Slow cooker baby back ribs are a five-minute prep dinner that produces tender, pull-off-the-bone ribs without a smoker or a grill. A brown sugar and smoked paprika dry rub, a thinned barbecue sauce, and five to eight hours in a large oval slow cooker do the work. The optional broiler finish at the end creates the sticky, caramelized exterior that slow cooking alone doesn't achieve. Two choices at the end of the cook: serve straight from the slow cooker for maximum tenderness, or transfer to a sheet pan, brush with more sauce, and broil for a few minutes for the glazed exterior that most people associate with well-made ribs.

The slow cooker does the heavy lifting here. Baby back ribs need time and low heat to break down the connective tissue between the muscle fibers; a slow cooker held at low for six to eight hours does exactly that without requiring attention or flipping. The resulting meat is tender through the full thickness of each rib, which is harder to achieve reliably on a grill without careful monitoring.

Membrane removal

The thin membrane on the bone side of the rack is worth removing but not strictly required. It prevents the dry rub from penetrating the underside of the ribs and can remain chewy after long cooking rather than becoming tender along with the meat. To remove it: flip the rack bone-side up, find the edge where the membrane starts at the thin end of the rack, and work a finger or a paring knife under it to create a flap. Grip the flap with a paper towel for traction and pull steadily; it usually comes off in one piece once you have a grip on it. Skip this step if you prefer and the ribs will still be good, just with a slightly different texture on the underside.

The dry rub

A third cup of packed light brown sugar, a tablespoon of smoked paprika, two teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper, one and a half teaspoons of kosher salt, a teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder, and optionally half a teaspoon of cayenne for heat. Whisk together in a bowl. The brown sugar caramelizes during the cook and under the broiler; the smoked paprika adds the smokiness that a slow cooker can't provide on its own. Chipotle chili powder can substitute for the smoked paprika for a deeper smoke and more heat.

Assembly in the slow cooker

Cut the rack in half so it fits in the slow cooker. Mix one cup of barbecue sauce with two tablespoons of water to thin it slightly. Lay the first half rack meat-side up, sprinkle with half the dry rub, drizzle with half the thinned sauce. Add the second half rack on top in the same orientation, add the remaining rub and sauce. Cover and cook on low for six to eight hours. The ribs are done when a fork inserted between two bones meets no resistance. Low rather than high is strongly recommended; high heat for three to four hours can dry the meat before the connective tissue fully breaks down.

The broiler decision

Straight from the slow cooker, the ribs are fully cooked and tender but the exterior is pale and soft rather than caramelized. Serving them as-is is a legitimate choice and is actually the version that keeps the meat at its most tender. The broiler step produces the sticky, caramelized exterior that looks like the ribs most people expect, but a few minutes under a hot broiler can dry the outer layer of the meat slightly.

If broiling: carefully transfer the half racks to a parchment-lined sheet pan, brush with up to a cup of additional barbecue sauce, and broil on the second-highest rack position for a few minutes until the sauce is bubbling and caramelized. Watch constantly; the sugar in the sauce can go from caramelized to burnt in under a minute. Rest fifteen minutes before serving either way. Serves 4. Note that the source nutrition figures appear to reflect only the rub and sauce, not the meat protein and fat; use a nutrition calculator with the full ingredient list for accurate figures.

Sauce selection

A thick, molasses-based barbecue sauce produces the best glaze under the broiler because it has enough body to cling to the ribs and enough sugar to caramelize. Thin, vinegar-forward sauces run off the ribs during the slow cook and don't set under the broiler the same way. If your preferred sauce is thin, reduce it in a small saucepan for five minutes before using. The two tablespoons of water added to the broiling sauce cup is specifically to thin the sauce for the slow cook, where it needs to flow around the ribs; the sauce brushed on before broiling should go on full-strength.