Baby Back

In the blink of an eye (give or take 8 hours), I went from never having made pork ribs and honestly being scared of them to being a fan for life... everlasting life.

The trick was my oh-so-helpful buddy slow cooker. I'm not surprised - after all, I can not count (I can - I swear, I graduated from college and everything - I said that for emphasis) all of the different kinds and cuts of meat that the slow cooker has transformed for me. Slow cooker, you've changed my life.

The ribs, though? We looooved them. (pronounced "Luu-u-u Ved") I'm not looking to alter this recipe at all... though that's not a solemn pledge that it won't happen... but if it does, it's only because I seem not to be able to do the same thing twice these days. I'm working on it, though.

Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs

2 lbs baby back ribs
dry rub (recipe follows)
jar of your favorite barbecue sauce

Dry Rub
3/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 c dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground oregano
1 TBSP paprika
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar

Combine rub ingredients; mix well. Rub on all sides of ribs. Place ribs upright, meaty side out in crockpot. Cover; cook on low for at least 7-8 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove from crockpot and place in a single layer on a baking sheet; liberally brush ribs with the barbecue sauce. Bake ribs for about 12 minutes or until the sauce looks "baked" (that's the only way I can describe it); turn ribs with tongs and liberally coat with sauce again. Finally, bake for another 5-7 minutes.