Sweet and Sour Cherry Spare Ribs (Crock Pot Recipe)

Generally, I view cooking spare ribs in a slow cooker as some form of sacrilege, but I'm trying to be open-minded. Given that this Sunday is too cloudy, cold, and gloomy to make me want to tramp outside and tend to a grill, I thought I'd experiment with a slow cooker, but I'm doing it on my terms by concocting my own version of a sauce that I think would go well with them using this method.

My objective was to get cherry flavour penetrating the meat on all taste dimensions (salty, sweet, sour, and bitter) and to rely a little less on the more piquant seasonings that I usually prefer. So, here it is: one of the very few recipes that I've created in which I bothered to write down.

Ingredients

1.7 kg - Pork Spare Ribs (I used side ribs), cut into 2-3 rib sections

1 Cup - Sour Cherry Jam (found at the Saskatoon Farmers Market)

It tastes great in Vodka too!

1/2 Cup - Pickled Sweet Cherry Juice*

15 - Pickled Sweet Cherries*, halved with stems and pits removed

1/2 teaspoon - Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters cocktail flavouring
1/2 Cup - Coca Cola
1 Tablespoon - Creamy Horseradish Sauce

1/2 Teaspoon - Chinese 5 spice powder

1/2 Tablespoon - Coriander seeds, lightly cracked in a Mortar and Pestle

1/2 Tablespoon - Pink Peppercorns, lightly cracked in a Mortar and Pestle

1/2 Tablespoon - Red Chili Pepper Flakes

1/2 Tablespoon - Kosher Salt

1/2 Teaspoon - Cayenne Pepper

After sectioning the ribs, combine all the rest of the listed ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly to make the sauce.

Dip each rib section in the sauce, coating them completely, and place them in a slow cooker crock. Pour the remaining sauce over the ribs, put the lid on the crock, place it in the slow cooker, and then set on medium for eight hours.

The Result

It actually turned out more sweet than sour, so in the future I may add either white vinegar, or red wine vinegar, to give it more balance to improve its tanginess. I would guess that the same sauce could be possibly used with browned chicken thighs, and roasted or slow cooked as well.

*- This is one of my own homemade condiments which I also have the recipe for, so you kind of get a bonus. For making Sweet Pickled Cherries, the process is as such:

1.75 Cups - White Vinegar

1.75 Cups - Granulated White Sugar

0.75 Cups - Water

2 - 10 cm long, cinnamon sticks

2 Teaspoons - Whole cloves

1 Teaspoon - Whole Allspice berries

1 kg - Dark Sweet Cherries (with the stems)

Combine vinegar, sugar, water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently uncovered for 20 minutes.

Sterilize three 500 mL canning jars, and pack the cherries into them.

Remove and discard the cinnamon sticks and pour in the hot syrup over the cherries to within 1.5 cm from the rim of the jar. Seal the jars and process them by immersing them fully in a boiling water bath for at least 10 minutes. Wait 2-3 weeks before using.