We had the opportunity to have a college student over for dinner earlier this week, and I prepared these crock-pot pork spare ribs for our family and dinner guest. It was totally interesting talking to this young college student, as I could relate to his culinary woes of not making a lot of time for cooking because of the need to study and the busyness of college life in general.

If I were to do college all over again, I would totally use the crock-pot ALL. OF. THE. TIME. I told our guest that you could cook almost any meat all day with a little water at the bottom of the slow cooker and seasonings are optional (think back to college-people will be impressed you are eating way better than Top Ramen when you eat meat you actually cooked). The crock-pot water/meat method can be used with chicken, ham, turkey, roasts, and more. Cooking with the crock-pot really can’t be more carefree for the college kid and beyond.

Crock-pot Pork Spare Ribs

Author Sonja

Ingredients

2.5-4 pounds pork spare ribs
water enough to barely cover the bottom of the crock-pot
Sweet Mesquite Seasoning or your favorite seasonings or rub (see notes below*)

Instructions

You can season the night before if desired.
Barely cover the bottom of the crock-pot with water.
Place the pork spare ribs in the crock-pot. If the pork spare ribs don't fit, fold them into the crock-pot as shown above.
Generously season the ribs, if you haven't already done so.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

The Verdict: Jonathan says these are the absolutely best pork spare ribs that he has EVER had. I was surprised he said this because he is a serious meat eater, these weren’t prepared on a grill, and he loves all things barbecue.

*We use the Sweet Mesquite Seasoning from Costco. In case you don’t have it or have a Costco nearby and you want to give this seasoning a shot, the main flavors are sea salt, black pepper, chili pepper, red pepper, oregano, dehydrated onion, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated red bell pepper, and sugar to name the pronounceble ingredients.

We have made 2.5 to 4 pounds of pork spare ribs in the crock-pot with success. I have used a 6 and a 7 quart crock-pot, respectively. Just fold the ribs over if they don’t fit in one level; it’s okay if they touch each other. We have also cooked them all night and ate them the next day at dinner and they were a little too tender. Leaving them for just the day of was perfect!

Have you made a pork roast in the crock-pot or use shredded pork for salads or burritos?