Crock Pot Buddies – Pork Ribs In Tomato Sauce

If it’s Thursday, you know it is time for Crock Pot Buddies! This is now week five for me and my cooking-partner-in-crime Cristina over at centraljerseyworkingmoms.com! Did any of you try my Lip-Smack-A-Luscious Pot Roast recipe from last week? If so, please be sure to let me know either via comments here or my Facebook page. This week Cristina is serving up pulled pork and not to be outdone, I’m sharing my recipe for Pork Ribs in Tomato Sauce.

On our trip last week to Texas to visit with family we had lunch one day at the Rib Tickler where I ate some awesome BBQ ribs. I had ½ a rack and sucked those bones dry, I didn’t even share one bite with the Hubs or kidlets. Now that we’ve come back home to New Jersey, I still had a hankering for ribs and decided that I would make some for dinner, but with an Italian twist. Instead of predictably slow cooking them smothered in barbeque sauce or with sauerkraut and apples, why not try cooking ribs in a thick and hearty tomato sauce? Pork ribs are perfect to make “Italian style.” Slow cooking the pork ribs is a perfect way to infuse tomato sauce with incredible meat flavor.

Now if you have a hi-tech slow cooker like mine – the Cusinart Multi-Cooker – you can prepare this entire meal in the crock pot itself. You start off by setting the crock-pot to sauté and you can brown the meat and soften the vegetables all in one pot before switching over to the slow cooker mode. If you do not have a multi-cook setting crock-pot, no worries, you can brown the meat in a skillet or Dutch oven on the stove – but you’ll have one more pot to clean!

I would suggest serving this over pasta, and since it’s such a hearty sauce, I’d suggest either using fettuccine, tagliatelle or linguine. Apparently I was so hungry, that I even forgot to take pictures this week….I promise, I’ll have them for next week’s recipe!

Pork Ribs in Tomato Sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Slow Cook Time: 3 Hours on HIGH or 8 Hours on LOW

Ingredients:

3 – 3 ½ lbs of country-style pork ribs
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz) of diced tomatoes
1 can (28 oz) of crushed tomatoes
1 cup of red wine or beef or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp basil
½ tsp thyme
¼ – ½ tsp red pepper flakes (adjust to how spicy you want it!)
2 Tbsp Olive oil (only if you have to brown the meat in a skillet instead of in crock pot on sauté setting)
¼ cup fresh parsley or cilantro chopped

Directions:

1. Trim excess fat from country-style pork ribs and season liberally with salt and black pepper on all sides.

2. Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven to medium-high heat and when hot, working in small batches, add the pork ribs and sear until a light golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Place seared pork ribs directly into crock-pot.

3. Add onion, carrots and celery to pot and sauté for 5 minutes until slightly soft. Add minced garlic and stir for 1 minute, then add tomato paste and cook until the paste becomes a deep red, about 2 minutes. Add the mixture into the crock-pot over the pork ribs.

4. Add the can of diced tomatoes, can of crushed tomatoes, either wine or broth and all spices, except for fresh parsley. Stir to mix all the ingredients.

5. Set crock pot for 3 Hours on High or 8 Hours on Low, until pork ribs are tender and falling off the bone.

6. Add fresh chopped parsley or cilantro, season with salt & pepper to taste and serve.

Now it’s your turn. Please link up below your favorite crock-pot recipe below and don’t forget to share your shortcuts or improvements to your dish! Remember, there’s always time for a home cooked meal with your crock-pot!