Larene's Country Style Pork BBQ Spare Ribs (in the crock pot)

Here are the BBQ pork spare ribs I made for Sunday dinner with Andrea and Ben. It is my mother-in-law Larene's recipe, but I made a couple small changes. Jacob loves these ribs, and growing up this was one of his top birthday dinner requests (along with macaroni and tomatoes, which I will NEVER make, because it is gross.)

Country Style Pork Spare Ribs
Cook time *(including prep): 4 hours and 15 minutes, Serves: 4 to 6

- 1 14oz bottle Chili Sauce or Ketchup (I ALWAYS use Chili Sauce)
- ½ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Mustard
- ½ cup Brown Sugar (plus...and sometimes I add 1/4 cup molasses)
- 1 med Onion, cut any way you prefer. I like big slices.
- ½ tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 cup Water
- Beef Bouillon Cube to yield 1 cup broth
- Tabasco Sauce to taste
- About 8 Country Style Spare Ribs (I usually do 4 with bone, and 4 w/out)
- Optional: 4 to 6 Tablespoons Cornstarch
Optional prep: Season ribs with salt and pepper, dredge in flour and shake off excess, then braise ribs on all sides in hot skillet before placing in crock pot. (Braising will seal in juices and create a nice crust that otherwise wouldn’t form in the crock pot.)

I don't braise them every time, but if you do you will find it adds extra flavor and the flour helps to thicken the sauce.

If you choose not to braise then simply season the short ribs with salt and pepper and then add along with the onions to a crock pot. Mix together all other ingredients (except cornstarch) to create your sauce and poor over the onion and ribs. Cook for 4 hours on high setting. You can serve them at this point, or...

Optional: Remove Ribs from crock pot and set aside. Ladle some of the liquid (about 1 cup) into a small bowl and to it, add 4 to 6 Tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk until there are no lumps. The liquid in the bowl should have begun to thicken quite a bit. Add this liquid back to the crock pot and whisk to combine. Add ribs back to crock pot and allow to cook for about 15 more minutes, or until the sauce has thickened up to an almost gravy like consistency. Serve over Buttered Noodles with Lemon, Shallots and Chives.