Crock Pot BBQ Ribs (A Pin a Day #2)

Let me start this off by saying that I LOVE BBQ, and Charlie just thinks it's OK. I could eat ribs all day and never get enough, but my biggest complaint is how expensive they can get when you order them out. I never really attempted to make them, probably because I didn't know where to start, so every time I saw ribs on a menu, I was all over them. Then I found a pin for ribs cooked in a slow cooker, and I thought, "YES! I can do this!".

I love using my crock pot, I don't care what season it is. I love putting the food in and 8 hours later, pulling my dinner out with little to no work involved. It's great for a busy mom like myself. So ribs in a crock pot was like 2 of my favorite things ever having a delicious smutty relationship and dinner was going to be the bastard son result of the tryst. I bought a rack of ribs when they were on sale, figuring 1 rack was enough for 2 people, but these ribs were so tasty I totally regretted not getting 2 racks and will in the future (maybe even 3, nom nom nom). Heed this warning, 1 rack just barely satisfies 2 people, so do your math people.

It's so easy! Plus it's the week before 4th of July, so you KNOW your local grocery store has ribs on sale right now. Albertson's has them for 2.99/lb.




I adapted this recipe from MMM is for Mommy, and she adapted it from America's Test Kitchen, so feel free to add and subtract at will.

You will need;

• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika (the smoky flavor really helps here!)
• salt  & pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 racks of Baby Back Pork Ribs
• Favorite BBQ sauce of your choice, homemade or store bought

Combine the dry ingredients and run all along the outside of the ribs, coating them well. Place them into your slow cooker on LOW heat and cover with BBQ sauce. Cook for 6-8 hours.

Here is where my recipe differs, only because my broiler hates me and I really love utilizing cooking on the BBQ outside in the summer.

Carefully remove your ribs from the crock pot and put onto a plate to rest. Transfer the juices and BBQ sauce in the crock pot into a sauce pot and simmer until reduced and thickened.

If you want to use the broiler, follow her directions for broiling the ribs, if you want a smokier flavor, keep reading.

Preheat your BBQ on HIGH for a few minutes and clean the grates with a wire brush. Reduce heat to MEDIUM and place the ribs bone side down on the grill. Baste the ribs with reduced BBQ sauce mixture every couple minutes until sauce becomes thick and sticky, about 10 minutes. Remove from grill, pour extra sauce on top if you wish and serve.

Charlie said they were THE BEST ribs he's ever eaten, which is saying a lot because as I said before, he doesn't really care for ribs. The meat LITERALLY fell off the bone, and by that I mean, when I picked up a bone to bite into it, all that I pulled up, was a bone. The meat was tender, smoky and delicious, like I had paid $20 for the plate at a BBQ joint. I did it!! Abbey loved them too.

We served ours with some Bush's Grillin' Beans in Bourbon and Brown Sugar and some mustard potato salad from the deli. Delish!

Lisa turns 40, and feeds us all night!

So one of my clients, Lisa, turned 40 this past weekend. She had a fabulous party down in Venice Beach at Big Red Sun, a totally awesome and adorable landscaping and plant arrangement studio, with a big beautiful backyard perfect for a celebration.


The crowd was an awesomely amazing and eclectic mix of artists, foodies, hippies, and friends. The conversation was never dull, and the laughs were constant and hearty. I am amazed at how many people came to show Lisa how much she was loved, my hope is that, at 40, I'll have at least half the crowd she did.


Venice Wines provided an amazing wine bar, with everything you could imagine, including lemonade and sparkling cider for a non-alcoholic option. My favorite was the Argentinian Sparkling Chardonnay, and the sparkling rose.


Adam accompanied me as my date, and we just had the most fabulous of times.


Baby Blues BBQ took care of the grub, and boy was there a lot of grub.


Living in Atlanta for over a year, I got used to amazing BBQ. In fact, some of the best BBQ I've ever had was at Fat Matt's Rib Shack in downtown Atlanta. But I can tell all you Angelenos, that if you want some GOOD 'Q, Baby Blues is about as close as I've ever come in the West. When asking for sutible BBQ substitutes after I had moved back, a few people had mentioned, "I hear Baby Blues in Venice is pretty good." If I had known how close it came, I would have tried it YEARS ago.


Their Corn Cakes are, most simply put, the most amazing cornmeal based bread I've ever had in my life. Sweet, moist, with just the perfect amount of wow. Their ribs, come second to Fat Matt's, but are still fall right off the bone tender.


We had Baby Back and Kansas City ribs, as well as BBQ chicken, and all were just awesome. Their Mac and Cheese was also pretty much to die for. In fact, I don't really have much of anything bad to say about them. They even had collard greens with bacon, and sweet baked beans. I felt like I was back in the South.


My darling, very pregnant client Nina was also there, looking adorable with her newly trimmed bangs, so we had to have a photo op.


The cake, as amazing as I'm sure it was, I didn't get a chance to try. I was wayyyy too stuffed. BAD FOODIE! BAD BAD!


So thank you Lisa, for an amazing party, amazing wine, and amazing grub. Happy Birthday pretty lady!

Fat Matt's Rib Shack

A few words to describe Baby Back Ribs are, delicious, amazing, messy, and tedious. The first two make me want to have them all the time, the second two remind me to steer clear of them. I've tried all kinds of them, from all different kinds of places, and even made my own, but none compare to the deliciousness that is Fat Matt's Rib Shack of Atlanta, GA.

Fat Matt's Rib Shack 1811 Piedmont Ave Ne Atlanta GA
404-607-1622

I mean come on, this place is so good its been featured on both Tasty Travels AND $40 a day! I found it through an ex boyfriend who raved about their tender, fall of the bone, ribs and I just had to try them for myself.

Brian and I showed up for lunch for some white bread, ribs and sweet tea.

Sweet Tea with the "Good Ice"

They seriously have some of the best sweet tea in Atlanta. It's pretty damn good, not too sweet, and nicely chilled, not to mention they have the best ice ever. My sister and I call this kind of tiny crushed ice the "Good Ice" and we know which place serves it and which doesn't. I'm kind of an ice fiend.

We ordered a full slab with extra bread, knowing there would be more than enough for leftovers the next day, or for some midnight snacking, and a side of mac & cheese. Their mac & cheese was very interesting, slightly spicy with a kick. We asked, of course what the secret ingredient was, and they said plain ol' southern hot sauce. We actually made a batch at home later in the week and added some and it tasted amazing.

Full Slab of Matt's famous ribs and a side of mac & cheese.

The meat on these bones is sooo tender that it falls off almost completely with just a little help. I was told once that they first deep fry their ribs first to make them tender and help the fat render off and then they grill them. If that's true it makes sence. They have some of the best BBQ sauce I've ever tasted so I grabbed a bottle to go for $4.50. I have yet to use it yet.

Brian pulling the meat clean off the
bone with the help of only a fork.

My favorite way to eat Fat Matt's ribs, is to take the meat of the bone, and pile it up on some white bread, cover in sauce and eat like a sandwich. Talk about some comfort food. They actually have a "rib sandwich" here that you can get. I got it once expecting this, but instead got 3 ribs on 2 slices of bread. It was more than enough to make a rib sandwich, but you still had to get your hands dirty.

My famous "Berta's Rib Sandwich".

Sometimes they have live blues in the tiny restaurant. (Usually at night, but we were there for lunch) We got lucky while we were there these 2 guys played about a 30 minute set. It was actually really awesome, and made Brian's first experience at Fat Matt's extra special.

Live Blues.

In the end we only got around to maybe 3 ribs each, but as you can see those bones were clean.

Rib bone's picked clean.