I am a smoked rib tip kind of guy. Usually. But I had some tips leftover from a few racks of St Louis-style ribs and I was just not feeling the fire-up-the-smoker love. I just wasn’t in the mood. I was in the mood to drop them in a slow cooker for a few hours, though. Served with some air-fryer tater tots (aka Tots and Tips!) these slow cooker rib tips were really, really good. Sticky sweet, lightly smoky, and oh so tender and juicy I really enjoyed them. Will they replace my low-and-slow smoked tips? No, but I’ll definitely make them again.
If you’re not a fan of liquid smoke, or you don’t have any on idea, don’t worry! Just use a BBQ sauce that has smoky flavor instead, it’ll make these slow cooker rib tips just as tasty. Any good mesquite or hickory BBQ sauce will do. As for the rub, I used a rub with a bit of a kick to it. Some spiciness to offset the sweetness from the BBQ sauce. You can keep it all sweet if you want and use a brown sugar-based rub.
Slow Cooker Rib Tips
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup your favorite BBQ seasoning
- 1 pound pork ribs tips
- 18 ounces your favorite BBQ sauce divided
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke or less, to taste
Instructions
- Coat the ribs tips in rub. Don't be shy with it. You want it on all sides of the rib tips.
- Let rest 10 minutes.
- Combine all of the BBQ sauce with the liquid smoke, to taste.
- Transfer rib tips to the slow cooker. Add half of the sauce mixture and stir to coat.
- Cook on low 4-6 hours or until the rib tips are tender. Stir every so often.
- Transfer rib tips to a baking sheet lined with foil
- Baste with the remaining sauce and place under the broiler.
- Broil for 5 minutes or until the sauce is set and the ribs start to get a little char on them.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
