Barbecue Ribs & Coleslaw

This dish to me just screams summer! I love BBQ and anytime I make it, coleslaw is the obvious pairing to go with it. I actually came up with this sauce concoction myself and the coleslaw is actually another family recipe. Both dishes are extremely simple and take hardly any time or effort at all! Another reason why everyone should own a crock-pot! Here are the recipes:

[Meredith Sizemore Photography]

Barbecue Ribs:

I usually get what ever happens to be on sale, whether it's pork spare ribs, baby back ribs, etc. Take out your crockpot and set it on low. Salt and pepper both sides of the rack of ribs well and place them on their side so that the ribs themselves run vertically in the crockpot. It's ok if they wrap around the edge of the pot! Add 1/2 cup of water to the crockpot and cover with the lid. Let the ribs cook for 8 hours adding another 1/2 cup of water approximately 4 hours in! To make the sauce, use 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (I like to use Sweet Baby Ray's Original), 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and 2 tbsp of chili powder. Mix these ingredients together well and cover with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. I usually make the sauce at the same time that I prepare the ribs so that the flavors have time to marinate together before they smother the meat. When the ribs have finished cooking, they will literally be falling off the bone, so as best you can, pull them out of the crock pot and put the slabs onto a tin foil covered baking sheet. Take your sauce out of the fridge and coat the meat evenly with it (don't forget to give the bottom of the rack of ribs some lovin' too!). Place the cookie sheet into the broiler for 5 minutes or so, or just until the BBQ sauce has begun to caramelize on the top, then pull them out of the oven. Let the ribs rest for about 5 minutes then feel free to serve!

ENJOY!

Coleslaw:

In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 2 tbsp of sugar, and salt & pepper to taste. I like my dressing to have an equal balance of sweetness and tang but you can play around with the proportions to fit your own taste! Cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl in the fridge until you're ready to serve the coleslaw. Take 1/2 a head of cabbage and chop up well. I like a fairly chunky coleslaw but you can cut it as finely as you like. Take one medium sized peeled carrot and dice it up into equal sized pieces as your cabbage. Mix the cabbage and carrots together in a large bowl and add the dressing, mixing it all well so that everything gets equally coated. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

ENJOY!