- Reheat:
- Oven: Place the ribs in an oven dish and heat for 20 minutes (or until hot) in a preheated oven at 320 °F (160 °C). Add two tablespoons of water to the oven dish, so the spare ribs do not dry out. Cover the dish with aluminum foil if the sweet ribs get too dark.
Nutrition
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