Week 9: Root Beer BBQ Ribs

1 can of root beer

2-4 lbs baby back ribs

1 bottle bbq sauce

Cut ribs into sections of about 4-5 ribs and place in Crock Pot.  Add can of root beer.  Cook on LOW about 7-8 hours.  Drain root beer.  Brush ribs with bbq sauce of your choice and return to cooker for about 30 more minutes, until sauce is heated through.

Are these frigid winter nights making you long for the summer evenings when you sit on your patio with a beer in one hand and your bbq tongs in the other?  Well, I can't change the weather for you, but maybe I can satisfy your craving for summertime treats!  Thank you to the Zoller family for suggesting this one and providing the recipe.  I have made recipes before that require a can of cola, even beer, but have never thought of root beer.  Delicious!  Make sure you don't substitute diet root beer in this recipe-you need the sugar!  I let my ribs cook for about 9 hours and I think it was a little too long.  These are literally fall off the bone ribs, so if you don't like this idea...wait for summer when you can uncover the grill!  Any bbq sauce will do at the end of this.  I used Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy.  Yummy!  I read several similar recipes to this one and noticed that quite a few suggested basting and throwing the ribs on the grill for 15 minutes at the end.  This might add a little bit of smoky flavor, but as I said before, these are fall off the bone, so I'm not sure how good this tip would work.  Some pasta salad, green beans, and crescent rolls topped this meal off nicely.