Crockpot ribs are guaranteed to be fall off the bone tender. Learn the secrets for making the best slow cooker ribs including instructions for prepping the meat, giving it a good dry rub, and finishing them off for restaurant quality perfection.
You want your ribs to be fall-off-the-bone tender. The crockpot is a great choice. BUT, how do you go from the ugly mess of the slow cooker to beautifully caramelized fall of the bone ribs?
If you just throw ribs and bbq sauce in a slow cooker for 8 hours, you’ll get some fall-off-the-bone ribs, but they’ll be kind of funky and unappetizing. The bbq sauce won’t have caramelized at all, and the liquids in the meat will have produced a really runny bbq sauce liquid.
We find the crockpot to be the easiest method to cook ribs and it is my go-to method, especially when cooking for a crowd. Combine the ease of the crockpot with my easy secret tip and you’ll have yourself some pretty dang amazing ribs.
THE SECRET TO CROCKPOT (SLOW COOKER) RIBS
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. See the video for an easy demo. Just slide your fingers around the side to loosen it up and rip it right off.
- Give the ribs a dry rub. This step is optional. Some people like a good dry rub first for additional flavor.
- Put your ribs in the crockpot. Lather them with barbecue sauce. You can use a homemade sauce like my Raspberry-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce for ribs or a store-bought bottle. Just remember to save a little bit for later.
- Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. The more racks in the pot, the longer you’ll need to cook.
- Gently remove the racks and lay them out on a foil lined baking sheet. Add more barbecue sauce on top.
- Broil under a broiler for 3-5 minutes until the barbecue sauce starts to bubble and caramelize. Alternately you could wrap them in foil and throw them on a heated grill for the same effect. I sometimes do this for crowds and picnics. This keep the ribs warm until ready to eat and makes it easy to pass out portions. Enjoy!
What kind of ribs should I use to make slow cooker ribs?
This recipe and method will work best with pork ribs including: baby back ribs, spare ribs, St. Louis style ribs, and country style pork ribs. For beef short ribs try my slow cooker short rib recipe or my recipe for classic braised beef short ribs. If you have a smoker we also highly recommend these Smoked Beef Ribs.
Can I finish my crockpot ribs on the grill instead of the oven?
Our secret to crockpot ribs is to caramelize the ribs under the broiler setting in your oven. Another option is to put them on the grill to get that extra caramelization. If you choose to use the grill, put them straight onto the grill (or onto a piece of aluminum foil) over high heat (500 degrees). Brush them with additional barbecue sauce and then close the lid. Let them grill for about 3-5 minutes, until the sauce starts to bubble and caramelize.
PRO TIP: One of the best tips for making ribs in the crockpot is to use a crockpot liner. These BPA-free plastic bags line your crockpot, making clean up a breeze! No more scrubbing out caramelized, burnt on sauce! They are awesome. You can find them in your grocery store near things like aluminum foil and plastic bags. They are a huge time saver.
I followed the directions exactly, finishing them on the grill and they were perfectly delicious! I’m not even going to try any other recipe!
Short, sweet and to the point. Loved your presentation and enthusiasm! Putting ribs in the crockpot today!
I had a craving for home-made BBQ ribs and set off looking for a recipe for my trusty crock-pot. Lucky me bumped across your fabulous recipe! Got a rack of St Louis style ribs, a little jar of Famous Dave’s Rib Rub & a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s regular BBQ sauce. Am I allowed to mention those brand names? Feel free to delete them if not please! Anyway, I rinsed them with cold water, removed the back membrane just like in your video & blotted them dry. Next was a nice coating of the rib rub and into the croc-pot for 8 hours on low. The last four hours I also threw a handful of peeled red potatoes in the middle. Finished the ribs with a good coating of sauce and 4 minutes in the broiler. They came out super-tender & delicious! If you have kids or elderly to feed they are perfect, if you like them firmer six hour should do. Thank you for sharing the recipe, this is now my new fave cooking site! I have pictures, is there a way to upload them here? LOL!
The BEST fall off the bone baby back ribs. My husband and son in law love them. They ask for them often. The instructions are to a T.
You can’t go wrong.
I will only make them this way.
Thank you 😊
You are Amazing 💖
Easy and good!!
They are the best ribs I’ve ever had! I cooked them for my family and they could not stop talking about how good they were! Thank you so much Rachel for sharing this wonderful recipe with all of us and btw I love all of your recipes, I’m a big fan!! 😊
These were excellent! So easy. Fall off the bone tender, moist and great flavor.
Rachel the best so easy Thank you
This is the only way I’ll be making ribs from now on! I used Stubbs Smokey Mesquite barbecue sauce and they were fabulous! I ran them under the broiler for about 3 minutes and they were perfect.