Backyard Comfort: Just 4 ingredients. The perfect main course

These 4-ingredient slow cooker sticky ginger country ribs are the kind of holiday-weekend main dish that lets you put your feet up instead of hovering over a hot stove. The idea comes straight out of the old Midwestern potluck playbook: take a thrifty, bony cut, let it go low and slow until it turns soft and gelatinous, then finish it with a glossy, caramelized glaze right in the cooker.

My mother used to say, “Let the meat do the work while you enjoy your company,” and that’s exactly what happens here. A simple gingered sauce melts into the ribs, the connective tissue turns silky, and by the time you lift the lid you’ve got sticky, amber-colored chunks of tender country-style ribs just begging to be piled onto plates.

These ribs are rich and sticky, so they shine with simple country sides: buttered mashed potatoes or a scoop of fluffy white rice to soak up the sauce, and something crisp like coleslaw or a vinegar cucumber salad to cut through the sweetness. Warm dinner rolls or cornbread are handy for sopping up every last bit of the glossy juices from the slow cooker.

For a holiday weekend spread, add a big bowl of baked beans and a platter of sliced tomatoes or sweet corn on the cob, and you’ve got a backyard-style feast with almost no effort.

4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Sticky Ginger Country Ribs

Servings: 6

Ingredients

4 pounds bone-in country-style pork ribs

1 cup thick barbecue sauce (preferably smoky-sweet)
1/2 cup ginger ale or ginger beer (not diet)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Directions