Ingredients
4 pounds pork baby back ribs
Dry Rub:
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 ½ Tablespoons paprika
1 ½ Tablespoons light brown sugar , packed
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoons onion powder
½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional for more heat)
Barbecue Sauce:
2 cups ketchup
½ cup molasses
½ cup light brown sugar , packed
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoons reserved Spice Rub (from above)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prep ingredients. Rinse and dry ribs, remove silver lining and then cut into 6 pieces. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the spice rub ingredients. Remove 1 Tablespoon of the rub to use in the barbecue sauce.
Rub both sides of the ribs with the spice rub then place ribs on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping half way through to sear the meat.
While the ribs are baking in the oven, add the barbecue sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan and gently simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce and refrigerate to use after ribs are cooked.
Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add a thin layer of barbecue sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker, followed by the meat. Layer sauce and meat until ribs are evenly coated.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or on LOW for 7-9 hours OR cook until ribs are fall off the bone tender. Rotate ribs once during cooking so they cook evenly.
Remove from slow cooker and brush with reserved barbecue sauce or use sauce for dipping.