These ribs are what I grilled to go along with the salad recipe from the previous post. When I decided on ribs for the entree, I had to look back through the blog to see just how many baby back rib recipes I have on here. The answer is eight, there are eight more baby back rib recipes that I’ve posted. Is nine too many? I don’t think so.

These remind me of Hawaii, so you know they are going to be good!

Luau Baby Back Ribs

Soaking Liquid

• 4 cups water
• 1 ½ cups soy sauce
• 1/4 cup ponzu
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
• 4 cups ice cubes

Ribs

• 3 to 3 ½ pounds pork baby back rib racks
• 2 bottles of beer of your choice

Dry Rub

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Glaze

• 2 cups pineapple and/or mango juice
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha 
• 1 cup reduced soaking liquid

Today we are kicking off a week’s worth of slow cooker recipes. For this first one, I used a huge package of baby back pork ribs from Costco. It weighs between 8 and 9 pounds and I found that that was a bit too much to fit in my slow cooker.

As you can see, I cut the slabs in half and one of the halves didn’t fit in.

I could have wrapped it up and put it in the freezer, but instead, I cooked it in some beer, then grilled it and slathered it with ready-made BBQ sauce, and gave it to Connor for lunch when he stopped by. Perfect!

Also, I tell you to use diced tomatoes, for the ease of it. But if all you have are whole tomatoes (like I did) you can easily cut them right in the can by using your kitchen shears. Easy Peasy!

To begin with, all you need are these few ingredients.

Oh, and the can of tomatoes too. I almost forgot! (plus the garlic isn’t pictured, what the heck?!?)

These ribs and scrumptious beans make for a hearty bone-warming winter supper.

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The meat from these baby back ribs is fall-off-the-bone tender and oh so flavorful!

Dave requested vinegar-based ribs as his Father’s Day main course. Done! Although the ribs were delish, they weren’t the best part of Father’s Day.

On the Thursday night before, I received a text from my sister-in-law, Teresa, saying that she was on her way to town for an unexpected visit.

Teresa and my older brother divorced over 20 years ago, but she and I have always been close… since high school actually. She and my four nephews moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho some 19 years ago. Sadly, we rarely see each other.

My dad gets up to Idaho to see his grandsons and Teresa every couple of years, but we haven’t been there since 2003.

Teresa wanted to know if she should call Dad or if I thought she should surprise him on Father’s Day instead.

Surprise, of course!

So Teresa, her sister Jennifer, and their mom, Judy, walked in about a half-hour before dinner and surprised Dad. He was overjoyed and has been talking about it every day since. There is nothing better than seeing and catching up with family!

Jen, Judy, and Teresa are pictured above. Love them! xoxo

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Connor requested two things for his birthday dinner – Grilled Pizza and Baby Back Ribs.

I can easily do that and was more than happy to fulfill his modest request!

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