Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs

The ninth annual sickle cell BBQ fundraiser at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Nine years. A number short of a decade, close enough to feel the round number approaching, far enough to know we're not done. We raised $11,000 this year — eleven thousand dollars, the first time we've broken five figures, and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital sent a representative who spoke about gene therapy trials for sickle cell that are showing real results, real cures, real hope.

Real cures. I stood at the back of the fellowship hall and listened to this woman — Dr. Patricia Hammond, a researcher with kind eyes and a voice that carried authority — talk about editing genes, about changing the DNA that makes sickle cells sicke, about a future where no child is born with this disease and no father sits in an ICU watching it take his daughter. I listened and I thought: Too late for Denise. Not too late for someone else's Denise. And that — the someone-else's-Denise — is why I smoke eight shoulders every July and stand at a microphone and say my daughter's name. Not for her. For them. For the fathers and mothers who don't have to lose what I lost, if the money is raised and the research is funded and the cures are found.

I gave my speech. Nine years of speeches. Nine years of saying "Denise" into a microphone and feeling the room hold its breath. This year I said: "We are close. The researchers are close. The cure is coming. And when it comes, it will come in part because two hundred people in a church parking lot in Memphis ate pulled pork and believed that BBQ could change the world." The room said Amen. The room was right.

Eight pork shoulders is what I smoke for the fundraiser, but at home — on the ordinary Sundays in between, when the grief is quiet and the gratitude is loud — I turn to baby back ribs. The slow cooker does the patient work so I don’t have to stand at a pit all day, and patience is something nine years of this has taught me well. If you’ve never believed that a rack of ribs could carry the weight of hope, pull up a chair — these just might change your mind.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 6 hrs | Total Time: 6 hrs 20 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 racks baby back pork ribs (about 4–5 lbs total)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce, plus more for serving
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Prep the ribs. Remove the thin membrane from the back of each rack by loosening a corner with a butter knife and pulling it off with a paper towel for grip. Pat ribs dry with paper towels.
Make the dry rub. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt, cayenne, and thyme. Mix well.
Season generously. Coat both sides of each rack with the dry rub, pressing it in firmly. For best results, let the ribs rest seasoned for at least 15 minutes, or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Build the braising liquid. Whisk together the BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour about half of this mixture into the bottom of a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.
Load the slow cooker. Cut each rack in half if needed to fit. Stand the rib sections upright along the walls of the slow cooker, meaty side facing out, curved side down. Pour the remaining sauce mixture over the top.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, until the meat is tender and pulls easily from the bone. Avoid lifting the lid during cooking.
Finish under the broiler (optional but recommended). Carefully transfer ribs to a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush with additional BBQ sauce and broil on HIGH for 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely, until the sauce caramelizes and edges char slightly.
Rest and serve. Let ribs rest 5 minutes before cutting into individual portions. Serve with extra BBQ sauce on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs — The BBQ That Believes in Something Bigger