You don’t have to wait until warm summer months to make tender ribs! With a slow cooker, it takes just a few minutes to make a honey-garlic sauce that is poured over ribs. These are bursting with flavor and finger lickin’ good!
When the summer weather allows us to grill on our Weber, ribs are usually my husband’s first choice. But, when it’s cold, wet and windy that’s not in the cards. Not to worry, because these slow cooker ribs made a fine substitute for us– and, that tasty sauce was made from scratch in a matter of minutes! The ribs turned out to be fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce was so tasty! We loved them and I am confident that you will, too.
But, first, a really simple rub is put together– salt, pepper, chili powder, and paprika.
Rub-a-dub-dub, the ribs have a nice even coating. That was quick!
Now for the good stuff– honey and lots of minced garlic.
Last, but definitely not least, I added some low-sodium soy sauce and gave it all a good stir. If you haven’t discovered slow cooker liners, I need to give these a bit shout out as a big time-saver, when it comes to clean up. They’re not all that expensive, and when my slow cooker meal is done, I literally lift out the liner and toss it out. No soaking or scrubbing needed!
Add the seasoned ribs to the slow cooker, pour the honey-soy-garlic sauce all over and (using tongs) give the ribs a turn or two to make sure they are coated. Slow cook on high for 4 hours or low 7-8 hours.
The recipe I found stops right where you remove the ribs and enjoy them. Not so fast! I wanted a sticky and thick coating of sauce. I poured the sauce into a sauce pan and heated it until it was simmering. In a separate bowl, I made a slurry of corn starch and some of the hot sauce, while whisking so that no lumps would form.
Once I added that into the pot, I had a thick sauce. Perfect! I slathered a generous amount of sauce over each rack of ribs and broiled them for just a few minutes (about 3)– watching very closely so that they didn’t burn.
Repeat one more time, and then cut them and serve.
TASTING NOTES: I’m really glad that I went with my impulse to thicken the sauce and to broil the ribs. We were licking our fingers, and there wasn’t a lot of chit-chat because we were busy digging in. I did cook these on high for 4 hours, in case you are wondering what direction I chose. These are super easy to make, and the honey-garlic sauce was scrumptious and not salty at all.
Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 ½ lb rack of pork ribs halved
- 1 cup honey
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 10 garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. Season the ribs evenly with the mixture, making sure to rub it in on all sides.
- Add the honey, soy sauce, and garlic to a large slow cooker. Transfer the ribs to slow cooker and turn them over in the sauce until coated. Position the ribs so they are standing up, with the meatier side down, and so the meat is against the walls of the slow cooker, with the bone sides facing in. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 7-8 hours. Check after the allotted time to make sure the meat is cooked through and tender.
- Remove the ribs and transfer to cutting board. Pour the sauce into a sauce pan and bring to a very gentle boil.
- Turn on the oven broiler and set the rack on the second to highest setting.
To thicken the sauce:
- In a small bowl, add one tablespoon of cornstarch. Ladle and whisk about 1/2 cup of the sauce making sure there are not lumps, Add the “slurry” back into the sauce pan and simmer the sauce until it thickens.
- Generously glaze the ribs with the thickened sauce and broil for about 3 minutes— keeping a close eye that they don’t burn. You want the sauce to be bubbling.Repeat the glaze and broil a second time.
- Using tongs, hold the ribs upright and cut each rib and serve. Serve with some additional sauce for those who want to dip some more.
Notes
Nutrition
Those are some fine looking ribs and they sound delicious. Good tip on how to arrange them in the cooker.
Thanks, Larry!
This makes me so happy! I need these ribs in my life. The snow melted today, but I’m sure there’s more to come. I want my grill back!
I know what you mean. My Weber is carefully tucked away, and I am so missing grilling season. I won’t complain too much, because California needs the water!