Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Ginger Ribs

This early spring weather had me wanting ribs and when I threw that out as a possible meal for this week, Lee was totally on board.  He got to work looking for tasty recipes to make and quickly found the MMM...is for Mommy blog and her delicious ribs.  
He was looking for spare or St. Louis style ribs, but instead found some delicious and meaty rib tips on sale at Shop N Save this week so he went for them.  Being frugal paid off big time!   
I knew we were having ribs, but let me tell you, my already good day was made a thousand times better when I stepped out of my car and could smell these puppies while I was still in the drive way.  Neighbors eat your hearts out (cause you're not getting my ribs!)
Upon eating them, I declared them best ribs ever.  I love honey bbq sauce- we're from St. Louis, we like our sweet stuff here.  The way the sauce caramelized the honey sauce in the broiler was a thing of pure beauty.
I'm hoping these awesome ribs are in heavy rotation this summer... they're awesome!

Here's what he did to make this pile of deliciousness....



Here's what you need for the Ribs: (I used Rib Tips)

Here's what you need for the Rub:

Here's what you need for the Sauce:

A day before you want to cook your ribs, combine all the ingredients for the rub into a bowl.

Sprinkle the rub liberally onto the ribs and rub the spices into the ribs. Because I used rib tips, I also did the same for the other side. If using spare ribs with a membrane on them you should only put the rub on the meaty side.

        
Place the ribs into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.  You can skip this step if you like, but it does help with the flavoring and tenderness.

When you're ready to put your ribs in the crock-pot, grate your ginger.  Use fresh ginger if possible. It is pretty expensive by the pound, but it's really light and you'll only need an ounce or two.  

Dice your pepper and garlic.  I use a chopper to get them all nice and small. 

Combine all ingredients for the sauce into a pot and bring to a boil.

Put the jalepenos along with all other sauce ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat until boiling. 

While the sauce is cooking, place the ribs sideways in the crock-pot. If using a slab of ribs, you may have to cut them into manageable pieces. Placing them on their sides will produce even cooking in the slow cooker.

Once the sauce has come to a boil, pour it over the ribs.  Put on the lid and cook for 6 hours on low.

After 6 hours, take the ribs out of the crock-pot and place on a rack on top of a foil lined baking sheet. Preheat oven to 225 degrees and place foil over the top of the ribs and seal them up around the edges.  Place in the oven for another 1.5 hours. You can skip this step also and go straight to saucing the ribs and broiling them, but cooking them in the oven helps give you that fall off the bone rib.

When you're ready to sauce the ribs. Preheat your oven to High Broil. In another sauce pan, bring to a boil the liquid from the crock-pot until it becomes thick.  Brush over ribs and place in the broiler for 5 - 9 minutes.

Because I used rib tips, I turned the ribs and sauced the other side and went back into the broiler for another 5 - 9 minutes.

Ingredients: 
 2 1/2 to 3 lbs pork side ribs (I used Rib Tips as they were cheaper and meatier.)

For the rub:

• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp each Salt & Pepper

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground ginger (fresh would be kickier, I'd use about 1 tbsp of minced fresh)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup ketchup

Preparation:

1. The night before cooking, combine all the ingredients for the rub into a bowl.
2. Sprinkle the rub liberally onto the ribs and rub the spices into the ribs. Because I used rib tips, I also did the same for the other side. If using spare ribs with a membrane on them you should only put the rub on the meaty side.
3. Place the ribs into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.  You can skip this marinading process if you like, but it does help with the flavoring and tenderness.
4. When you're ready to put your ribs in the crock-pot, grate your ginger.
5. Dice your pepper and garlic.
6. Put the jalapenos along with all other sauce ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat until boiling. 
7. While the sauce is cooking, place the ribs sideways in the crock-pot. If using a slab of ribs, you may have to cut them into manageable pieces. Placing them on their sides will produce even cooking in the slow cooker.
8. Once the sauce has come to a boil, pour it over the ribs.  Put on the lid and cook for 6 hours on low.
9. After 6 hours, take the ribs out of the crock-pot and place on a rack on top of a foil lined baking sheet. Preheat oven to 225 degrees and place foil over the top of the ribs and seal them up around the edges.  Place in the oven for another 1.5 hours. You can skip this step also and go straight to saucing the ribs and broiling them, but cooking them in the oven helps give you that fall off the bone rib.
10. When you're ready to sauce the ribs. Preheat your oven to High Broil. In another sauce pan, bring to a boil the liquid from the crock-pot until it becomes thick.  Brush over ribs and place in the broiler for 5 - 9 minutes.
11. Because I used rib tips, I turned the ribs and sauced the other side and went back into the broiler for another 5 - 9 minutes.
12. Let rest a couple of minutes and serve!