Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Crock Pot Boneless Country-Style Ribs

Well, it's about time I posted a crock pot recipe.

I haven't used my crock pot in months.  It takes up too much room in my kitchen, so I keep it on a shelf in the basement.  Out of sight, out of mind.

And then, when I finally get around to using it, I can't help but wonder:  why don't I use this more often? 



This is one of my favorite crock pot recipes.  I've tweaked it quite a bit over the years.  In its original incarnation, I just poured a bottle of BBQ sauce into the crock pot, dumped in the ribs and let it cook for 8 hours.  I've come a long way since then.

The playlist is very short today, as it will only take about 10 minutes to prep the ingredients!



Today's Playlist
  • "Little Bitty Pretty One".........Bobby Day
  • "Another Saturday Night"......Sam Cooke
  • "O Sole Mio"......Lou Monte
  • "I've Got You Under My Skin"..........Frank Sinatra

       
    (paid link)


Crock Pot Recipe:
Boneless Country-Style Ribs

Printable Recipe

  • 3 lbs. boneless pork country-style ribs
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup apple juice
  • 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce



  • Gather your ingredients.

    Slice your onion:

    Cut in in half.


    Slice into half-moons.

    Place onion slices in the crock pot.

    Add boneless ribs to the crock pot.


    Sprinkle minced garlic, brown sugar, salt and pepper over the ribs.


    Then I flip the ribs over, and flip them again, so hopefully there will be sugar, salt, pepper and garlic on both sides.  But don't stress, it all comes together when it cooks.


    Pour in the apple juice.  This is a 6.75 ounce box of apple juice, slightly more than the 3/4 cup that I listed in the ingredients.  It's okay.  This is not an exact science.


    Cook on the LOW setting for 7 to 8 hours.  Whatever fits your schedule.


     This is what it looks like after 7 hours.  Not very attractive, I know.  But it will taste awesome!

    Remove the pork from the crock pot to a plate.

    Remove the onions as well.

    This is what is left in the crock pot.  Apple juice, and lots of other liquid.  The fat has rendered.  Dump out all of this.  In its entirety.  You do not want this.

    Quickly swipe the inside of the still-hot crock pot with a paper towel, to remove any last remnants of what-have-you.

    Pour one cup of the barbecue sauce into the crock pot.  Spread it around to cover the bottom of the pot.

    Return the pork and onions back into the crock pot.

    Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce over the pork and onions.

    Gingerly stir to coat.  Do not stir too vigorously, the pork is at the point now where it will very easily fall apart if handled roughly.

    Set your crock pot to HIGH and cook for one more hour.
You can easily pull it apart if you want to.  Use two forks to shred it.  Or serve as it is!  You can't go wrong.

     Sean and Erin wanted to eat theirs in a sandwich, so I toasted some rolls.

    Mr. Terrific and I skipped the fluffy rolls and went straight to the good stuff.

    Enjoy!!



135 comments:

  1. I LOVE that you include a playlist! Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. Thank you......enjoy the recipe! :)

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    2. silly question? but is this the same as pork spare ribs?

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    3. Not a silly question at all! They are not the same. This recipe uses country-style ribs, which have larger bones (even though this recipe uses boneless ribs, the meat has been cut off of the larger rib bones). You could probably use spare ribs for this recipe, why not? If you do, leave a comment and let me know how they come out! Good luck! :)

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    4. Prepared it last night and now it's cooking with BBQ sause. Took a sneak bite and it is super deliciois. Thank you for sharing

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    5. can we keep the juices and boil them down

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    6. Hi Diane--I have never kept the juices!

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  2. I'm trying this today! Thanks for the great tute!

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  3. I'm trying this today! Thanks for the great tute!

