Monday 18 May 2015

Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs


When I saw this recipe on The Domestic Goddess Wannabe, I told myself that I simply had to try it. But please excuse my messy presentation. There is an explanation for it.

It was a gloomy Sunday - the sort of day that is a nightmare for food bloggers. Why? Because there is not enough light to take decent photos. This was how it looked like when I took my first few shots.

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I cannot turn off the flash on my point and shoot camera because it will give me a camera shake message and the picture will be blurred. With flash, the photos come out butt ugly. I decided not to post the ribs. Then I took a bite. Holy cow! This BBQ ribs is seriously good! It can give any restaurant a run for their money. Seriously.


So how could I not share this? That's when I decided to do my shots outside. It was bright enough though cloudy. I took my camera outside and did a test shot. Then I took my platter of ribs to my garden to be photographed amongst my weeds. I simply had to show you how magnificent it was. You may not be able to taste it but you must see how good it looks.



Before I took my ribs out, I took a peep to make sure the neighbors were not around hah..hah.. They will think I am mad. Anyway, the coast was clear and I happily snapped away. But my platter was already messed up due to me digging in earlier. Never mind. This is real food and real food is messy. Agree?


Now let me share with you how to make this ridiculously easy and fantastic ribs. But before that, let me introduce you to the BBQ sauce that I used. Stockyard Memphis Red BBQ Sauce. I bought it quite a while ago and it has been sitting in my pantry. It cost me a small fortune but it was totally worth it.


First, get your ribs. I bought mine from the pork shop at Tesco. The Aeon pork shop does not sell a whole rack of ribs. Theirs is all chopped up. That will not do. Next, make a dry rub to marinate the ribs. Do this preferably the day before. The next day, take the ribs out to come to room temperature. Then put them into the slow cooker like this and pour BBQ sauce over the ribs. Just one cup will do.


Then cover the ribs with baking paper. This is to minimize loss of moisture. I really want to give Diana a very big hug right now for sharing this awesome recipe. 


Then cover with the lid and turn on your slow cooker to high and leave to cook for 3-3.5 hours. Test the ribs by poking it with a fork and if the meat is tender, you are done. Mine was done after 2.5 hours.


The ribs are quite fragile at this point as the meat is falling off the bone. So remove them from the cooker carefully and lay them on a lined baking tray. Brush with the remaining BBQ sauce from the cooker and grill in the oven at high heat for about 10-15 mins until the edges are caramelized.


You know, I think these ribs taste a lot better than the ones I have eaten at the restaurants so far. It's a lot cheaper too compared to what I pay outside. If you love ribs, you must try this recipe. Make sure that you get good quality BBQ sauce and you won't go wrong.











Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
Recipe source : Adapted from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe

Ingredients :
- 2 slabs of ribs (about 400g each)

For the dry rub :
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper (use less if you prefer less heat)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder

BBQ Sauce :
1 cup of Stockyard Red Memphis BBQ Sauce (or any brand of your choice)

Method :
1. Mix all the dry rub ingredients together.
2. Rub the mixture all over the ribs.
3. Place the marinated ribs into a freezer bag and keep in the fridge to marinate overnight.
4. The next day, bring the ribs out to room temperature.
5. Put the ribs into the slow cooker in a vertical position, ie propped against the sides of the cooker.
6. Pour BBQ sauce all over the ribs and place a piece of baking paper over the ribs to cover them.
7. Cover with lid and cook on high for 2-2.5 hours (test for doneness by poking the meat using a fork)
8. Once tender, carefully remove the ribs and place them on a lined baking tray.
9. Baste the ribs with the remaining BBQ sauce from the slow cooker.
10. Grill at 200C in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until the edges are caramelized.
11. Serve with extra BBQ sauce.


49 comments:

  1. I've never seen pork ribs cooked in a slow cooker.. I thought put in oven to bake.. Your ribs look so so delicious, like eating in restaurant la, fuiyoh.. Restaurant pun kalah kat you, really looks so yummy and sweet and high class, full of sticky goodness!

