Easy Crock Pot Ribs {Maple Whiskey}
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These Easyย Crock Pot Ribs are so flavorful and tender! Whether you are preparing them for family dinner or a backyard BBQ, you won’t believe how easy it is to create better-than-restaurant quality in your crock pot! Psst… don’t skip the optional homemade sauce — it is to die for on these slow cooker ribs! Don’t have whiskey on hand? Don’t worry, we give you an apple juice option as well.
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How to Make Ribs in a Slow Cooker
Hey y’all, GOODe Ole Boy here!!!
I don’t know how to put this lightly…if you like ribs, you MUST try this recipe!!! ย The pics Cris got of these ribs, although beautiful, don’t even do half the justice that the flavor of them will! ย I had been telling my wife for a while now that we needed to try a slow cooker recipe for ribs and it just happened that there were some pretty GOODe ones inย Gooseberry Patch’s Busy-Day Slow Cooking. ย The one that caught our eyes and appetites were the Maple Whiskey Ribs we just love easy crock pot ribs recipes! ย Maple anything is a GOODe thing, but add a little whiskey, a little dijon mustard and a red onion and you have somethin’ that quite possibly could change the world! (Okay, maybe not the whole world, but it’ll change the way you look and ribs…)
How to Cut Spare Ribs
I started out by cutting up a rack of St. Louis spare ribs into individual sections, laying a sharp knife against each bone and cutting down. ย This gives you a side to hang on to with a big piece of rib meat to munch on with each piece. ย Then you simply toss them into your slow cooker and cover with one sliced red onion. ย Mix your whiskey, maple syrup and dijon mustard together and pour on top of your ribs, then cook on low for 7-8 hours. ย This easy crock pot ribs recipe cooked all day on low for the full 8 hours and the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender!
Give It a Rest
I recommend letting them cool for a few minutes before handling as the bones did tend to fall off of the meat. ย Letting the ribs rest will allow them to set up a bit and make them firm enough to easily handle.
The tricky part was the sauce made from the juices that the ribs cooked in. ย In the video I only used a little over two cups of the juices to make a reduction glaze that I basted over the ribs before broiling them. ย On the second batch I used ALL of the juices and added a few ingredients to make a big batch of sauce to go over the ribs. ย Now, you COULD eat the ribs straight from your slow cooker and they would be delicious… however, if you make the following glaze for them and then broil them for just a few minutes, you will make something that is perfection this short of Heaven!
Homemade Maple Whiskey Sauce
All you need to do is remove the ribs from your slow cooker and place them on a baking sheet lined with foil. If you have a 6 qt Ninja Slow Cooker, or something similar with a boil/saute setting you don’t even have to remove the juices! ย Bring your juices to a boil, add about a half cup of whiskey or apple juice, a half cup of maple syrup, about a teaspoon of salt and a few dashes of cayenne pepper depending on your love of heat and boil rapidly. ย Most of the water will boil out, thickening your sauce until it looks like a thick, hot syrup.
Broil, Baby, Broil
Then you simply spoon your sauce over your ribs and place under a hot broiler. ย Our broiler automatically cooks at 550 degrees so I know it takes about 3-5 minutes to broil the ribs. ย I can’t tell you how long to broil yours though. ย That’s where you need to watch them like a hawk! ย It only takes a few seconds to go from broiled to burnt, so do NOT take your eye off of them! ย Once you see them bubble and brown up, take them out of the oven and let them cool for a couple minutes and then feel free to dig into the magic of ribs made in a homemade maple whiskey sauce that will tickle your ribs as well!
Easy Crock Pot Ribs {Maple Whiskey} Recipe
Easy Crock Pot Ribs {Maple Whiskey}
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup whiskey or fruit juice
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 lbs pork spareribs cut into serving-size sections (Wondering about the difference between pork and beef ribs? Check out this post.)
- 1 large purple onion sliced
Instructions
- Cut ribs into individual pieces and place in slow cooker
- Slice one red onion and place evenly over your ribs
- Mix together your syrup, whiskey (or juice) and mustard with a whisk
- Poor your mixture over your ribs.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (your ribs are done when they are very tender)
- Optional: Place ribs on a cookie sheet and baste with Maple Whiskey Sauce (recipe below). Broil to caramelize sauce (3-5 minutes- watching closely).
Video
Notes
- This recipe is altered from Gooseberry Patchโsย Busy-Day Slow Cooking. ย
- We like using our 6 qt Ninja Multicooker to be able to make the sauce in the same unit as we slow cook. However, you can use any 6 qt slow cooker and just make your sauce in a saucepan.
- We use pork spare ribs for this recipe, however you can use baby back ribs if you prefer. You can leave baby back ribs uncut during cooking.
- Looking for more recipes? Ourย Recipe Finderย can help you find exactly what you need.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks,ย slowย cookers and low carb essentials in ourย Amazon Influencer Shop.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts andย nutritionalย information varies greatly. As a result, yourย nutritionalย content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.ย The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
- Allย slowย cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes shouldย always be tested first in your ownย slowย cookerย and time adjusted as needed.
Nutrition
And now for that delicious sauce!
Maple Whiskey Sauce Recipe
Maple Whiskey Rib Sauce
Ingredients
- Juices from cooked ribs
- 1/2 cup whiskey or apple juice maple
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Bring juices to a boil in your slow cooker or saucepan
- Then add your whiskey or juice, maple syrup, salt and cayenne pepper
- Then boil until most of the water has evaporated, stirring constantly to avoid buring
- Lastly, spoon over ribs
- Broil until brown and bubbly
Video
Notes
- Looking for more recipes? Ourย Recipe Finderย can help you find exactly what you need.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks,ย slowย cookers and low carb essentials in ourย Amazon Influencer Shop.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts andย nutritionalย information varies greatly. As a result, yourย nutritionalย content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.ย The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
- Allย slowย cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes shouldย always be tested first in your ownย slowย cookerย and time adjusted as needed.
Nutrition
We recommend serving this dish with the following recipes:
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- Instant Pot Hot Dogs In Bulk - November 1, 2017
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Non-Crock Pot) - October 30, 2017
Made your Bananas Foster recipe last night for company. Delicious! However, next time I won’t slice the bananas. Think they will be more impressive whole.
Love your recipes and presentations.
Thank you
Just confirming it’s regular / normal whiskey that gets mixed with the maple syrup and Dijon mustard that goes in on the ribs to cook in the crock pot. And its maple whiskey that goes into the Rib Sauce, correct?
Thanks,
Amy
Hey Amy!
I used the same maple whiskey for both the ribs and the sauce. You could use a regular whiskey/bourbon for this recipe, but we found that a maple flavored bourbon whiskey was sweeter and really gave the ribs a maple kick.