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  4. I found your recipe via Creations by Kara today since she linked back to you. An awesome coincidence since I'd bought some country boneless pork ribs on quick sale yesterday but I'd never made them before and had no idea what to do with them.. I actually had all of the other ingredients on hand so this is in the slow cooker now. Hubby will be so happy we're having barbeque tonight. Thanks!!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! This recipe is one of my family's favorite crock pot dishes...I hope you enjoy it. Cheers! --Fran

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  5. Making this now and it smells delicious! Just happened to have all the ingredients! I will serve it with yummy mashed potatoes!

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    1. Yum, you're making me wish that my house smelled as good. I'm going to have to plan to make this again soon! :)

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    2. Just started crockpot.. put onions and then fresh cut carrots. Put country boneless pork ribs on top then added salt, pepper and garlic powder. Had no minced garlic. Put brown sugar on top then turned ribs over..then back over. I then added orange juice (had no apple). Anxious to see how it turns out as I will use gravy instead of bar b que sauce(gives my son heartburn). Can I add new potatoes to this later?

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    3. Added fresh cut carrots on top of onions..used orange juice. At end not pouring out juices but adding gravy. Can new potatoes also be added to this? Not using bar b Wye sauce as son gets heartburn from it.

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    4. Hi Marilyn--I don't see why you couldn't add new potatoes! Depending upon their size they would need at least 2 hours on HIGH, 5 hours on LOW. If you're running out of time, you could always par-boil them and add them in for the last hour. Good luck :)

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  6. Absolutely delicious.!! making this for the second time tomorrow

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  7. So happy that you liked it!! :)

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  8. I got your recipe off of pinterest. All my local grocery had was pork spare ribs. It's in the crock pot now smelling amazing. I will post again later when they are done, let you know how the spare ribs turned out!

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    1. Hi Meredith! That's terrific......let us know how the spareribs turn out, it would be nice to know that you can use them as a substitution!

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  9. I made these tonight. We haven't eaten yet, but the smell delicious. The only thing is that they don't seem quite as tender as I was hoping. I had the in the crockpot for the alloted time and followed all the directions. The only thing is that I have a slightly smaller crockpot I believe. It is rectangular with a warming plate. Do you have any suggestions on what I could do for next time to make them more tender?

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    1. Hi Doni,I appreciate your comment! I think that a small crockpot might make a difference, if the ribs need to be piled up high to fit in the crockpot, then they wouldn't be cooking in the liquid. Were your ribs covered with the liquid while they were cooking?

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  10. Hi Fran,

    I made this recipe this weekend and it was a hit!! My honey absolutely loved them and my house smelled soooo good in the process!

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    1. Hi Rae, I appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback....I'm so glad you liked the ribs!! :)

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  11. I tried it today and it was awesome. The whole family loved it.
    I didnt have apple juice so I substituted with orange juice. It was good.
    I will forsure cook again. :)

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    1. Glad you liked it! I think you could probably use any acidic fruit juice....I've also made this with pineapple juice when I didn't have apple juice. I think apple juice is just a natural go-to for pork.....reminds me of that old episode of the Brady Bunch, "pork chops, and apple sauce!"

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  12. I made a recipe before that was kind of like this but with a bit of apple vinegar, apple sauce instead of juice and liquid smoke- cooked in oven. I couldn't find the recipe and was afraid I wasnt going to run out of time to prep it all and cook it. Then I just happened to stumble across this one for the crock pot and decided, why not give it a try (except i had apple cider so I used it instead lol)
    Thank god it all came out pretty good but it wasnt as golden as my husband usually likes so I cooked it on low for 6 hours. Took it out and put in foil pouch, brushed it with baby rays and topped it off on te grill. YUMMY!! Thank you so much :)

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    1. I like the idea of finishing it on the grill...I'll have to try that! Thanks for visiting :)

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  13. The only ingredient I was missing was apple juice so I took a chance and used a 12 0z, Gatorade Fruit Punch.
    Who Knew??
    This turned out great!!!

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    1. Hi Mary, Thanks for letting us know that we can add gatorade to the ever-growing list of juice substitutions! :)

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  14. << Cooking Dad. Just turned on the crock pot. I hope they come out as good as they smell. Thanks Fran. By the way, what do you cook as side dishes with this?

