Sensational Slow Cooked St. Louis Style Ribs

These easy & delicious Memphis Style ribs prove that you do NOT need to fire up the grill to create barbecue rib perfection! Simply pop these dry rubbed pork ribs in the Slow Cooker all afternoon, then baste with your favorite sauce and broil briefly – that’s it!  The perfect way to enjoy tasty ribs on a hot summer day when you don’t want to fire up the grill!

Memphis-style ribs are typically pork spare ribs cut ‘St. Louis style’.  St. Louis Style ribs are tender, moist and full of flavor.  The traditional way to cook Memphis-style barbecue is slow cooked in a pit, which creates that ‘fall off the bone’ tenderness we all love.  

But no pit is required when you have a slow cooker! It is the perfect way to mimic the ‘low and slow’ tender ribs usually only found at barbecue joints!  

Here are my tips on making these ribs super delicious and easy to clean up:

• For more tender pork ribs, that better absorb the flavor of the rub, remove the thin, whitish membrane found on the underside of the rack. Lay the rack on a work surface with the curved side up. Grab the membrane in a corner and give it a firm pull. If it resists, slip a knife (a table knife works) between the membrane and one of the bones at the end of the rack to loosen the membrane. Wad up a paper towel and use that to help get a better grip if you need to. Just keep pulling and the membrane should come off in one piece.

• For ease of cleanup, there are 2 steps that are key- First, I always prep the slow cooker with a disposable liner – just lift out and throw away after those ribs are done! And before you broil the ribs, make sure you line the sheet pan with aluminum foil underneath the wire rack – leaving only the wire rack to wash afterwards!

I have to give props once again to the Cooks Country TV Show cookbook for this recipe!  They truly take all the guess work out of trying new recipes!

Sensational Slow Cooked St. Louis Style Ribs

Course: PorkCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking Time

7

minutes

These easy & delicious St. Louis Style ribs prove that you do NOT need to fire up the grill to create barbecue rib perfection!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons paprika

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 2 teaspoon pepper

• 2 teaspoon onion powder

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 2 (2.5-3.5 lb.) racks St. Louis style spareribs – trimmed & each rack cut in half

• 1 cup (divided) of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions

• Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl to make the rub. Pat ribs dry with paper towels, and coat all over with rub mixture. Let sit for 30 minutes minimum (or 8 hours, covered and refrigerate overnight).
• Arrange ribs vertically in a slow cooker, around the perimeter, with thick ends pointing down & the meaty side against the interior wall of the slow cooker(ribs will overlap). Cover & cook until ribs are tender, 5-6 hours on High or 6-7 hours on Low.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a wire rack on the baking sheet. Using tongs, transfer ribs, meaty side up to prepared rack. Let ribs sit for 10 minutes on the rack to allow the surface to dry.
• Finally, adjust the oven rack 3 inches from the broiler element & preheat the broiler. Liberally brush ribs with 1/2 cup of sauce & broil until sauce is bubbling and beginning to char, about 2 minutes. Remove ribs from the oven, brush with remaining 1/2 cup of sauce, tent with foil and let rest for 20 minutes. Cut ribs between bones to separate.