Another Crock Pot Ribs Recipe Using Stubbs BBQ Sauce.

Several weeks ago, the local market, Blue Mountain Foods, sent out their sales circular and the first item that truly caught my eye was the one pound package of precooked baby back ribs with sauce.  Sort of like the Lloyds brand, but from the grocery chain, Western Family, they buy their supplies from.  Anyway, the sale price was $7.99 and since Lloyd' is usually about $11.98 at Walmart, this was a bargain.  To the market I went to pick up several; I looked and looked, but could not find any to purchase.  I asked one of the employees who went back to the butcher and asked about them.  "I'm sorry", she said, "but he forgot to order them; come back on Saturday and we might have them in by then."  Now this was Wednesday and I didn't want them for Saturday, I wanted them now!

Ok, so I'm going to have to make them from scratch; the fresh ribs were only $2.99/lb. the past two weeks.  Holy moly, the price was now $4.99/lb.; I can't win here!  Last resort, boneless pork ribs (which are actually thick strips of pork tenderloin) was $2.39/lb.; it was going to have to do.  Moving around the aisles, I formulated how I was going to cook them up; seeing Stubbs BBQ Sauce on sale solidified my idea.  Purchases made, the crock pot onto the kitchen counter and creativity was put into action.

Get ready for this announcement, this recipe has only four...count them...four ingredients and came out so deliciously fantastic!

Crock Pot BBQ Ribs with Stubbs BBQ Sauce

 

 Ingredients:

2 lbs potatoes

4 lbs pork country style boneless ribs
1 large onion, chopped
1 (18 oz) bottle Stubbs Original BBQ Sauce

 

 

 

Preparation:

Spray the interior of a 6 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.

 

Peel the potatoes, cut into one inch pieces and parboil; drain, rinse and place in bottom of crock pot.  Layer the ribs over the potatoes; next the onions and pour the Stubbs sauce over all.

 

 

 

 

Set crock pot on low and let cook for 4 to 5 hours; until pork is tender.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Crock Pot Ribs and the Blue Potato.

My hubby loves when I make baby back ribs; that's right, when it comes to smoking and grilling, I'm the doer of the family. Unfortunately, these techniques of cooking require that you be available to keep an eye on the smoker or the grill; no setting and forgetting here. Even when I make ribs in the oven, I still have to be home to make sure there is no mishap. There came a day recently when hubby wanted ribs, but I had to work; yes, I do work outside of the home as well as inside. I could have made them the day before, but I spoil him, so wanted the ribs freshly made. I've made boneless pork ribs in the crock pot, but those aren't real ribs; just thick cuts of pork loin.  Would making baby back ribs work in the crock pot as well?

Experiment time!  Wow, it worked really well and at the same time I was able to make a side dish within the same crock pot.  I had a three pound bag of blue potatoes that I had received in my Bountiful Basket; here was a chance to experiment with them as well.  Blue potatoes have the same amount of carbs as the simple white potato, but are healthier for you.  The blue signifies a high level of flavonoids which are antioxidants:  help protect blood vessels from rupture or leakage;  enhance the power of vitamin C; protect cells from oxygen damage; prevent excessive inflammation throughout the body.

Usually when using cut potatoes in the crock pot, you have to parboil them to ensure they cook evenly and thoroughly.  As I cut the potatoes into pieces, I noticed they were very moist inside; would they cook faster in the crock pot than the regularly parboiled white potato?  Remember, this was an experiment, so why not go all the way!?!  The potatoes cooked perfectly; tender, full of flavor from the seasonings, and you could taste the salt, but not be overpowered by it.  The onions were soft and oh so sweet; it was hard not to pick them all out to eat.

Crock Pot Ribs and Side Dish

Ingredients:

4 - 6 baby back ribs

Seasoning Rub (see below for recipe)
3 lbs potatoes
1 lb. onions
2 cups barbecue sauce (bottled or homemade - see below for bbq sauce recipe)

Preparation:

 

Prepare seasoning rub according to recipe; rub onto both sides of ribs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

 

Next day, unwrap ribs and cut into portions; spray a 6 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; place rib portions inside with meaty side against wall of crock pot.

 

Wash potatoes, cut open lengthwise, in half lengthwise, then into one inch pieces.  Place into center of crock pot and keep ribs against wall, do not let them slide under potatoes. 















Remove paper skin and root from onions; chop into one inch pieces and place over potatoes. 

 


 

Pour barbecue sauce over all, cover and cook on low for 5 - 7 hours; until ribs and potatoes are tender.  Remove from crock pot onto serving dish; cover with aluminum foil to keep warm and let rest for 15 minutes.  Serve with sauce from pot over all, or in cup for dipping.