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy those ribs! My standard side dishes for the picky eaters in this household are rice pilaf or roasted potatoes, and green beans or a salad. Follow this link http://www.whatsfordinnerfran.blogspot.com/2011/05/spectacular-side-dishes-part-ii.html and it will take you to my post with recipes for a spectacular spinach salad and loaded baked potato skins. If you have the ingredients on hand, and the time to spend in the kitchen, these are two of my favorite side dishes! Good luck! :)

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  15. Hi Fran, just today bought some country style ribs and will cook overnight for tomorrow's dinner with salad and baked potato. Thanks for the wonderful EASY and step by step directions...wish me luck!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! Good luck and enjoy :)

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  16. Do you think I could use pork tenderloin instead?

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    1. Hi, Thank you for visiting my blog! I've never tried this with pork tenderloin, but I think it would probably work. One adjustment that I would suggest would be to shorten the cooking time....tenderloin is a very lean cut and would dry out if cooked for the 8 hours that this recipe calls for. I would probably cook it for 5 hours, then when you switch out the liquid for the bbq sauce, give it another half hour to an hour. I hope this works. Leave a comment and let me know how it turned out!

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  17. I made this today. I didn't change a thing. The house smelled amazing when I got home. The only thing that didn't work out was stirring it "gingerly", I ended up with pulled pork!! :) I made mashed potatoes and served it over the potatoes. The family LOVED it!! I will be making this again for sure!!

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    1. Hi Kristen, Thank you for stopping by! I'm glad you were happy with the recipe, even if stirring it gingerly morphed it into something you weren't expecting. Nice that you were willing to go with the flow! :)

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  18. I made this for my son and his friends. They ate it on bread and said it was fantastic. I followed your recipe to a T.

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  19. Love your recipe - I have a similar one I use and it is always delicious - I also add 3 tablespoons of peanut butter and 1 heaped teaspoon chopped ginger and a teaspoon of chinese five spice - adds a wonderful spicy taste and richness.

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    1. Hi Faye, Thank you for stopping by! I'm going to have to give your variation a try--you had me at peanut butter! :)

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  20. I didn't have apple juice so I mixed apple sauce with warm water and made my own! :) PERFECT....

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  21. Found this too late to really cook it for the proper time on "low", so I am doing it on high and watching it closely... that said, my house smells so GOOD! Thank you!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Erin, I hope your ribs taste as good as they smell!

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  22. Do you think I could use applesauce instead of apple juice? It would save me a trip to the store today. :)
    Thanks!

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    1. Garrett--Go for it!! There will be so much liquid released by the ribs, I think you will do fine!

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  23. It's great that you're still answering comments on a post this old. :) I'm waiting for the last 30 minutes or so of cooking in the sauce before I tuck in, but this recipe aced my preliminary taste test a few minutes ago. Thanks for sharing!

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  24. I made this several months ago and it turned out great. My mom had the left overs and asked for the recipe. She then recommended it to my sister who asked me to make it for her wedding shower this weekend. Only for that, I am going to try it with a different pork cut and turn it into pulled pork for sandwiches. This is definitely one recipe I will be keeping!

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    1. Thanks for the feedback! My kids also prefer it in a pulled pork sandwich.

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  25. Would this recipe work with boneless beef country style ribs? They were on sale, and this recipe sounds delicious! Also I have a 1.5 quart crock pot.. any advice?

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    1. Hi Yana, Thank you for stopping by. I don't see why you couldn't use the beef ribs instead of pork. I'm not sure about the smaller crock pot size, however--the meat on the bottom would be sitting in the liquid and the meat on top might get dry. Maybe stirring the ribs carefully every couple of hours would help to keep them from drying out?

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  26. I am trying this tomorrow for my birthday dinner and my husbands fathers day dinner. I cant wait!

