When people talk about ribs, they imagine a long day in front of the grill, smoke in their eyes, and a marinade prepared the day before. The reality? Four ingredients, a slow cooker, and you can go do something else for eight hours.
Ingredients :
- Beef ribs (short ribs or beef spare ribs) — Short ribs are the perfect cut for the slow cooker — they are marbled just right, with collagen that melts during the long cook. Ask your butcher for pieces about 5-7 cm long. Avoid pieces that are too lean, as they will become dry. If you can’t find short ribs, beef spare ribs work very well too.
- Barbecue sauce — This is your only real seasoning here, so choose one you genuinely enjoy eating by the spoonful. A Kansas City-style sauce, thick and slightly sweet, sticks well to the meat. Avoid sauces that are too thin as they won’t reduce properly.
- Brown sugar — It intensifies the color and depth of the sauce during cooking. One to two tablespoons are enough — you’re not making a dessert. It caramelizes gently and helps form that glazed crust seen in the photos.
- Garlic — Two to three cloves smashed, not finely chopped. In long cooking, chopped garlic dissolves completely. Smashed, it infuses and stays milder, almost melting. No need to get the knife out.
