Tender Rib Recipe from My Friends at SonRise Ranch

Here’s another recipe from the folks at SonRise Ranch with a unique take on making tender, delicious ribs. I love supporting local farmers who are doing things that are right, right for the environment, right for the animals, and right for the community and I have been getting all of my beef, pork, lamb, and poultry from SonRise Ranch for about the past year. The beef is truly grass-fed and all of the pork, lamb, and poultry is truly free-range and pastured on a low-impact ranch that is sustainable and responsible. The results are healthier animals, including us :)

Truly free-range, grass-fed cattle

They also serve up some pretty tasty recipes, too! The following is Doug’s (the farmer behind SonRise Ranch) legendary pork spare rib recipe which requires a slow-cooker and a grill. Hope you enjoy it!

Some words from Doug on Ribs:

Secondly, they are pretty fun to cook. I am big on not having a lot of skill with respect to cooking – I like the KISS principle for cooks, “K-Keep, I- It, S- Simple, S- Stupid”. Honestly, it frees me to spend more time ranching, and still eat like a king.

The secret to getting the most tender ribs

My biggest problem with ribs used to be this – how do you get them tender? There is nothing worse than getting into some ribs and realizing that they are just too tough to enjoy. Well, I have found a technique that really helps out in this area. Are you ready? Yep, you guessed it… a slow cooker!

My tried and true technique for taking cuts of beef or pork and giving them the tenderness of a Filet Mignon is to use a slow-cooker, and ribs are no exception. The common misconception is that a crock-pot is for making soups and stews, so as a result, whenever people use one, they typically add some type of liquid to it, drop the meat in there and walk away for 12 hours. Then end product tends to be a really dry piece of meat and some very delicious liquid. The way to prevent this is to cook the meat for a limited amount of time, removing it long before the total cooking time has expired. This keeps the meat moist and tender, by adding it back near the end, the full effect is realized.

Here it is, Doug’s simple method for tender, tasty ribs

My rib method calls for a crock pot, but you could just as easily use a Dutch oven, steamer or even an oven on low temperature.

Now, this gets really complicated, so pay close attention. I’ve outlined the steps below…

1. Turn on the crock pot (low)

2. Place the Ribs in the crock pot, and replace the cover

3. Wait 8 hours

Did you get that? Pretty intricate, huh? Just cook the darn things… no spices, no rubs (not yet), no water, beer, oil – nothing! Just dry heat – trust me.

When you get done, they should look like the photo below (note the white bone showing)

Mmmmm…..tasty….

Now, carefully take the Ribs out of the Slow Cooker. Heat your gas or charcoal grill to high and season the ribs with your favorite mixture. I always try two or three seasonings – my favorite is a homemade BBQ sauce or about 2 or 3 different dry rubs.

If you are using a sauce, turn the ribs frequently on the grill for about 5-10 minutes, and continue to baste them with sauce. For a dry rub mixture, try to keep them on one side and only turn two or three times.

For pork, serve hot. For beef (short ribs) serve after letting rest for about 5 minutes – if you are not set up or have kids that come to the table slow, this will happen by default.

Get ready for the best ribs ever!

Enjoy,

Douglas Lindamood, SonRise Ranch

Thanks for the ribs recipe, Doug!

And thanks to SonRise Ranch for their low-impact, sustainable farming methods, care of their animals, and their awesome service.