Bourbon Baby Back Ribs | Slow Cooker
These easy bourbon baby back ribs are drenched in a delicious bourbon BBQ sauce, then tossed into the slow cooker and cooked to perfection. Serve with your favorite summer sides and enjoy!
Slow cooker equals love
It’s fun that you can make delicious, tender bourbon baby back ribs, even if you don’t own a grill (I haven’t owned one in years).
I make these ribs as often as I can. They are succulent for sure, but what makes them really stand out is the sauce. It’s has to smokey taste of bourbon with just the right amount of sweetness to complement the meat without overpowering it.
The sauce is also so delicious that you might even want to ladle the remaining sauce over baked potatoes, veggies, or dip your bread into it.
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Helpful tips
- Sometimes baby back ribs are also known as loin ribs. You can use either.
- You can cook these ribs in your slow cooker either on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. I find they come out exactly the same. I prefer getting the ribs done quicker so I can eat them sooner.
- Cut the ribs in half so they fit in the slow cooker better.
- Make sure to cover both sides of the ribs with the bourbon sauce, especially since they will have to overlap a little.
- Some people put their ribs in the oven to broil for a few minutes before consuming them. This helps caramelize the sauce, but I don’t find that these ribs need that. They are delicious right out of the crock pot.
- Here’s how to remove the membrane off the back of the ribs: turn the ribs over so the membrane is facing up. Take a butter knife and slide it under the silverskin a few ribs in. Lift the knife and pry the skin up until you can grab it with your fingers. To make it easy to grasp the skin, cover your fingers with a paper towel so the skin doesn’t slip. Pull the skin away from the ribs and discard.
- When making the bourbon sauce, if you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can use some apple juice.
- There is no need to add salt to the bourbon barbecue sauce because the addition of soy sauce takes care of any need for sodium.
How to make bourbon baby back ribs
Pre-step
Get out your slow cooker and large glass bowl and whisk.
Step one
Gather the ingredients: bourbon, maple syrup, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, garlic paste (or garlic cloves), onion powder, and black pepper.
Step two
Add all the above ingredients into the mixing bowl. (A)
Step three
Whisk until combined. (B)
Perfect. (Christopher loves this sauce and eats it by the spoonful when he thinks I’m not looking.)
Meat prep
Step four
Take the pork out of its wrapping and trim off some of the fat. Also remove the membrane, see notes to see how to do so.
I also cut the rack in half so it will fit better in the slow cooker.
Step five
Place the ribs in the cooker. (C)
Step six
Pour the bourbon sauce over the ribs and take a spatula and scrape all the sauce out of the bowl. You don’t want to miss any drops of this delicious sauce.
Make sure the sauce coats the ribs, especially where the ribs touch. (D)
Step seven
Cover the slow cooker. Set the temperature to high and the timer for four hours. After two hours, open the cover, switch the ribs on the bottom to the top and visa versa, and ladle the sauce over the ribs.
Replace the lid.
Step eight
Transfer the ribs to a serving plate or platter and pour the bourbon sauce in a bowl. Cut into individual ribs and plate them.
Ladle more bourbon sauce over the meat and plate with a baked potato and a veggie.
Mmmmm.
Let’s get closer.
The meat literally falls off the bone cooking it this way! And boy, is it TASTY!!
I hope you enjoyed this bourbon baby back ribs recipe!
Please feel free to leave me a comment. What’s your favorite bar-b-que sauce? I’d love to know.
Other popular bourbon recipes
And as always, may all your dishes be delish.
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Slow Cooker Bourbon Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
Bar-bie sauce
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup bourbon (or to taste)
- 1/8 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic paste (or two cloves, crushed)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper (or a few shakes)
Meat
- 3 pounds baby back ribs (trimmed, and cut in half)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add ketchup, bourbon, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, onion powder, and pepper.3/4 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup bourbon, 1/8 cup maple syrup, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons garlic paste, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- Mix with a whisk until incorporated.
- To fit the ribs in my slow cooker, I divide them in two large slabs. Place ribs in the slow cooker.3 pounds baby back ribs
- Pour bourbon sauce on top of ribs and make sure you cover both sides. The ribs will overlap, so make sure there is sauce where they touch.
- Cover slow cooker and set to high and cook for 4 hours.
- After 2 hours, open the lid, switch the bottom ribs to the top and visa versa. Baste the ribs by ladling more the sauce over them again.
- Transfer ribs to a serving platter and pour the bourbon sauce from the crock pot to a serving bowl.
- Plate and ladle more sauce on the ribs.
- Eat
- Smile
- Enjoy
Equipment
See all my favorite tools and gift ideas at my Amazon Store page!Check out Elaine’s Amazon Store!Notes
- Sometimes baby back ribs are also known as loin ribs. You can use either.
- You can cook these ribs in your slow cooker either on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. I find they come out exactly the same. I prefer getting the ribs done quicker so I can eat them sooner.
- Cut the ribs in half so they fit in the slow cooker better.
- Make sure to cover both sides of the ribs with the bourbon sauce, especially since they will have to overlap a little.
- Some people put their ribs in the oven to broil for a few minutes before consuming them. This helps caramelize the sauce, but I don’t find that these ribs need that. They are delicious right out of the crock pot.
- Here’s how to remove the membrane off the back of the ribs: turn the ribs over so the membrane is facing up. Take a butter knife and slide it under the silverskin a few ribs in. Lift the knife and pry the skin up until you can grab it with your fingers. To make it easy to grasp the skin, cover your fingers with a paper towel so the skin doesn’t slip. Pull the skin away from the ribs and discard.
- When making the bourbon sauce, if you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can use some apple juice.
- There is no need to add salt to the bourbon barbecue sauce because the addition of soy sauce takes care of any need for sodium.
Nutrition
Originally published July of 2017.
