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Nothing says delicious weeknight comfort or easy weekend meals like these honey citrus ribs. Cooked low and slow in the crockpot until perfectly tender, they’re finished with a tangy glaze and a quick broil or grill to seal in the flavor.
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Ingredients
- 2 racks baby back ribs (about 3 to 4 pounds)
- 1 orange (sliced)
- 4 cloves garlic (smashed)
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 to 3 tablespoons rib rub (store-bought or homemade, see notes)
Honey Citrus BBQ Sauce:
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ½ cup chili sauce
- ½ cup barbecue sauce (of choice)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Prepare the Rub: If making homemade rub, combine all rub ingredients (see notes). Remove the silver membrane from the back of the ribs and rub generously on both sides with the spice mixture.
- Slow Cook the Ribs: Place orange slices, smashed garlic, and orange juice in the bottom of a 6 QT slow cooker. Arrange ribs on top.
- Cook: Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours, until the ribs are fork-tender.
- Make the Sauce: Preheat the broiler. In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, chili sauce, barbecue sauce, honey, orange zest, and lime juice.
- Broil for Perfection: Remove ribs from the slow cooker and place them on a baking sheet. Brush generously with the honey citrus BBQ sauce. Broil (or grill) for 3-5 minutes until slightly charred and caramelized.
- Serve: Let the ribs rest for a few minutes, then slice and serve with additional sauce on the side.
Notes
Homemade Rib Rub:
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
hey, Alice Williams, was wonderin about that honey citrus bbq sauce, like can i use lime instead of lemon? wanna make sure it won’t mess the flavor up, thanks!
Lime’s gonna give it a bit more tang, but it should work out fine. I swap them all the time in recipes.
Lime sounds amazing in it! Gonna try that too!
made this rub and sauce combo and the ribs were fire, def doing it again
Wow, another BBQ sauce recipe? Because we certainly don’t have enough of those floating around. Hope this one actually brings something new to the table.
ok but like, doesn’t every bbq sauce claim to be the best? seen so many recipes saying this and they all taste the same. what makes this one different?