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 have done my baby back ribs this way, not only do they fall of the bone, but they are so delicious. Yum!!!😋
I made this recipe and it’s easy and super delicious 😋 thanks for the recipe .
We put a single rack of pork baby back ribs in our slow cooker, set it on high and left it alone for about 6 hours. When we checked them at that point, they were falling off the bone and moist. SO good. This recipe is a winner!
Try your recipe to crock pot boneless ribs they were awesome thank you so much we will be eating ribs like that more often from now own thank you so much we loved it
Best recipes 😋 ever!
You make cooking 🍳 so simple, easy and makes me just want to cook.
Thank you so much.
Just tried this recipe today for the first time, and it was fantastic! A great an easy way to make ribs in the slowcooker, thanks for the epic recipe!
This is the only rib recipe I use! We love it!!
This receipe is not a 5…..it is a10! We loved our ribs dinner. I chose to use the slow cooker and it was a mouthwatering, perfectly, falling off the bone delight. Only one question…..regarding the removal of the underneath sheath..I had avery hard time removing it. If there is a secret to doing it please share it. Thanks for all the great ideas in cooking. You are simply the best!
Score it down the middle with a sharp knife, using a paper towel pry up the silver skin (it’s so thin!) and pull the it from the meat. It should come off pretty easily but the paper towel helps a lot with grabbing it and pulling it away. The silver skin prevent the rub/sauce from penetrating the underside of the ribs, so tearing that off make the ribs even tastier! Great recipe, by the way!
I use a fork to catch the silver skin across one end.It lifts very easy & then use paper towl to pull away.Comes off quite easily once you get hold off it.
Yummalicious. Never had better. Thank you so much.
Amazing! However they totally fell off the bone and my grandkids didn’t like them because they couldn’t chew them off the bone! I cooked them 9 hours, next time I’ll try 8.