These ribs came to me from my friend Marisa. Now, I am not usually a big rib person, but after she made them for a dinner party, I demanded the recipe within two bites.

These are fantastic for people who either lack a grill, or the skills to grill in general because you make them in a slow cooker. The long cook time results in rib meat that literally falls off the bone – you may have a hard time getting them out of the pot in one piece!

These also got rave reviews from rib-lover and resident manly food expert, my boyfriend. Ribs are his number one favorite food, and he’s pretty pleased I finally found a recipe that let’s me love ribs as much as he does.

Ingredients (adapted from Real Simple):

• 1/3  cup  soy sauce
• 1/2  cup  packed light brown sugar
• 2  Tbsp.  rice vinegar
• 2  Tbsp.  cornstarch
• 1  tsp.  toasted sesame oil
• 1  one-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2  tsp.  cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 4  pounds  baby-back ribs (2 to 3 racks), cut into 8 pieces

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, oil, ginger, and cayenne pepper together.

2. Place the ribs in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the ribs and turn the ribs to coat them completely.

3. Cover and cook until the ribs are tender, on low for 6 to 7 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

4. Twenty minutes before serving, preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the ribs, meaty-side up, on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Strain the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a medium bowl. Brush the meaty side of the ribs with half of the cooking liquid and bake for about 10-15 minutes.