My take on country style ribs...

[mydnyte]

Okay, looking for a little advice here.

Back before I started smoking stuff, I found a recipe for country style ribs that involves putting them in a slow cooker, or "Crock Pot" it was always called as I was growing up.

The recipe says to take the ribs, put them in the slow cooker with a cut-up onion and bbq sauce. Then cook for 8 hours on "low".

Cooking the ribs this way always turns out well, and I get subtle hints from family members if I go more than a few weeks without cooking a batch. The ribs are definately moist and tender, but to me just lack that good smokey flavor.

This morning I cooked up a batch for 6 hours in the slow-cooker, then moved them to the smoker for about an hour and a half. I didn't wrap them in foil or anything, just put them on the racks and filled up the water pan.
This was the best batch I've made yet, in my opinion, but it still seems they could be a bit better.

Any suggestions for improvement? Would it maybe be better to use a rub on the ribs instead of the bbq sauce and onion in the slow cooker?

Sorry, realize this is kinda long, but would appreciate any suggestions.

 

[linescum]

just slow smoke them heck with the crock pot..do them like reg. ribs and wrap in foil but save the juice for serving

 

[richtee]

Wellll.... I'd smoke them FIRST. Rub and get a couple hours smoke on 'em. And then I'd build my own sauce, as the commercial stuff is too "overwhelming" <read goopy> to let the meat flavor come thru. Hmmm...try this: Use your fave commercial sauce diluted 50% with a plain thin flour/fat roux. Pull the ribs before 125° or so, as they have not "broke" yet and released their gelatin. Let all that happen in the crock.

Or listen to Linescum... That would be my inclination ;{)

 

[mydnyte]

Well, one of the things that attracted me to using the slow cooker, is that I work at night & therefore have to sleep during the day. So it's nice to just toss it in the cooker, flip the switch and have meat cooked and ready when I wake up that evening.

Guess I shoulda said that upfront, lol.

 

[richtee]

OK...works for me too! But try the smoke on 'em first... money back if not elated LOL!

 

[desertlites]

yup I go 1 step more and smoke first a couple hrs-crock pot till almost done than another smoke or grill?sparks my intrest.

 

[mydnyte]

Okay thanks, so I've been doing this backwards then. I'll give this way a try.

 

[cowgirl]

Last weekend I did a batch in my smoker. Just seasoned them with some of my homemade smoked kosher salt/cracked pepper/onion/garlic mix.
Filled a drip pan with two shiner bocks.
Let them smoke at about 250 for 4 hours...........I was busy doing something else and didn't want to mess with them.
I was afraid they would be dry, but they turned out great.
Go figure.........if I would have fussed over them they probably wouldn't have turned out at all.