Baby Back Pork Ribs - no grill required

I've made ribs a handful of times, each time trying a new recipe. There are so many different methods to cooking them - grill, boil, slow roast, crockpot - and many different ways to flavor them - dry rub, cook in sauce, add sauce at the end.

I searched for some tasty looking recipes from fellow food blogs and pulled together three different recipes. These ribs turned out fabulous. Ribs are one of my husband's favorite items to order when eating out, and he highly approved of these. Success!

The two most important characteristics for good ribs are tenderness and flavor. These ribs were super tender due to the cooking in the crockpot. The BBQ sauce provided the taste.

Baby Back Pork Ribs

One full slab baby back pork ribs

Dry Rub
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 TB smoked paprika
2 TB chili powder
4 tsp granulated garlic
4 tsp granulated onion
4 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground black pepper

In a small bowl mix all the spices together. This makes over a cup of rub, so you can use some now and save some for later. Store the rub in an airtight container, such as a jar or resealable bag.

BBQ sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
1/8 cup dijon mustard
2-3 tbs hot sauce
1 tbs worcestershire sauce
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs butter
1 tbs cider vinegar
dash of liquid smoke

Rub ribs with dry rub and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.

CROCKPOT: Cook in the crockpot on high for 1 1/2 hours, then turn to low and cook for at least 5 hours.

INSTANT POT: Put trivet in instant pot. Add 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar. Arrange ribs standing up around perimeter of pot. Cook on manual for 25 minutes, and then let natural release for 10 minutes.

Near the end of the cooking time, prepare the BBQ sauce. In a stock pot melt butter, add garlic and onion and cook until onions are translucent. add all other ingredients into pot, and bring to a boil. lower heat and cook 10 minutes to combine flavors, stirring every minute or so. With an immersion blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.

After the ribs are finished cooking in the crockpot or instant pot, remove from crockpot or instant pot. Brush ribs with BBQ sauce and broil in oven for just a few minutes until sauce is baked on.