Slow Cooker Pork Western Shoulder Ribs with BBQ Rub and Sauce are an easy weeknight dinner.
My kids just started school, so this week I'm featuring weeknight dinners. Today, I'm using my slow cooker...and I'm cheating. Oh, the shame...
I'm almost embarrassed to publish this as a recipe. It's almost too easy. Almost. But, because this is an attempt to simulate low and slow barbecue, it works
The key to this recipe is to find pork shoulder cut into 1" to 2" thick strips. My local grocery store calls these Western Ribs; make sure you see the words pork shoulder somewhere on the label. Country Ribs, which are cut from the pork loin, will dry out if they are cooked for this long. The loin doesn't have the fat and connective tissue that the shoulder does, and that connective tissue is what makes the shoulder "ribs" so tender and juicy after the long cooking time.
Are these really ribs? No. Is this real barbecue? Absolutely not. Is it as good as real, low and slow, smoke kissed pork shoulder? Not a chance. But...if you need some tender, juicy pork to feed the family after a long day at work (for you) and school (for them), this will get the job done nicely.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Pork Western Shoulder Ribs with Barbecue Rub and Sauce
Equipment:
- 6 quart or larger slow cooker (Crock Pot brand is fine, but I like my fancy ones from All-Clad and KitchenAid)
- Fat Separator
Slow Cooker Pork Western Shoulder Ribs with Barbecue Rub and Sauce
- Total Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Slow Cooker Pork Western Shoulder Ribs - strips of pork cut from the shoulder - sprinkled with rub and cooked with barbecue sauce.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork shoulder western ribs (or cut a pork shoulder into 1 ½" thick strips, or use pork shoulder chops)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon barbecue rub (My homemade barbecue rub recipe is here; or use your favorite rub.)
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup barbecue sauce plus ½ cup barbecue sauce (My homemade barbecue sauce recipe is here; or use your favorite store bought sauce)
Instructions
- Prepare the ribs: Sprinkle the ribs evenly with the kosher salt and the barbecue rub.
- Slow cook the ribs: Put the ribs in the slow cooker, add the ½ cup water, and slow cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Add 1 cup of barbecue sauce to the cooker, and cook for another 30 minutes to to 1 hour.
- Serve: Remove the ribs to a platter. Spoon ½ cup of the liquid from the crock into a measuring cup.  (If you have time, pour all the liquid into a fat separator and let rest for ten minutes, then pour ½ cup of the the defatted juices into a measuring cup). Add the remaining ½ cup of barbecue sauce to the measuring cup, and stir to combine.  Serve, passing the juices/sauce at the table.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Category: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Notes
- Tex-Mex ribs: substitute ground ancho powder or chili powder for the barbecue rub, and substitute tomato salsa for the barbecue sauce. (This works best if you shred the ribs with a fork, and serve with tortillas as a taco filling).
- Serve with cheap white bread (for sopping up juices and barbecue sauce), dill pickle slices, cole slaw, and potato salad. And a cold beer, of course. Or, rough chop the ribs into chunks, and serve with hamburger buns as rib sandwiches.
- Normally, I will brown meat before putting it in the slow cooker; it adds an extra depth of flavor to the recipe. In this case, the small amount of water in the cooker leaves most of the ribs exposed, and the cooker browns the ribs for me. That said, if you have the time, brown the ribs before putting them in the slow cooker. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil over medium-high heat until just showing wisps of smoke, then put the (salted, bbq rubbed) ribs in the pan and sear for 3 minutes per side or until well browned. Put the ribs in the slow cooker crock, then add the ½ cup water to the pan over medium heat. Once the water comes to a simmer, scrape the pork bits from the bottom of the pan and pour the water into the crock. Cook the rest of the recipe as described.
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
Slow Cooker Pork Pot Roast
Slow Cooker Caribbean Black Beans and Rice
How to make Instant Pot Spare Ribs
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Heather Denise
I've been making your recipe for years now, always a hit! Only adaptation I've found is to use a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar and apple cider instead of water, I also use less than 1/2 a cup. Then, while I cook down the juices with bbq sauce, I put the ribs in the oven to crisp the fat cap. Absolutely floors dinner guests.
Mike Vrobel
Thanks, glad you enjoy it!
