Easy Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs are melt-in-your-mouth incredible! Let your slow cooker do all the work and come home to sticky, fall apart ribs!
Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs easy and absolutely DELICIOUS! Fall-off-the-bone tender ribs finished off in the oven to create the best, barbecue sticky glaze and caramelised edges! The 4-ingredient marinade is the hands down the best marinade smothered on ribs.
Slow Cooker Ribs
The secret to the level of deliciousness in these ribs is a good GOOD kick of garlic in our marinade. Usually, the oven is our best friend when craving and cooking oven baked ribs, but the Slow Cooker has become my favourite kitchen tool in our chaotic life. Move over oven…
The best part about Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs is that they fit for any time…any season. Slow coking ribs breaks down the connective tissue in the meat making them fall-apart, tender. Brushing with a delicious barbecue sauce glaze with a kick of garlic and Cayenne (optional), then broiled for an extra 2 minutes until bubbling, charred and crispy on the tops and edges ensures the best ribs you will try.
Ribs Recipe
The ribs are not only smothered in sauce while they are slow cooking, they are coated in sauce a second time before going under the broiler (or grill) to create the stickiest glaze while charring the edges. I love pouring all of the juices from the slow cooker bowl into the remaining sauce to give them even more flavour!
Sauce Ingredients:
- Barbecue sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Garlic
- Brown sugar
- Cayenne — an optional ingredient if you like a nice kick of heat!
Mix all the ingredients together and brush all over the meat.
How To Cook Ribs In a Slow Cooker
In this recipe I am providing different cook times depending on the results you are looking for.
LOW: 7 HOURS / HIGH: 3 HOURS — Ribs that are soft but stay on the bone (as shown in the video below).
LOW: 9 HOURS / HIGH: 4-5 HOURS — Tender, fall apart in your hands ribs that melt in your mouth like butter (as shown in the image below).
Place your ribs on the bowl of a 6-qt slow cooker bowl, pour the sauce all over to evenly coat and let the slow cooker do all the cooking for you. Once they are done, transfer ribs to an oven tray, baste with more sauce/juices mixture and broil (grill) for 5-10 minutes until charred on the edges and bubbling!
How To Remove Membrane From Ribs Before Cooking
Before cooking, I recommend removing the membrane from the back of the ribs. It’s not essential to do this, but I find the sauce is better absorbed into the meat when removed.
At one end of the rack, slide a fork or a blunt knife under the membrane and over a bone. Lift the membrane away off of the bone until it begins to tear Use a paper towel to grab hold of the edge of the membrane and pull it off. It may come off in one piece or it may tear into smaller pieces. (See video BELOW.)
Warning / disclaimer. These down here were left cooking for 9 hours on low. See how the meat is melting off the bone?
Love pork? Try these recipes!
Pork Chops With Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Easy Honey Garlic Pork
Carnitas
Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs ON VIDEO!
Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500ml) barbecue sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (optional for a hint of spice)
- 2 kg (4 pounds) baby back pork ribs
- Salt , to taste
Instructions
- Spray inside of a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Remove inner skin (membrane) from ribs and place ribs in slow cooker. Discard skin.
- Combine bbq sauce, brown sugar, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Mix well to combine and completely cover with half of the sauce.
- Season with a good amount of salt and pepper; cover with lid and cook on low setting for 7-9 hours or high setting for 3-5 hours *see notes. Refrigerate remaining sauce to use later.
- When ribs are tender and falling apart, transfer onto an oven tray (or baking sheet), lined with parchment paper. (Lift them carefully as the meat will be very tender and falling off the bone).
- Pour half of the juices from the slow cooker bowl into the remaining sauce. Baste ribs with half of the sauce and broil (grill) in preheated oven at 400°F (220°C) for about 10 minutes or until beginning to char and crisp on the edges.
- Serve ribs with remaining sauce.
Notes
- LOW: 7 HOURS / HIGH: 3 HOURS — Ribs that are soft but stay on the bone (as shown in the video in post).
- LOW: 9 HOURS / HIGH: 4-5 HOURS — Tender, fall apart ribs that melt in your mouth like butter (as shown in the images in post).
John says
Great rib recipe. Thank you.
Lizzy irwin says
Fantastic flavour- love the cayenne which gives a great little kick. Very straightforward recipe, with all ingredients being pantry staples. Served with a slaw side which nicely balanced the cayenne hit. Family have suggested it be on an at least weekly rotation 😀😋
Alison says
I’ve made this recipe twice. My mom’s favorite is ribs and this is such an easy way to make them for special occasions.
For 5lbs of ribs, I found 6hrs at low was best to keep them moist then putting it in the oven per the instructions.
Mindy says
In my crockpot now, 2 hrs left! I love these ribs…perfect every time! First time making them for friends tonight…
Riss says
This website has not disappointed me yet with any of the recipes! The ribs were so tender and fell apart with just being in the slow cooker for 7 hours on low! I will definitely be making these again. The sauce went so well with the ribs!
KT says
Sooooo good! I’ve made them twice. This last time, I doubled the recipe and it worked great! It was enough for us for 7 adults and 3 kids. Thank you Karina, I’ve never made ribs before and this recipe is foolproof!
Candice George says
I made these ribs tonight! I cooked it on high for 5hours. It smells delicious! Broiling them took no time! Our family loved this fall of the bone recipe!! I will be making this again ❤️
They were soo yummy!
Lindsey says
Incredible! I did all the prep the evening before and let them marinate in the ceramic pot over night. The bones just slipped away! My partner was dancing while licking his fingers. XD
Which barbecue sauce would you recommend as the base? We used a flavored sauce and added all your recommendations on top.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Cheryl says
Made these today best ribs I ever cooked!!!
I never tried in the crockpot before. I followed the recipe and mmmmmm delicious!! They truly did melt in your mouth and they fell right off the bone!! And was so easy!! Snowy cold day today who woulda thought of ribs on a day like this! Will definitely make again!!
Bob R says
First tried this recipe in the heart of the pandemic as a means of trying new things and stopping myself from going insane. It is RIDICULOUSLY easy to prepare and comes out perfectly every time. My teenage son loves it and it makes for an easy yet delicious meal that can be paired with French fries, mac and cheese, greens etc.