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    1. Happy Birthday, Jenny! Hope you have a wonderful day, and enjoy those ribs! :)

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    2. My house smells DELISH! and thank you!

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    3. I'm cooking this right now for my daughter's 11th birthday cookout! Smells amazing! Thank you!

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    4. Great day for a cookout, Mary Lou. Thanks for stopping by, and a very Happy Birthday to your daughter!

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  27. I want to make this today, but won't be able to start until about 3pm so I don't have time for crock pot. Any suggestions on doing it in the oven?

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    1. Hi Jami, Thanks for visiting! I have never done these ribs in the oven, so I can't really say that it would be the same. If I WERE going to give it a try, however, this is what I would do: 1. brown the meat in olive oil (1 to 2 tablespoons) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. After the meat has browned, place it in a roasting pan and then saute the onions in the same skillet until they are softened. Add the onions to the meat in the roasting pan 2. Here is where I'm going to change things up: I would probably just cover the ribs with the barbecue sauce and roast them at this point. I wouldn't use the apple juice because that is just liquid to keep the ribs moist over the long period of time in the slow cooker. Cover the pan with foil and roast at 350 degrees for about an hour (until an internal temperature of 160 degrees is reached). I have no idea if this will work, you may end up with ribs in a watery-bbq sauce in which case you would drain the liquid and add some fresh bbq sauce. I hope the ribs will turn out as tender as they do in the slow cooker. If you do try this, would you come back and leave a comment and let us know how the oven method worked? Good Luck!!

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  28. Will do! I just put it in the oven.

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  29. Delicious!!! They were tender, not as tender as would be in the crock pot, but could still cut with a fork. It was a little watery, but the sauce was still very flavorful. I really sautéed the onions, almost caramelizing them. Very tasty!!

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    1. That's great! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. It's good to know a time-saving alternative to cooking with the crock pot!

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  30. Tried this recipe several months ago, and it's now a family favorite. So easy, and delicious. I didn't have the apple juice, so used applesauce and it turned out just fine. We are going on a family beach trip soon, and plan to use this recipe. Thanks so much!!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Cheryl, and for suggesting applesauce instead of apple juice. Enjoy your time at the beach with your family!

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  31. I am about to get my crock pot out and start this for dinner tonight. It sounds so good! Luckily, I have all the ingredients on hand (hooray for stocking up!). Back to school for my oldest tomorrow so I don't want to fuss with dinner tonight - too much to do! Thanks for the recipe :)

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  32. Hi Fran! I am cooking this for the THIRD time today! To intensify the wonderful apple flavor, I use frozen apple juice concentrate diluted just a little. Then we throw them on the Big Green Egg (in one of those vegetable grilling baskets) for about 20 minutes after the eight hour crockpot time. Great smoky flavor!

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  33. I've made this recipe a couple times and the family loves it! Best ribs ever! Thank you

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    1. Thank you for the comment! Happy New Year!

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  34. I just found your recipe after I had my boneless ribs in the crock pot on high for an hour... I now put them on low...added two applesauce cups and some honey to the bbq sauce that I already had in there. I had added a bit of water earlier. I also added the salt and pepper and some garlic. We'll see how it turns out. I hope great!

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    1. Sounds like you added all the right ingredients! Hope it turned out well! :)

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  35. this is one of my favorite recipes! any idea how many weight watchers points this would be???

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    1. Hi Mrs. Hyde, Thanks for stopping by! I have no experience with weight watchers so unfortunately I can't answer your question. Maybe if someone reads this comment and knows the answer, they can take the time to respond and let us know :)

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  36. Im making this on Sunday!!!!
    Gracias!!!!!
    Nidia Corzo

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  37. I made this with beef country style boneless ribs and it was delicious! I used about 1 cup barbecue sauce because it was all I had and it was plenty. I used orange juice instead of apple because it was the only juice I had--so glad it's not an exact science! My daughter, son and husband all loved it!

