Day 4 away from home and staying paleo at this point always becomes a challenge. sometimes the reason here is temptation, sometimes the reason is hidden ingredients (I had what I believed were some good Paleo Indian Food choices last night- my body told me rather instantaneously I was wrong), and sometimes it boils down to sheer availability.
At any rate, after stopping at a less than lovely service plaza on the Jersey turnpike because M was hungry and finding very few options(they did have some grapes) I’m dreaming of our kitchen, our food, our home… What’s one thing I know I have plenty of in the freezer that I’ll probably start cooking as soon as we get home: short ribs.
Short ribs are a fairly fatty cut of meat and one that it took me a while to learn to cook in a way that I liked to eat them. We received quite a few of them when we did the cow pool with our CrossFit box a couple of months ago so I have been determined to figure out the best way to cook them. I’ve tried recipes where you brown the ribs, boil a complicated marinade, soak them over night, slow cook them for hours the finish them on high heat for a little crust. I’ve tried making my own sauce and cooking them on low in the oven for 3 hours without all the other crazy steps. Both methods left me wanting something more. The meat just hadn’t been broken down enough.
On Father’s day I went back to my good ole crock pot roots and decided to slow cook them in it then finish them on the grill. Darn good and super easy!
Super Easy Crockpot Short Ribs
- Pull out your crockpot
- Cut your carrots in to large pieces and place in pot
- Cut your onion in to wedges(6ths or 8ths) and place in pot
- Place your short ribs in pot
- Pour liquid over everything
- Pour 1.5 cups of BBQ sauce over top (If you’re using a pre-made/store bought sauce just use 3/4 of it, save just a bit for basting on the grill at the end)
- Mix everything up
- Cover the top and leave.
- Cook 4-6 hours on high, If you plan to be away longer cook on low.
- Once finished fire up grill to hi heat.
- Take remaining BBQ sauce and baste ribs while turning on grill. The grilling step is optional but I like a little finish on my ribs and like the carmelization of the BBQ sauce.
- Eat em up!
If you have leftovers I like to pull the meat off of the bone and shred it. I top it with any remaining sauce and put it in little easy to grab containers in the fridge.
So yeah, as we drive down the Jersey Turnpike with three days left before heading home I’m dreaming of short ribs as I nibble on an almond butter packet and wondering what we’ll ever find for lunch…
When you travel do you being a bunch of food with you or just see what you find as you go along?