Love Barbecue But Want to Stay Indoors? Grab Your Trusty Slow Cooker
A package of country style, boneless ribs, a cup of barbecue sauce, and a couple of veggies— you’re ready to fashion a pot of BBQ in minutes of prep time. No sautéing, no lighting the grill—it’s a great mid-week treat.
Slow cooking offers a chance to layer the ingredients so the veggies lay on the bottom and the protein lays a top, about an inch from the bottom. There is a lot of liquid in the pork—it will produce its own braising liquid.
I’m now a devotee of rice bowls—where you stack bits of cooked sides atop cooked rice, add a fermented veggie, some sauce, maybe toasted sesame seeds, and eat your way down—it’s somehow tastier than on a plate!
INGREDIENTS: Serves 3-4
- pork – 2 LBS+- country style ribs, [boneless preferred]
- Yukon gold potatoes – 6 to 8, small, halved
- Bell peppers – 1 large, 1-inch pieces
- onion – 1 medium, 1 inch pieces
- barbecue sauce – 1 cup
- salt
- pepper
- fresh herb to top [chives, scallions, parsley]
Left: Veggies Brushed with Sauce Right: Pork on Top Brushed with Sauce
When slow cooking a lot of liquid will exude from the meat, so a good rule of thumb is to place the veggies on the bottom and after placing the meat on top, add enough water, beer, or stock to reach about a quarter the way up the meat.
INSTRUCTIONS: If you have time, salt the pork a couple hours before adding to cooker
- Trim any heavy knobs of fat, but leave ample streaks for flavor; season well with salt
- Prepare the veggies
- Place the veggies in the bottom of the cooker in a single layer, so it provides one inch of a base to rest the pork on
- Brush a half cup of barbecue sauce over the veggies
- Add the pork in a single layer, then spread on the other half cup of sauce
- Set slow cooker on high for one hour, then reset to low and cook for three + hours
- Temp the meat; it’s done at 190º or higher
- Remove the contents with tongs and slotted spoon to a serving platter and tent with foil to keep warm
- Pour liquid into a skillet and bring to a simmer to reduce: a few minutes, taste for seasoning, then pour over the dish
- Serve topped with fresh herb or scallions
Left: Reduced braising liquid Right: Served with Apple Sauce [or More Barbecue Sauce]
PLANNED-OVERS:
Chunk the pork and use it to flavor stir fries, or top rice bowls. I actually look forward more to these dishes than a straight barbecue dish of pork
Left: BBQ Planned Over Pork Over Rice with Steamed Broccolini Right: BBQ Pork Rice Bowl with Pickled Daikon, and Steamed Greens
Recipe by B. Hettig
COOK SHARE 
I’ve made pork in slow cooker for decades, seasoning and browning a big hunk first to get some crust and then slow cooking it over halved onions and 1/2 cup water in cooker until the pork pulls apart, several hours later. Drain and reserve the liquid for future use, then pour BBQ sauce into cooker and cook o low another hour. But this variation sounds great, a more complete meal, and I can’t wait to try it for a fall football game. Go Bills!
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Yeah, I hear you on the browning ritual. I wanted to see if I could skip the step to up the EVR: Effort Vs Reward in time saving and ease of prep. I think the umami rich barbecue sauce keeps it close. Now, when I see a package of country style pork, it’s like a bell going off. [Saw a printed T-Shirt—”Does Pavlov Ring a Bell?”]
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On this excellent recipe (as is and for planned-overs), I recommend browning the pork to make chunks a bit crusty on the outside. Interior will still be loose and tender after the slow cooking. Also consider size and shape of your crock pot. My 1973-vintage Sears model still works great but is likely smaller, rounder and less powerful than current models. This meant stacking the veggies and the pork in multiple layers, brushing some sauce over each layer, and bringing the water about to the top veggie layer, and staying on high setting longer. The result was the same as the author’s, still-firm veggies, tender pork and plenty of sauce to reduce; whisk in some corn starch in water to thicken a bit faster, so you don’t have to wait as long to dig in!
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