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    1. I appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment! I like that you used what you had on hand and it all worked out :)

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  38. Thank you so much for posting the picture with the juice box. I was just thinking that I wanted to make this for tonight but don't have apple juice. Your picture reminded me that I have a handful of juice boxes left over from my son's birthday party that probably won't be used otherwise. Thanks for saving dinner for us!!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Emily! Happy Birthday to your son, and I hope you enjoy your dinner!

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  39. I have about 6 hours until dinner and only 2 lbs of ribs. I am going to try 3 hrs on low, 2 on high, add the BBQ (sylvia's ribs recipe from allrecipes.com has the best BBQ sauce recipe that I will use) and then 1 more hour on high. Fingers crossed. These look delicious! Thank you.

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    1. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too, Heather! Thanks for stopping by!

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  40. I have this in thew crockpot now! Didn't have any juice, but I had a Johnny Appleseed Hard Apple Cider in the fridge. That should work. Added some marinara sauce from unused takeout pizza dipping sauce to bump the acidity a little.

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  41. I love this recipe and have made it a few times and this time I thought of adding slices of Apple's what do you think?

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    1. I think that would be fabulous! If you added them at the beginning, they would add flavor and moisture, but I'm sure they would turn to mush by the time it was finished cooking. If you want them to keep their shape, maybe you could add them during the final hour--after you have drained the liquid and added the BBQ sauce. Or both: use them at the start, drain them with the liquid after they've turned to mush, and then add more for the final hour. If you do try this, leave a comment and let us know how it turns out. :)

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  42. I first made this delicious recipe about a year and a half ago, and it has become a standby... and a family favorite! And when I haven't had the apple juice, I've substituted plain applesauce, orange juice, cranberry juice, and if I remember correctly, once I even used orange Gatorade. It's been great every time! (The applesauce or cranberry juice were better substitutions than the orange flavors though in my opinion.) Thanks so much for sharing!!! I was excited to see that you're still answering your reviews because I do have one question... I'm hoping to use an 8.85 lb pork butt to make pulled pork for Easter dinner. (An unusual meal for Easter perhaps, but I know everyone would love it!) I've never actually cooked such a large cut of pork before, so I'm not quite sure what I'm doing, but I'm up for the challenge (and I'm brave - or crazy - enough to try it for a crowd). Do you think I could use this recipe? Would you suggest doubling (or tripling) the ingredients the meat cooks in? Any recommendations on cook time? Thanks so much for your help!!! Happy cooking! :)

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    1. WOW, 8.85 lbs!! I have never cooked such a large piece of meat in the slow cooker...hmmm. There are a lot of thoughts going through my head! My first thought is that I don't think it would fit in my slow cooker--I would probably cut it in half and cook it in two slow cookers (but that's because I'm probably overly cautious; I REALLY admire your sense of adventure)! Let's say you cut it in half; each half would still be 4+ lbs and I would expect they would need 8 to 10 on low to cook properly. If you did have a very large crock pot that would fit your almost-9 lb. pork butt, I am guessing it would take 10+ hours? You want the internal temperature to be about 160 degrees in order to be safe. Lots of guessing on my part how long that would take, because I really don't know! I also think that you wouldn't want to put TOO much liquid in, because along with the apple juice, etc, there will be so much liquid that naturally will render from your meat that your roast could end up cooking while submerged and that would create a weird texture. I would probably create a dry rub with the brown sugar, garlic, salt & pepper (maybe add a tablespoon each of garlic powder and smoked paprika as well) rub it onto the pork before placing the meat into the pot to help impart flavor it as it cooks. And to answer your question regarding doubling or tripling the ingredients, I think doubling would be okay but tripling could be too much, especially where the apple juice is concerned. I'm really intrigued now--I hope that you do cook this for your Easter meal and come back with details of how you cooked it and how it came out!! Good luck to you :)

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    2. Thank you so much! I like the sounds of the dry rub with garlic powder & paprika! I'll let you know how it goes...

