Best-Ever BBQ Ribs

Best-Ever Barbecued Ribs
(We ALL agree with this title! The ribs really were the best-ever! It's the first time we've had baby back ribs at our house. I think you could easily substitute boneless spare ribs which are typically a lot less expensive than the baby back ribs. I think the DRY RUB is the key to making ribs "best-ever." I've never used a dry-rub before on the spare ribs we've cooked, but this recipe has changed my way of thinking about ribs!)

DRY RUB:
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper

3 - 3 1/2 lbs well-trimmed pork baby back ribs, cut into 4-rib pieces

BBQ SAUCE of your choice (we used Sweet Baby Ray's), or:
1/4 cup ketchup
2 T. packed dark brown sugar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. soy sauce

Combine dry rub ingredients. Sprinkle over meaty sides of ribs and rub mixture into meat. Place ribs in crock pot. Cover; cook on LOW 7-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours or until ribs are tender.

Combine sauce ingredients, or use favorite BBQ sauce of your choice. Remove ribs from crock pot; discard cooking liquid. Coat ribs with sauce; return ribs to crock pot and cook on HIGH 30 minutes, or until ribs are glazed. We served the ribs with French fries and corn on the cob.