Beer Braised Country Style Barbecue Pork Ribs

The Kid loves to get ribs when we go out to dinner, but have you seen the calorie content on those things?! A half rack of ribs can be well over 1000 calories without including the sides! They aren’t too difficult to make on your own so it’s definitely something to try if you want to enjoy ribs without expanding your own ribs.

Here in Texas they typically do beef ribs, but I’m from the East Coast so it’s pork ribs for us, baby! I picked up a pack of country style pork ribs the other day and got to work slow cooking them for dinner. They turned out delish and all it took was a quick slice of an onion, pouring of a beer, and a little brushing of barbecue sauce. And a whole lot of waiting with a wonderful smell.

Beer Braised Country Style Barbecue Pork Ribs 

• 1 large onion
• 12 oz beer or stout
• 3 lbs country style pork ribs
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Cut the onions into rings and spread them in the bottom of your slow cooker. Cut the ribs apart and arrange them over top of the onions and pour in the beer. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours until the ribs are tender. Remove from the juices and place the ribs on a foil lined cookie sheet.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Brush the ribs with half of the barbecue sauce and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Flip the ribs over and brush again with the remainder of the sauce. Return to the oven and bake for 20 – 30 more minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy.

Makes 8 servings at approximately 235 calories each – 18g protein, 5g carbs, and 16g of fat.

Notes

• You can use any type of beer that you like. I chose a chocolate stout this time because I thought the flavor would blend nicely with the barbecue sauce. Plain old cheap beer works just as well.
• I used Austin’s Own barbecue sauce because I like that it doesn’t use a lot of preservatives and sweeteners. I can pronounce everything on the label. You can get creative with your sauce and use anything that your family likes.
• This recipe can easily be done in less time in a regular oven instead of the slow cooker. Place the ribs in a pan with the onions and beer, cover with foil, and bake at 375 for 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the beer mixture and finish them with the sauce as above.

The calories and fat content above may be higher than it should be since most of the fat cooks off and is left in the pan. Another trick I use is to slow cook the ribs, rinse them in hot water, and pat dry with a paper towel before basting with the barbecue sauce. This greatly reduces the fat but keeps the same great flavor. You can also try this trick with ground beef!