My slow cooker is one of the few small appliances I kept when I moved. I used it several days while packing and throwing away things and expect to use it while unpacking. It’s just so effortless, requiring no attention.
My mother used to make this delicious slow cooker recipe for pork ribs with citrus juices and zest in her old Rival Crock Pot. It was round and the crockery insert was not removable. To be honest, it was a pain to clean and didn’t get much use. This was always worth cleaning for, though, and I made it when I was packing up the kitchen and using up food in the freezer, including leftover homemade barbecue sauce, another ingredient.
If the combo seems odd, I can only say give it a try. The flavor is wonderful, not too tangy for most kids, and the ribs are so moist and tender. And if you’ve never made barbecue sauce from scratch, free of high fructose corn syrup and a bushel basket of sodium, my recipe is simple and so are the oven-baked ribs that accompany it.
Ella’s Mom’s Zesty Ribs
2 1/2 pounds country-style ribs, bone-in or boneless
1/4 cup finely chopped onion or shallot (1/2 of a small onion or 1 medium shallot)
1/4 cup/ 4 TB barbecue sauce
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp grated lime zest
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 cup/ 4 TB fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 TB fresh-squeezed lime juice
Place ribs in small (3 – 4 quart) slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients. Mix well and pour over ribs. Cover and cook on low for 7 – 9 hours, until fork-tender.
Spoon sauce over ribs before serving.
Serves 2 to 4, depending on appetites and whether the ribs have bones.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s an easy way to get fall-off-the-bone ribs.
Nate´s last blog ..Seven Secrets for Perfect Thai Fried Chicken Wings
It sure is, Nate. I’ve become a big fan of using the slow cooker without liquids, whether to “roast” a chicken or make a brisket. Great choice in hot weather.
There really are so many things that are wonderful cooked in a crock pot. Once we were having a dinner-meeting after work and I brought a chicken thing in with me to cook while I was working. We are a casual not-for-profit so that was fine, but by the end of the day people were ready to kill me: it smelled so good that they were starving!
Tess´s last blog ..Mabo Tofu Japanese Style
Oh, Tess, I know that feeling! I love going out and coming back in and smelling what’s cooking. Sometimes I crank it up to High for an hour to speed things up. I really need to link to a couple slow cooker posts I published, but that will have to wait till I’m on a faster connection. *sigh*
I just haven’t used my slow cooker at all, and I need to. It’s lovely and large and oval, and certainly could simplify my life. This looks like the perfect recipe – I’ll give it a go this week and report back
shoreacres´s last blog ..Back to the Scrap Heap
Oh, do give it a go. My slow cooker is only 4 qt, so if it were larger I’m not sure it would have made the trip. My 6-qt and 18-qt roaster ovens got sold. I rarely used them anyway. Another benefit of slow cookers is they use very little electricity — green Boomers are good Boomers!
Perfection! I did double the sauce recipe because I had a pile of ribs, but there’s never anything wrong with a bit of extra sauce.
I’ve got to keep myself out of them or mom won’t have a single one for supper. This recipe is a keeper!
shoreacres´s last blog ..Furnishing Our Stories
Hi, shore! Glad to hear it. My mother, G-d rest her soul, would be delighted. And I agree, extra sauce on the side is always a good thing! Thanks for letting me know!