 

Makes 4 to 6 servings, based on one pound of ribs per person.

Mary Cokenour


Additional Recipes for Seasoning Rub and Homemade Barbecue Sauce

All Purpose Rub for Smoking and Grilling

Ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp each sea salt, ground black pepper, ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp each paprika, onion powder, garlic powder

Preparation:

In medium bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Rub onto all sides of meat or poultry; refrigerate overnight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Purpose Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp peanut oil (if not available, use canola oil)

1 small onion, diced
1Tbsp minced garlic
1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground horseradish
¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp each salt and ground black pepper
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup dark molasses

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, heat oil on medium-high heat; sauté onion and garlic till softened; be careful not to burn garlic. Add in remaining ingredients, stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes; sauce will thicken. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking or burning. If sauce thickens too much, stir in a tablespoon of water until desired consistency is achieved.  Use warm or cold; store in refrigerator in airtight container; will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Makes 2 cups.

Umami Slow Cooker Boneless Pork Ribs.

A friend of mine shared a recipe on Facebook about making a pork tenderloin in a slow cooker.  I wanted to try it out and the local market happened to have pork loin roasts on sale for $1.99 per pound.  However, just above the roasts were these lean and lovely looking "Boneless Pork Ribs" also known as "Country Style Pork Ribs".  Essentially these ribs are a pork loin roast that has been trimmed and cut into thick strips that resemble ribs, and they just happened to be the same price as the roasts.  If I can have the easy way out, I'll take it; the butcher had already trimmed off the fat, so I wouldn't waste money buying the roast, trimming it down and throwing away the fat cap which was part of that price per pound.  I bought the boneless ribs and already knew I would be changing that shared recipe to make it my own.




First thing I had to do was brine the pork; brining will open up the fibers in the pork meat to allow it to absorb the liquid and flavors it is being cooked in.  It's a simple three step process; step one is put the trimmed pork meat into a ceramic, glass or plastic container.  Don't use a metal container as the salt will have a chemical reaction with the metal elements.








Second step is to put cold water into the container and enough to cover the meat.







The third step is to add the salt; I usually add one tablespoon per two pounds, so the six pounds of ribs required three tablespoons.  I just sprinkled the salt on top of the water, used my hand to mix it into the water (water will get cloudy), and moved the ribs around to make sure they were loose in the water.  I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerated them for two hours.  Because the pork was cut into pieces, the brine would be able to get into the meat quicker, since there was more surface exposed.  If brining a large piece of meat, such as a roast or an uncut slab of ribs, give it a good six to 12 hours for the brine to make it completely inside and tenderize those fibers.




Now the sauce for the original recipe required: soy sauce, yellow mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, dried onions, garlic salt or powder.  Well I already had salt in my recipe by using the brine technique, so garlic salt was out, garlic powder was in.  Soy sauce also has salt in it, so I needed to think of another substitute and Hoisin sauce was it because of the smoky flavor it contained.  Olive oil?  I wasn't understanding the addition of that; that was now out, but I did spray the inside of my crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.  I began to think about the different flavors all these ingredients were going to give to the pork meat, and that is when I decided to look up that new fad word on the cooking shows...Umami.  Umami is the "fifth taste"; savory - a pleasant brothy or meaty flavor which makes the mouth water.  It is long lasting on the tongue and coats the inside of the mouth which contributes to the mouth watering experience.  My sauce ingredients needed to have sweet, salty, bitter, sour and savory; but I didn't stop there, I decided that heat and smoky needed to be added.  It was pork and it needed to party!


Sweet - maple syrup
Sour - yellow mustard
Bitter - onions
Salty - hoisin sauce and the brine
Savory - hoisin sauce and garlic powder
Heat - ground cayenne pepper
Smoky - hoisin sauce

Notice that Hoisin sauce plays a major role with the different flavors; when it comes to Asian cooking, instead of sticking with only soy or teriyaki sauces, experiment with Hoisin.


Using the slow cooker, any meat or poultry will exude juices and a "gravy" will form.  Adding cornstarch to the sauce ensured a luscious gravy that would be rich, flavorful, not too thick or thin, and perfect over the meat or poultry and a side such as rice, potatoes, noodles or stuffing.   Now if you want your meat to have a glaze or crust of some kind, then skip the slow cooker and roast in the oven instead.   Place the meat or poultry on a rack, so the juices go to the pan's bottom (make sure you put broth or water in the pan) and you can make your gravy later on.

So here is my new take on the recipe posted on Facebook; it did make my mouth water and I kept going back for one more piece; then one more piece; oh one more wouldn't hurt.

