Two nights ago, I made dinner for my fiancé, Alasdair, the self-described meat and potatoes guy. One of his all-time favorite foods is BBQ pork ribs. He’s something of a connoisseur so I was a little bit hesitant to cook the ribs, especially without a grill or a smoker. BUT I came across a few slow cooker rib recipes online that seemed too good to pass up. Supplemented with sweet potato and goat cheese tater tots (see my tips page on what not to do when frying) and a summer squash salad to balance out the heavy meat, this was the perfect summertime meal. During the winter, the ribs pair great with some down-home mac ‘n’ cheese.

I promise you – these ribs could not be easier. All you need are the ribs, BBQ sauce, salt and pepper. Any BBQ sauce would work but my BBQ sauce gives the ribs a bit of a kick so I highly recommend using my recipe. 🙂

I was actually just using my sauce as a marinade, and I was going to be shamefully wasteful and throw out the excess sauce once the ribs were done cooking because I assumed Alasdair would want to use one of his favorite BBQ sauces (these sauces are sacred in our household). BUT Alasdair said that my sauce was so good we should save it and use more of it to pour over the ribs. He didn’t even touch his usual BBQ sauces that night. Score!

I have to agree with him. Because the sauce was cooking along with the ribs in the slow cooker, all the flavors melded together beautifully and intensified giving the ribs and the sauce a good tang and kick in the rear. Basically the heat gave the sauce more heat!

Anyways, the secret to these amazingly tender ribs is the oven/slow cooker combo. The skin crisps up on the outside while the meat stays so tender on the inside — literally, falling off the bone. You may need a few napkins….and a wet nap….and a shower…..after eating these.

But ribs aren’t ribs if you don’t leave the table with sauce up to your elbows. Am I right?

You know I am.

Healthy Recipe Ecstasy? One happy fiancé! Sure pork ribs have a lot of fat, but, if you use my BBQ sauce,  these ribs are perfect for the gluten and lactose intolerant. Many store-bought BBQ sauces have hidden sugars and gluten. Plus, fresh BBQ sauce tastes better than the sauce that’s probably been sitting in your fridge for the past five years (Mom). And, did I mention, the meat is literally falling off the bone?? These ribs are so good that I woke up the next morning and ate cold ribs for breakfast. And, I am not the type of person to wake up and eat rib meat for breakfast. SO DELICIOUS AND TENDER!