Kristen
I'm making this as we speak and I will let you know what I think. I didn't brown it first, but I used your rub recipe with half of the chili powder (we tend to use it sparingly). I did almost double the water before I read your suggestion, but I'm working with a 7 qt crock pot, so I think it will be okay. I'm using country pork butt ribs. After reading the overwhelmingly positive reviews, I'm excited to try these! Thanks for sharing.
Melissa Bowser
I am so excited to make these tomorrow - I made the spice rub and bbq sauce yesterday so we are ready to roll! Even my picky 12 year old is excited for dinner tomorrow night! Quick question - what do you think about adding the spice rub the meat tonight, wrapping it well and letting it sit overnight in the fridge? Thanks!
Mike V
Adding the spice rub now can only help. Go for it.
Melissa Bowser
Thanks! This was so delicious! Everyone in my family loved it! A definite keeper.
Jackson
Surprised the wife with this recipe. I earned some serious brownie points. Corn on the cob and corn bread as sides topped it off Thank you!
Mike V
You're welcome!
Cyndi
It was wonderful! I had four pounds and halved it, because I have one that is not crazy about BBQ sauce. It was great both ways! Thank you for your guidance!
Mike V
You're welcome!
Cyndi
The slow cooker I have has temp so if I'm cooking on high would that be 400 degrees? Does it make a difference if you cook low or high?
Mike V
Low is about 200;high is about 220. The big difference between the two is how quickly it comes up to temperature - high takes about an hour, low takes multiple hours.
Cyndi
Thank you. I'll let you know how I do!
Michael P
This recipe turned out great. I was really stumped on what to do with some Country Style Shoulder Ribs I got a super deal on. I did the browning and de-glazing, and don't think I would skip that part. Now I know what to do when they go on sale again. Thank you. Keeper.
Marcia
Agree with your comment about the ribs getting a slight crust from the rub and the lower amount of water. Yet still tender and tasty. They were great right out of the crock put AND I didn't brown them first. One thing i did do was put then in the oven with bbq sauce. Baked then at 350 for 20 minutes. Put down a sheet of aluminum foil and clean up is easy. Tasted like they just came off the grill!
Thanks for sharing! This is a keeper!
Mike V
You're welcome!
Lee
Hi Mike, any chance that you've made western country ribs in the pressure cooker? Recipes for this cut of meat seem to range from 15 minutes to 55.
Chris Peterson
Awesome. Thanks again for the help and insight!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
In general, I use half the time at high that I do for low. I think low works a little better - longer time at low heat breaks down more of the connective tissues - but it's not a huge difference. I tend to pick the timing that works better for me - low if I'm starting before I leave for work, high if I'm starting around lunchtime.
For the range - pork shoulder is very forgiving, so anywhere in the range should work. Outside the range you're in danger of undercooking or overcooking...but I think plus or minus an hour isn't going to affect it much. (Like I said, pork shoulder is very forgiving.)
Where I increase the timings (from 6-8 on low to 8-10 on low) is when I'm cooking a whole pork shoulder roast. The big hunk of meat takes longer for the heat to penetrate, so I want to give it extra time.
I haven't done extensive testing on these timings - intentionally undershooting and overshooting to see what happens- I'll add that to my list of food experiments to try.
Chris Peterson
One other question, hopefully of general utility:
As someone new to slow-cooking meat (and crock pots in general), what are the general considerations / tradeoffs for low vs high temperature *other* than the time?
The past 2-3 times I've made this recipe (because I can't stop) I did 4 hours on high, followed by an hour on low (with BBQ sauce), because I didn't have more than 5 hours. Today, I started in the morning, and set it to 8 hours on low just to try it.
Will one have better results than the other? More fat rendered out? How do you figure out where in the range to have it fall (does it depend by portion size, or is there some kind of heuristic you use for doneness, etc)?
Chris Peterson
Thanks Mike!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
Don't increase the water - you just need enough to generate steam in the slow cooker, and 1/2 cup should be enough, then the pork will start letting go of its own liquid - but do increase the barbecue sauce in a 1:1 ratio (so another 3 pounds of meat means another 1 cup of barbecue sauce.)
Chris Peterson
Eh, it's not that much extra work - I tend to cook most of the week's food on Sunday, so this just adds a bit of prep to what is already a 1-2 hour affair.
Last question: if I decide to cook a much bigger portion (say, 5-6 pounds), should I increase the water/bbq sauce? And if so, at what ratio?
Thanks! This is the second recipe I ever made with my new crockpot, and it was a great one!