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    1. Hi Louiz! It's my first time too learning that BBQ ribs can be cooked in a slow cooker. So convenient and it turns out very tender and moist. This one anybody pun can do if they have a slow cooker.

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  2. Sighhhhhh!!!! My slow cooker had a hairline crack at the bottom out of the blue, threw it away. The 1st one, goondu me - went to heat it up over the gas stove...and it cracked. I love using a slow cooker, meat so tender. Gotta go and buy another one soon.

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    1. Oh dear! Not supposed to heat over the gas stove and also cannot have sudden temperature change. I always remind myself to let it cool down first before washing. Do get a new one because it is very useful to have in the kitchen. Can just chuck stuff in there and then can go about doing other things.

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  3. Tsk, you are so obsessed with presenting home cooking like restaurant dishes! I suppose it is the right thing to do, yours is a food oriented blog. :D

    I ever heard a saying: a good sauce will right all the wrongs that humans did to meat. Not that I think you did wrong with your ribs though..

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    1. Ever since discovering the beauty of natural light in photography, I just can't help it :) It is true, for BBQ the sauce is important. This type of cooking should sit well with Lazy Man :D

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    2. I agree with Phong Hong that this is a recipe for Lazy Man! (ignore washing up the slow cooker). Time for Realgunner to try this.

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  4. Phong Hong, one look at your 1st pic of your bbq pork got my full attention. I love bbq pork rib! Now I must go get myself a slow cook...my previous cooker cracked!

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    1. Hi Nancy! Yes, do get a new one. It's a very useful thing to have in the kitchen especially for food that requires long braising.

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  5. so yummy leh..... drooling liao. Have to dig out my slow cooker ..already have spider web :p

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    1. Yah must make full use of your slow cooker. Mine now very active hee..hee..

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  6. Hi, these pork ribs look great. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
    May I know where did you get the BBQ sauce?

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    1. Hi Liang Kin Loi! I bought the BBQ sauce from Cold Storage. It's very good!

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    2. Thanks for the information, Phong Hong. Will try this recipe once I get the sauce. My family loves ribs.

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  7. I have an extreme weakness for ribs. Your recipe looks easy enough. All I have to do now is to get the sauce you recommended. And by the way, your post really brightens up my morning - I need a good dose of laughter nowadays. Thanks!

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    1. Glad to have brightened your day and when you eat these ribs, that will brighten your day even more!

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  8. Haha ribs or anything brown is super hard to photograph! But I can see your ribs are super glistening, must be finger licking good!

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    1. Yen, tell me about it hah..hah... The ribs were really good. Highly recommended!

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  9. Oh wow....I didn't know you can use a slow cooker to make ribs (I only use it to boil soup)...and they look glistening and falling off the bone tender....bravo, PH! I think the taste will depend on the quality of the BBQ sauce used really. It'll surely be cheaper than the ones outside but a slab of pork ribs is not cheap either....probably in the region of no less than RM20 a slab!

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    1. I didn't know either until now and it's brilliant! The ribs that I bought were small ones costing less than RM20 each. Going to buy some more!

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  10. Oh I know what you mean a nightmare for food bloggers! I usually avoid trying new recipes on gloomy days, the photos will just come out terrible haha. These ribs still look amazing and delicious!

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    1. Hi Jasline! The problem is that the weather can be unpredictable. It was gloomy in the early morning, then it brightened up and then gloomy again. And my ribs were already in the cooker. But I'm glad I managed to get good shots :)

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  11. I love ribs... and looking at those... Wow~!

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    1. Lina, even more wow is the cooking method. Main campak-campak dalam slow cooker aje :)

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  12. smoked paprika, can get from supermarket?

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  13. HI Phong Hong, when you say the meat is dropping off the bones, it reminds me of Wuxi Pork Ribs. Great that it can be cooked using the slow cooker, the flavours are all in it with little evaporation. It looks yummy, leh. I have a slow cooker which I use only to cook vegetarian food. Must get another one to cook meaty food, hehehe! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Kimmy! Oh cannot mix cooker, hor? This cooking method is really good because it is very effective and you can just leave it there without having to keep checking. If you can, try this. But you need a new slow cooker hee..hee...

