Slow Cooker Bourbon Pork

I went over to my friends Amy and Dave for dinner. They made this delicious bourbon ribs using their slow cooker. I had made a couple of dishes using the slow cooker, but they had always been dry and flavorless. My friend Amy convinced me to give the slow cooker another chance. I had intended to make this with baby back ribs, but my husband accidentally bought a 6.5 lb rack of pork so I used that instead. Actually turned out quite tasty and my kids liked it! I'm sure it would probably be even better with baby back ribs, so plan to try this recipe again with ribs. I used Jim Beam Bourbon because it was reasonably priced.

My modifications:
1) Used 6.5 lb rack of pork instead of baby back ribs
2) Rubbed pork with olive oil, and salt and pepper before baking
3) Did not use horseradish
4) Cooked for 8 hours on low heat

Here's what I did:
1) Cut the rack of pork into 3, 3, and 2 ribs. Then rubbed with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Baked at 475 for 30 min
2) Made 1.5 portion of the sauce below (since I had 6.5 lb of meat)
3) After the meet was done baking, I cut it into even smaller pieces
4) Placed in slow cooker, making sure to layer sauce on top of the pork
5) Cooked in slow cooker on LOW for 8 hours.
6) Removed meat and placed on another dish. Poured the sauce into a separate sauce pan, and reduced on the stove for 20 min.
7) As I was reducing the sauce, I put the meat back into the slow cooker and kept it at WARM.
8) To serve, put sauce on top of the meat.



Slow Cooker Bourbon Baby Back Ribs (modified from 'I can cook that' website)

Author: I Can Cook That

Recipe type: Pork, Slow Cooker

Prep time:  30 mins

Cook time:  8 hours

Total time:  8 hours 30 mins

Serves: 5

 

Ingredients

• 5 lbs baby back ribs, cut to fit in your slow cooker
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup bourbon
• ¼ cup horseradish (didn't use this)
• ½ teaspoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Add the ribs to a large roasting pan (I didn’t have one so I used a few saute pans). Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Bake the ribs for 30 minutes at 475 degrees.
2. Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, bourbon, horseradish, and hot sauce in a bowl.
3. Add the ribs in a 6 quart slow cooker. Add the sauce on each layer of ribs.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or on high for 4 hours). Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and cover to keep warm. (You can add them to a plate and tent with tin foil).
5. Pour the drippings and sauce from the slow cooker into a saute pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Serve the ribs with the sauce.