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    3. Oh my goodness this was delicious! The huge pork butt was a huge success! When I unwrapped the meat I found that it had been pre-sliced halfway through from one side, so I was hesitant to cut it again from the top down (necessary to make it fit - or so I thought) as I’d end up with one half (4+ lbs) and two quarters (2+ lbs each). And let’s face it; I didn’t want to wake up twice in the night to start the two crockpots with two different cooking times. So I jammed it all into my one big 5 quart crock pot fat-side up ('cause it fit after all) and started it up at 10:30 pm. The pot was full, but the meat didn’t quite touch the lid. I used your dry rub idea, although I did use only a couple of teaspoons of each of the spices (wish I had used quite a bit more) and only 1/2 cup apple cider. I was pretty nervous about it overflowing so I used the grate from my stovetop with a cookie cooling rack on top to elevate the crockpot over the sink (and I did end up checking on it at 2:30 am), but all was well in the end – not too much and not too little liquid. It cooked until 11:30 am (13 hours on low), and when I took it out the meat was soooo tender, juicy, and cooked perfectly all the way through (I think that half-cut prior to packaging was a good thing though). I trimmed all the fat, “pulled” the meat (it was falling apart anyway), and started the crockpot back up for another hour on high with plenty of Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbeque Sauce. It was so yummy and a big hit with my guests! I had never purchased a pork butt before, so I was surprised at how much fat I ended up cutting off, but the finished product was delicious and not at all fatty. Thank you so much once again not only for your recipe but also for answering my questions!!! I am amazed and impressed that you still reply to this long-ago post. Thanks!

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    4. Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to give us your results! And I'm glad that it worked out so well. I like your idea of rigging up the grates over the sink in case of overflow. Thanks again!! :)

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  43. I've had this once when my sister made your recipe and it was delicious! Wondering if i could sub chicken breasts for the pork? Would that require a change in the cooking time? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Lisa, I have never made this using chicken breasts (mainly because chicken breasts taste fabulous using quicker cooking methods, which is not true when it comes to ribs). However, if you want to give it a try, I have a couple of suggestions:
      1. Definitely lower the cooking time. Cook it on a low setting for
      5 hours during the initial stage (with the apple juice, brown
      sugar, etc), and during the second stage (when you add the
      chicken back into the pot with the bbq sauce) continue to
      cook on LOW for one hour.
      2. Make sure that the chicken is in a single layer (not overlapping)
      to ensure that it cooks evenly.
      3. I would suggest shredding the chicken before adding it back
      into the pot--boneless chicken can get really dry in a crock pot,
      and I think that shredding it will help it absorb moisture from
      the bbq sauce.
      Thanks for stopping by and good luck! Come back and leave a comment with your results!

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    2. p.s.--I would also suggest using tongs to turn the chicken about halfway through the cooking time. The tops will dry out if they're not covered in liquid, turning will ensure even cooking.
      Good luck :)

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  44. gonna try this on boneless beef ribs

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  45. Holy sh*tballs these turned out perfectly. I'd picked up a couple pounds of boneless country-style ribs that were almost expired and yours was the third recipe I found.

    I used Bone Suckin' Sauce when I finished it, and served it with mashed taters. Fork tender and AMAZING. I will be recommending it to all my crock pot friends :)

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  46. Do you like doing this on low for 9 hours will dry it out? I am out of the house 9 hours a day, but would love to come home to these!

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    1. Hi! I have never cooked them for 9 hours (plus the additional hour with the barbecue sauce), but I have cooked them for 8 hours +. My suggestion would be to make sure your crock pot is the right size (if the ribs are in a small crockpot you'll have to pile them high), the crock pot should be large enough so that the ribs don't sit more than two layers high. Be sure that they are evenly-seasoned with the brown sugar, garlic, salt & pepper and when you add the apple juice take care to pour it evenly over the top of the ribs. Cook on low for 9 hours, then maybe for the last hour (when you cook it with the barbecue sauce), cook on low instead of high. Good luck! Leave a comment and let me know how it goes!!

