Slow Cooker Beef Ribs - Healthy Recipes Blog (2024)

FAQs

Can beef ribs be healthy? ›

BBQ beef ribs help to keep your bones and muscles strong with their phosphorous and magnesium. These minerals together provide strength to the entire skeletal system. But not only that — they also work as a team, where phosphorous helps with tooth and muscle health while magnesium helps manage your heart's rhythm.

Don't worry that the ribs go into the slow cooker without liquid; the heat is gentle enough that the ribs do not burn, and the meat releases liquid as it cooks, so it braises in its own spiced juices. (You could also make these ribs in a pressure cooker by following this recipe.)

This flavoursome fat and connective tissue means that beef short ribs need long, slow cooking in order to become tender. Once fully cooked, however, they are particularly soft - the meat can be easily pulled away from the bones with little effort and cut through with a spoon.

There's no need to cover your ribs in liquid when slow cooking them. Add a bit to the bottom of the crockpot to keep things steamy inside the crockpot, but you won't cover the ribs. Why are my ribs not tender in the slow cooker? Ribs that aren't tender are usually a result of undercooking.

No matter how you choose to cook your rack of ribs, it's a delicious way to get some seriously high-packed protein and healthy fat energy into your diet. And when you go Ibérico, there's definitely no reason to be counting those calories.

You will often see them sold trimmed “St. Louis Style” to make the rack of ribs easier to deal with. Overall, baby backs win out as the lowest in fat and calories, plus they're more tender and quick-cooking.

You may, if desired, spritz or mop your ribs while smoking with a liquid of your choice. Apple juice or cider, butter, Dr. Pepper, apple cider vinegar, beer… there are plenty of options.

Can You Slow Cook Ribs Too Long? Yes, just like oven baked ribs, if you leave them in the crockpot for too long they can become dry and tough. This will likely not happen, but it is possible. So just use the timer on your crockpot if it has one or set your own.

Braising, which is actually slow simmering (after browning in a bit of oil or butter), brings irresistibly tender and boldly flavored results to this meaty cut of beef. Because short ribs require long, slow cooking for tenderness and flavor, braising is the perfect technique for cooking them.

Why are my beef ribs always tough? ›

When it comes to cooking these chunks of beef, there is a right way and a wrong way. If they aren't braised long enough, they can be super tough to eat; if they are cooked too long, the meat will just fall apart.

If you've ever had ribs that were tough and chewy, or that just didn't seem as flavorful as they could be, the rib membrane may be to blame. This thin layer of connective tissue can prevent seasoning and smoke from fully penetrating the meat, leaving you with lackluster results.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or on LOW for 7-9 hours OR cook until ribs are fall apart tender. Rotate ribs once during cooking so they cook evenly. Cooking time may vary between slow cookers.

The secret to incredibly tender ribs is baking them low and slow. Baking ribs in the oven is so easy. 95% of the cooking time is spent relaxing while your ribs transform into fall-off-the-bone perfection.

All That Marbled Fat

The ample gelatinous fat of beef ribs runs through the meat during the cook for that smoky brisket flavor. Want leaner and healthier cuts? Choose pork ribs.

It also depends on how the meat is cut. Beef ribs are a lot bigger than pork, and have more meat on the bone, but also more fat. The fat-to-meat ratio in a beef rib is pretty even, but because the rib has a lot of meat, that means there is quite a bit of fat as well.

Beef ribs comprise a much heftier piece of meat, with each bone often more than twice the length of its pork counterpart. They're also complemented by more fat, typically marbled and layered throughout the meat. This fat infuses the cut during cooking, leading to a tender and bold result.

Beef ribs tend to be fattier and more flavorful than pork ribs, although pork spareribs, cut from the sternum, are also fattier and pretty darn tasty. One thing that differentiates the two is where the meat comes from. Beef back ribs are leftover from where the ribeye is cut away, which makes them less meaty.