Sticky Steakhouse Ribs. Sweet, smoky, fall-off-the-bone beef ribs coated in a sticky BBQ glaze. Perfect for parties or any night you want something seriously delicious!
Imagine ribs so soft they slide right off the bone, covered in a sweet and sticky sauce that makes your fingers messy in the best way possible.
I’m not joking when I say these ribs are some of the most crowd-pleasing food you can make. You mix up a quick sauce, pour it over the ribs, let the slow cooker do all the heavy lifting for hours, and then finish them under the grill to get that amazing sticky, caramel-like coating on the outside. The slow cooker makes the meat crazy tender, and then that last blast of heat turns the sauce into something that looks and tastes like it came straight from a fancy steakhouse. Every single time I make these at a get-together, people go back for seconds — and they always ask me for the recipe. It looks impressive, but honestly? It’s one of the easiest things I know how to make.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3.3 pounds beef spare ribs (meaty, on wide flat bones)
- 1 piece onion, grated fine
- 0.7 cups your favourite steak sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Sticky Steakhouse Ribs: Directions
- Put ribs in the slow cooker: Lay your 3.3 pounds beef spare ribs (meaty, on wide flat bones) straight into the slow cooker. No need to do anything to them first — just place them in nice and flat.
- Mix the marinade: In a bowl, mix together the 1 piece onion, grated fine, 0.7 cups your favourite steak sauce, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Stir it all together until it looks like a thick, saucy paste.
- Keep some sauce to the side and use the rest. Before adding it to the ribs, take out about half a cup and put it in a small bowl. You’ll need that later. Pour the rest of the sauce all over the ribs.
- Cook low and slow: Put the lid on and cook on AUTO for 360 minutes, or on LOW for 8 hours. The ribs will slowly get softer and soak up all that amazing flavour while you go about your day.
- Move ribs to oven tray: When the ribs are done, they’ll be super soft and tender. Carefully lift them out of the slow cooker and place them on an oven tray. They may fall apart a little — that’s totally fine, it means they’re perfect.
- Brush with saved sauce: Grab that half cup of marinade you saved earlier and brush it all over the top of the ribs. This is what makes them go sticky and shiny in the oven.
- Grill until sticky and golden: Put the tray under a hot oven grill for about 10 minutes. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn. You want them to turn brown and sticky on top, not charred.
- Dig in: Take them out, let them sit for a minute, then serve them up. Have some paper towels ready — these ribs are wonderfully messy to eat.
Notes
- Ask your butcher for beef spare ribs with wide, flat bones — these are the really meaty ones.
- Use whatever steak sauce you love most. Any brand works great.
- The longer they cook, the softer they get — LOW for 8 hours gives you the most tender result.
- Watch carefully under the grill at the end. The sugar in the sauce can burn quickly.
- These are great for parties — you can cook them in the slow cooker ahead of time and grill them right before serving.