New Recipe of the Week: BBQ Edition!

Today, I'd like to start a weekly feature for this blog. I think I'll call it "Recipe of the Week" and each week I will find and try out a new recipe, and let my readers know how it goes! I thought today would be the perfect place to start, since I'm cooking for the Fourth of July.

This week's recipe is slow cooker ribs with homemade bbq sauce. As I work on this entry, the sauce is simmering on the stove and it smells delicious! It is so simple to make. You just need to allow yourself a couple of hours for the sauce to cook, as well as about 5-6 hours to cook the ribs.

First, I seasoned the ribs. I personally believe it's a waste of time to cook meat if you aren't going to take the time to add some flavor first. You can probably use any combination of spices you'd like, since this part isn't actually included in the recipe. I used salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.

 

After seasoning the ribs on all sides, I put them in the fridge to sit while I worked on the bbq sauce. I mixed the ingredients according to the recipe, and left it to simmer for two hours. (The recipe calls for 1 hour of cooking time, but I found the sauce wasn't thick enough at that point.) After simmering, this is what the sauce looks like. 

  

I then took the ribs out of the fridge and seared them in a pan with olive oil over medium high heat, until they were browned on all sides. (This is something I do to all meat cooked in a crockpot...I think it makes it taste better.)  I tossed the ribs into my slow cooker, along with some sliced vidalia onions and about half of the bbq sauce. I added about 1/3 cup of water also, to make sure there would be enough liquid in the pot for cooking. If I had beef stock on hand, I probably would have used that instead of water.  I poured the remaining sauce into a bowl and placed it in the fridge. I will use this half for saucing the ribs once they are done.

Once you have everything is in the pot, just close the lid and set the heat setting to high.  Allow the ribs to cook for 5 hours, and you've got yourself some ribs...no grill necessary! I'm serving these with some fresh corn on the cob and a salad. 

Here is the recipe! 

For the ribs:

2 lbs of pork ribs

Medium vidalia or white onion

Seasoning to taste

BBQ Sauce 

For the Sauce (Recipe courtesy of Claire Robinson of The Food Network) 

• 1 (7-ounce) jar or can organic tomato paste
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons spicy dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons BBQ seasoning mix
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 cups water

Whisk all the ingredients together in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about half or to desired thickness, about 1 hour.

Cool completely before transferring to an airtight container and storing in the refrigerator.

This sauce is good for a week in the fridge, or you can freeze it for up to 6 months. 

Happy cooking y'all, and happy Fourth of July!!