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  47. I totally love this recipe! Its always been a success in my home. I'm actually making this recipe today & I made a boo boo... I added the bbq sauce along with all other ingredients, hopefully it still turns out amazing.
    Thank you for sharing this great recipe!

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    1. Thanks for commenting, Evelyn! Hopefully your ribs come out okay...maybe you'll like them even better than the original recipe!

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  48. Going to start this in the morning, have it for dinner tomorrow. I have so enjoyed ready peoples posts. It is amazing that you are still answering folks after all this time. Restored my faith in the internet! Trying to figure out how to find you again. Im awful about losing all the good pages!

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    1. Good luck with your dinner! Part of the reason I started a blog was because I couldn't remember how I had made something, or if I did write it down I couldn't find it again. Now I have an online diary of my cooking adventures and I'm still amazed that people actually read it! Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to comment :)

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  49. In process of making this right now in final hour house smells terrific!
    can't wait to eat it !!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy your dinner :)

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  50. I never made boneless country style ribs before & looked & looked for an easy recipe. Thank G-d, I found this recipe. You made it so easy with the step by step directions & pics. If you have never cooked a thing before, you may not know what it is supposed to look like. You took out all concerns with the pics. Thank you!
    As I only had 1/2 the amount of ribs than called for , I adjusted the amounts accordingly. & used oj in place of the Apple as that is all I had. Turned out awesome. I would have taken a picture but it looked so good, we just gobbled it up. I served with mashies & green beans. Comfort food , for sure! I will be making this again, very soon, I'm sure. Thanks!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to leave a comment!

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  51. Tried this today during a long, town-wide, yard sale. I think more folks were as interested in what was cooking as they were in what was for sale. Did mac and cheese and salad for sides, and is yum-my. It was great to have a delicious meal ready when the sale ended. I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original.

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    1. Sounds like a great day to me! Thanks for leaving a comment :)

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  52. My husband and I love this! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  53. Another not so silly (I guess) question. Could you or should you brown the ribs on both sides in a fry pan with a bit of evoo before adding to the crock pot? It might give the ribs a better color, visually after the first cooking.

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    1. Not a silly question at all! You can brown them if you like; you are correct that it will give them a better color. However, when you add the bbq sauce at the end they will be completely coated and it won't matter much at that point! Good luck :)

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  54. Could you or should you fry the ribs lightly in evoo a couple of minutes on each side before adding to the crock pot? I usually do that with larger roasts to give it a better visual appeal when using a slow cooker. It might get the color browner. I'm making this for tonight's dinner since oven cooking in 96 degree weather is not gonna happen!

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    1. Logging on now, too late to be of help I'm afraid--I hope your dinner went well! Temps here were "only" 90 today--hope you stayed cool in your 96-degree heat!

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  55. Thanks for the pictures and the step by step instructions.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to comment :)

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  56. Can you use mince garlic in a jar instead of the dry minced garlic

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    1. Hi Wanisha,
      Yes, you can use garlic in a jar instead of fresh garlic. Use about 1 1/2 teaspoons. Good luck!!

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  57. Hi! I'm trying this recipe out right now. I'm wanting to cook it on HIGH though. Would 3-4 hours be good?

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    1. Hi! I've never cooked them on high, so I'm just going to take a guess regarding what you should do...keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't dry out. I also imagine that they are not going to be as tender as they would be if you cooked them low and slow. If I was going to experiment within your time frame, I would do step one (with the apple juice, brown sugar, spices, etc) for 3 hours and then step 2 (removing the liquid and adding barbecue sauce) for 45 minutes. Good luck! Come back and let us know how it worked out :)

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  58. OMG made this on the weekend! It was a HIT! Hubby loved it! Thanks for the easy recipe!

