Slow Cooker Beef Back Ribs

These slow cooker beef back ribs are cooked in a delicious red wine sauce with just a hint of spice from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. By the end of the cooking time the rib meat slides off the bones and is full of flavor.

How to make it:

Prep the meat:

Step 1. Cut a 2-pound rack of bone-in, beef back ribs into individual ribs and season them with a bit of salt and pepper.

Brown the meat:

Step 2. Grab a large cast iron pan and heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil until shimmering. Sear the ribs in the hot oil until they are browned on all sides.

Step 3. Transfer the ribs to your slow cooker.

Cook the vegetables:

Step 4. In the same pan you browned the ribs in, cook:

• 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 2 celery ribs, cut into large chunks

(There will be enough fat in the pan from the ribs so you don’t need to add any.) Cook the vegetables until they are starting to brown (about 10 minutes), then add 2 minced or pressed garlic cloves and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Add liquid:

Step 5. Add 1 ½ cups dry red wine, 3 cups chicken broth and 1 cup water into the pan. Bring the mix to a boil, then transfer to the slow cooker.

Add seasonings and slow cook:

Step 6. Add 2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and 1 teaspoon dried thyme to the slow cooker, then put on the lid and cook on low for 6 hours.

Separate the liquid and discard the fat:

Step 7. After the 6 hours, open the lid and pour or ladle the liquid out of the slow cooker into a fat separator. (See the recipe tip below on what to do if you don’t have a fat separator.) Let the liquid sit for a minute to allow it to separate, then drain the bottom layer into a saucepan and discard the top (fat) layer.

RECIPE TIP: If you don’t have a fat separator, simply pour the liquid into a bowl, let it sit for a minute to allow the fat to rise to the top, then skim the fat off the surface using a large spoon.

Reduce the sauce:

Step 8. Cook the sauce uncovered on medium heat until it is reduced to a syrupy consistency.

While the sauce is on the stovetop, transfer the ribs out of the slow cooker, discard the bones and shred the meat off the skin that was on the back of the ribs. Discard the skin, then add the meat to the sauce and make sure to remove any bone fragments there might be.

How to serve it:

Serve the meat with egg noddles and a dollop of sour cream (optional).

More hearty soups and stews:

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Full Recipe

Slow Cooker Beef Back Ribs

Nicole B.

These slow cooker beef back ribs are cooked in a delicious red wine sauce with just a hint of spice from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 7 hrs

Total Time 7 hrs 30 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 2

Calories 1310 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• ▢ 2 pounds beef back ribs, bone in
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into chunks
• ▢ 1 large carrot, cut into chunks
• ▢ 2 celery ribs, cut into chunks
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 ½ cups dry red wine
• ▢ 3 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ cooked egg noodles
• ▢ sour cream, optional

Instructions

 

• Cut the rib rack into individual ribs, season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
• Heat the oil in a cast iron pan until shimmering.
• Sear the ribs on all sides until browned, then transfer to a slow cooker.
• Add onion, carrot and celery to the pan you seared the meat in and cook for about 10 minutes, until starting to brown.* Be careful not to burn the browned bits from the ribs that are in the pan, turn the heat down if you need to.
• Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
• Stir in wine, chicken broth and water, bring to a boil, then transfer to the slow cooker.
• Add the chipotle peppers and the thyme to the slow cooker, then cook on low for 6 hours.
• Transfer the liquid out of the slow cooker into a fat separator.**
• Let the liquid sit for a minute until separated, then pour the bottom layer into a pot and discard the top (fat) layer.
• Cook the sauce uncovered on medium heat until reduced to a syrupy consistency.
• Transfer the meat out of the slow cooker, discard the bones and shred the meat with two forks off the skin that was on the back of the ribs. Discard the skin.
• Add the meat to the sauce and make sure that you removed all bone fragments. 
• Serve on egg noodles with a dollop of sour cream (optional).

Notes

*There will be enough fat in the pan from the ribs so you don’t need to add any in this step.

**If you don’t have a fat separator, pour the liquid into a bowl, let it sit for a minute to let the fat rise to the top, then skim off the fat layer using a large spoon.

Nutrition

Calories: 1310kcal

Keyword beef back ribs, slow cooker beef back ribs, slow cooker ribs

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