home made que; baby back pork ribs

spring/summer means warm weather, sports and outdoor cooking. well… for this one i may have cheated the outdoor smoker in favor of a slow cooker, but same outcome; happy gut. 2 slabs of baby back ribs, a homemade bbq sauce and 8 hours of house aroma later i could cram the gullet full. it’s funny when food you labor over hours of time to cook only takes just a few minutes to consume. it’s worth every minute.

i have found that using the slow cooker does uphold the justice for ribs very well. i enjoy pining over the smoker and tending to the flame hour upon hour, but sometimes work smarter, not harder pays off big. using a six quart crock, i cut the 2 slabs down to 4 to ensure the fit is good. a quick dry rub mix or brown sugar blend used liberally on the meat will suffice for cooking… sauce applied later if needed. cook on low for 8 hours, or medium for 6 for a similar outcome. then voila, your masterpiece is ready.

this time around i decided to make a bbq sauce to accompany the pork. i found an interesting recipe for a spicy raspberry sauce that sounded like a good challenge. turns out it was very easy to make and turned up extremely flavorful; prep time roughly 15 minutes. the sweet of the raspberries was perfect and not overpowering while the the chipotle chiles lended a gradual burn that halted at medium fire and lingered for sometime after.

raspberry hot bbq sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups raspberries

½ cup fresh basil leaves

3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (canned in mexican section of grocery)

1 cup ketchup

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons ground mustard

½ teaspoon black pepper

heat olive oil on high in pot. add diced onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes. add garlic and sauté additional minute. add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. once boil occurs, turn heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes. after 15 minutes of simmer, transfer into a blender and purée for 10 minutes. bingo… sauce is ready to use hot or jar for use later.

*tip – temper the spice heat by only using the chiles from the can vs using the adobo. or, just simply go without and have a sweet mild raspberry sauce.

from my table to yours, cheers!