Succulent Slow Cooked Ribs

Why This Succulent Slow Cooked Ribs Works

At the start, the dry rub sticks to the ribs and forms a thin coating of spice and salt. As the ribs sear in the hot oil, that coating browns and tightens on the outside. The surface firms up a bit and gets some color, but the inside is still raw. This browned outside later keeps the meat from drying out too fast in the slow cooker.

Once the ribs sit in the slow cooker, the low heat works slowly on the meat and the connective tissue. Over several hours, that tough tissue softens and starts to melt, so the meat loosens and pulls away from the bone. At the same time, the barbecue sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar thin out with the rib juices and slide into all the spaces between the meat fibers. By the time the cooking time is up, the ribs are soft enough to fall apart, but they still hold together in big pieces, and the outside is coated in a sticky, flavorful layer.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the ribs cook on high heat instead of low turns the long slow braise into a fast boil. The meat tightens up, the fat doesn’t slowly melt, and the ribs come out tough and stringy instead of soft and pull-apart.

Skipping the step of removing the membrane on the back of the ribs leaves a tough, chewy layer that doesn’t break down in the slow cooker. The seasoning and sauce also can’t soak in as well, so the outside gets soft but the bite against the bone stays rubbery.

Crowding the slow cooker so the ribs are packed in tightly can cause uneven cooking. Parts of the rack sit above the sauce and steam instead of braising, so some sections end up dry and others fall apart too much.

Pouring in extra vinegar or cutting the brown sugar too much throws off the sauce balance in the pot. The liquid stays very sharp and thin, so it doesn’t cling to the ribs and the surface of the meat looks pale and washed out instead of glossy and sticky.