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  14. the ribs seem a bit dark but I am sure it taste good!

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    1. Chris, I may have left it in the oven a bit too long hah..hah...

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  15. yeah, totally agree that lighting totally affects the quality of the photos.. while i was still indulged in food photography last time, it became such a frustration when the restaurants are using dim lighting and i do not, absolutely do not, like using flash when i take photos of the food.. the flash makes the food looks so fake, or maybe just because of my lousy compact camera and later only my mobile phone.. if i ever jumped onto the DSLR bandwagon like many others, maybe not as bad i guess.. :p

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    1. I was thinking of DSLR but then it is expensive and also I may not have the time to learn to use it properly. Maybe later on...

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  16. that's a great idea to bring your ribs outside for the natural sunlight, hey, that would be the best lighting setup.. but lucky there was sun out there when you have that great idea, hahaha.. i really have not thought of this, or shall i say, i never cook at home but only eat outside, and i supposed i will not take my food out of the restaurant just like that.. later the boss thought i am going to cabut without paying and give me a harsh scold, muahahaha!! :D

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    1. I also feel frustrated when the lighting is dim. I actually prefer restaurants that are bright, not just for photography lah but because I don't like dark places.

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    2. hah..hah...better tell the boss first that you bring the food out just to take picture.

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  17. don't care about the photo lah, i think it will not be easy to take a nice photo of the BBQ ribs, i mean the color and the whole piece of meat, susah kan?? it looks tasty enough to me, and i can imagine that in my mind now.. and did you realise that photo below the bottle of sauce, i can see a red heart!! hehehe.. that two pieces of ribs when put together in the bowl, form a heart shape and you poured the sauce into it, forms a red heart!! sweet~~ :p

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    1. I scrolled up to take a better look and hah..hah...yes, I saw the heart!

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  18. Amazing Pork Ribs!! They look so sedaplicious!! hahahaha.. I love this word that you invented.. I wanna try it one day... but no oven yet.... I thought slow cooker.. then read on, you said bake it too... so I got to get a small oven first... wait till I am more settled down.. hahaha..always the same excuse!

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    1. No more excuses, Reana Claire! hah..hah...Actually you can still eat it without putting into the oven. But of course you will miss out of the smoky burnt effect :)

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  19. Phong Hong,
    Drooling over these ribs of yours. So tempting. ...
    Yes I've bookmarked this recipe also but yet to try it out. My slow cooker is always 'busy' boiling soups on most weekends. Occasionally I use slow cooker to cook braised chicken or pork.
    BTW, is it difficult to wash the pot as the bottom will be stained with the oil & sauce? I got this slight problem when I cook braised chicken with slow cooker.

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    1. Hi Karen! No, not difficult to wash at all. Just let the pot cool down and then put water inside to soak. Then wash. You may need to use the sponge to scrub a bit as the sauce tends to thicken and stick. I bet your big kids will love your homemade BBQ ribs!

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  20. These Sticky ribs you made looks delicious - so sticky and I take your word for it that they just melt in your mouth. I guess you will make this many more times until the BBQ sauce is all used up. Buy another bottle BBQ sauce after that? ;)

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    1. Mun, these ribs were so good! As a matter of fact I have another bottle of sauce. This one is called Memphis Blue. Sounds exotic and I will try it soon.

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  21. Your BBQ ribs loo so yummy. I am drooling now. I wonder if the taste is the same as the ones I have tasted in Penang - Chicago Ribs. I will try your recipe. Thanks for sharing.

    IRENE

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    1. Hi Irene! Provided if your BBQ sauce is of good quality, your BBQ ribs will taste just as good if not better than Chicago's!

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  22. These look as food...and dark... and sticky at those incredible ribs I've had in the Midwest here. Well done!

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    1. Hi Toby! My dream is to one day go to the Midwest and check out the ribs. I see that a lot on TV and the BBQ look so amazing!

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