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    1. You are very welcome! I'm glad that you liked the recipe and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment :)

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  59. This sounds awesome! I have it cooking as I comment. Super easy to prep during my busy weekday morning, can't wait to eat it!!!

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  60. Making this TODAY, using all ingredients at one time, is 4 to 5 hours on low ok? Oj instead of Apple juice. What is your website to look at all of your recipes? Thank you!

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    1. Hi Brenda, If I only had a 5 hour window, I would cook them on high for 4 hours, then dump out the juices and return the ribs and onions with the BBQ sauce for the last hour (also on high). They may not be as tender as they would be if you cooked them on low. Substituting OJ will work out fine! Thanks for stopping by, please come back and let me know how they turned out!
      p.s. if you can't get back to the home page, the web address is www.whatsfordinnerfran.blogspot.com :)

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  61. I love this recipe. I make it all the time. I just purchased an instant pot and want to try it in there. Any suggestion on what to set the time for?

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    1. Hi Tricia--I do not have an instant pot so I really can't answer your question. Did it come with a booklet that maybe gives you instructions how to convert cooking times from one method to another? I did google "crock pot to instant pot conversion" and a lot of sites came up...maybe you could try that and find a conversion suggestion that makes sense to you. Thank you so much for stopping by, and good luck!!

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  62. Fran, Thank you for this wonderful recipe. We tried it last night, and it was outstanding. I’m new to your site. I must say that I’m impressed by some of the recipes that I’ve seen so far.
    I’m a recent escapee from NYC/Long Island, NY, now living in SC. I’ve been cooking for 60+ years, professionally and otherwise. But I’m always looking for new ideas and/or new twists on old favorites; and am now learning to cook all things Southern.
    The one thing I miss from NY is the food. They thing Hillshire Farms is the pinnacle of sausage making and Mt. Olive is the pinnacle of pickle type condiments. Oh yeah, and in some places, Golden Corral is considered fine dining. Ooooooo… nooooooo!
    The only thing I did differently, to your recipe, was to lightly coat the meat with a recently discovered Cajun seasoning called “Slap Ya’ Mama. It gave it a little kick and also balanced out the sweetness. Normally I make my own sauces. But I’ve recently been turned on to a Southern favorite, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce; I use “Kickin’ Bourbon.” It’s outstanding.
    Thanks again. God bless.

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    1. Hi Chris, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment! I can only imagine how much you must miss all of the culinary delights of New York. Have fun exploring those Southern sauces and seasonings!

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  63. My gf is allergic to apples �� Any other juice I can use instead?

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    1. Hi-I have also made this with pineapple juice! Use whatever you have on hand...I would suggest a real fruit juice, but if you scroll through the comments you will see that someone actually made this using gatorade and they said it came out fine. Good luck :)

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  64. My girlfriend is allergic to apples. Any ideas for another juice to use? Also can you start this with meat frozen?

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    1. I would not make this with frozen meat, you would need to increase the cooking time by several hours and I'm not sure that it wouldn't dry out in the process.

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  65. Making this now for dinner. I'm super excited. I didn't have apple juice so I substituted apple sauce. Its just for flavor purposes and moisture anyway right. Lol Excited to taste the finished product.

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    1. I've used applesauce myself when I was out of apple juice and it turned out fine. Fingers crossed that yours does as well!

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  66. Will do this tonight in stove top pressure cooker for first time. I will boil for 30min in apple cider and a cap full of vinegar, then drain and put back in pressure cooker with your ingredients and cook for an additional hour. I hope they will be tasty and fall apart tender.

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    1. Sounds like a great plan, Lisa. Come back and let us know how it turned out!!

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  67. changed it up a bit. used apple cider,some duck sauce, and some burbon brown sugar marinade and cooked for 1 hour in pressure cooker, drained it and used forks to shred it, then added a bit of honey and honey bbq sauce it was the best pulled pork ever.

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    1. Thank you so much for posting this! I have received many questions about cooking it in a pressure cooker and now I finally have an answer, thanks to you :)

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