Umami Slow Cooker Boneless Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

6 lbs boneless pork ribs (aka country style ribs)
water
3 Tbsp salt

Sauce:
1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup diced onion
3 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
4 Tbsp cornstarch

Preparation:

Place the pork inside a large bowl, cover with water; add salt and move meat around to mix salt throughout. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.

Spray the inside of a 6 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; remove pork from water(do not rinse), pat dry and place inside crock pot.

Mix together ingredients for sauce; pour over meat and work down between pieces with a spatula or spoon. Cover, set on low and cook for 6 hours.


Makes six servings.

Mary Cokenour

Ribs and Potatoes Redone...again.

If you love to cook, you know yourself that you are always looking for new recipes, ways of redoing recipes, even redoing your own recipes. Good cooks have not just a passion for food, but imagination and creativity in the kitchen; we're not settlers, we're doers.

From previous posts, I've already established that I enjoy grilling and smoking meats, but in winter time, that's rarely an option. Instead, I work on ways of obtaining a good barbequed item using the oven or a crock pot....yes, I said crock pot. Barbeque does not always refer to charred meat; it's a technique, not a standard.

Lets talk about boneless ribs and your question is, "How can ribs be boneless?" Boneless pork ribs are essentially a pork loin that has been cut into sections to imitate the shape and look of actual pork spare ribs. This type of boneless rib is commonly known as "Country Style Boneless Pork Ribs". They are meatier and leaner than the typical slab of pork spare ribs. For those who like the knife and fork method of eating ribs, they're the perfect choice of cut; that is unless you enjoy sucking sauce off the actual bones.

I have posted a similar recipe for crock pot boneless ribs called Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs using an Asian style sauce to cook them in. Today's recipe will be using a typical barbeque sauce, and you can use homemade sauce or bottled. Now when I make my homemade sauce, I do make enough to be able to freeze some for future use. However, when I decide to do something spontaneously and want to cut corners, heck yeah, I cheat and use a good bottled brand such as Sweet Baby Ray's, Jack Daniels or KC Masterpiece. These brands provide a thick sauce, loaded with flavor and hold up in long time cooking, such as with a crock pot.

Crock Pot Boneless Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless (country style) pork ribs
2 Tbsp flour
1 large onion, chopped
1(14.5 oz)can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 1/2 cups barbeque sauce

Preparation:

Set a 6 quart crock pot on low; layer the ribs inside and sprinkle the flour over them. (The ribs will exude liquid during the cooking process; the flour will help keep the sauce thick.)

Layer the onions, tomatoes and garlic over the ribs; pour the sauce over and make sure to cover evenly. Cover and let cook for 10 hours.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Now a great side dish for these ribs is Funeral Potatoes. Hubby and I don't like the typical corn flakes topping, so I changed my recipe a little and put a good layer of shredded cheddar cheese on top, besides within the casserole itself. I also add chopped, partially cooked bacon for that smoky flavor. Everything is better with bacon, right?

What is really great with this side dish is that you can refrigerate it for 8 hours, let it come up to room temperature for a half hour; let it bake for 1 and 1/2 hours and it will be ready at the same time as the ribs. When the barbeque sauce mixes with the oozing cheese and sauce of the potatoes, your mouth will be in orgasmic delight!

Enjoy the pleasure!

Mary Cokenour

Move over winter, I'm ready for smokin' and grillin'.

That's right guys, when it comes to smokin' and grillin', that's my job. My hubby's job is to sit down, eat and enjoy. Jealous? Well, you should be; and here's a little more to make you drool. We own 2 grills: one kettle style for charcoal, one gas; and 2 smokers: one upright manual and the Masterbuilt Electric. Nope, we don't fool around when it comes to barbeque.

However, the crazy winters here are kicking my butt when it comes to outdoor cooking; too much snow, and too freaking cold!!! So, I am forced to use the indoor standbys; the crock pot or the oven. (Forgive me Bobby Flay) Not the same in any way, shape or form, and especially in taste, but it'll have to do until the weather gets warmer.


So, what's for dinner tonight? Ribs:

Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

4 lbs boneless pork ribs, separated
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), chopped
1 Tbsp diced garlic
4 cups homemade sweet and sour sauce**, or Yoshida’s Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Sauce (best brand of premade)
1 cup pineapple chunks with juice

Preparation:

Place ribs, onion, bell pepper, garlic and sauce into 6 qt crock pot, set on low heat, and mix together. Spread pineapple over top. Cook for 6 hours.

Makes 6-8 servings.

**Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients:

¼ cup white wine vinegar
½ cup ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
6 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Preparation:

Stir together all ingredients in medium saucepan; bring to boil. Remove from heat and serve.

Makes 1 cup.

Mary Cokenour
February 4, 2011