Backyard Comfort: Just 4 ingredients. The perfect main course

Pat the country-style ribs dry with paper towels and trim off any large, loose flaps of fat, leaving some for flavor and moisture. This helps the ribs brown up a bit in their own juices and keeps the finished sauce from being too greasy.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce, ginger ale, and brown sugar until the sugar is mostly dissolved and the mixture is smooth and pourable. It should smell sweet and gingery, like a simple backyard rib glaze.

Lay the ribs in a single, snug layer in the bottom of a large slow cooker. If you need to stack them a little, tuck the meatier pieces toward the bottom so they sit in more of the cooking liquid and get extra tender.

Pour the ginger-barbecue mixture evenly over the ribs, turning the pieces gently with tongs to coat them on all sides. The ribs don’t need to be completely submerged; they will release juices as they cook and create more liquid.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the ribs are very tender. The meat should be soft and gelatinous around the bones, and you should be able to pull it apart easily with a fork, but it should still hold together in big, chunky pieces.

Once the ribs are tender, use a ladle or large spoon to skim off any obvious pools of fat from the surface of the cooking liquid and discard. This keeps the final glaze from becoming greasy and helps it cling better to the meat.

With the ribs still in the slow cooker, gently turn the heat to HIGH if it isn’t already there, remove the lid, and let the ribs simmer uncovered in their sauce for 20 to 30 minutes. During this time, baste the ribs occasionally with the bubbling liquid.

The sauce will reduce, thicken, and turn glossy and sticky, clinging to the ribs and giving them a caramelized amber finish while the gelatin in the meat turns silky.

If you’d like the ribs even stickier, carefully transfer them to a serving dish and spoon the thickened sauce over the top, or let them sit in the slow cooker on WARM for another 10 to 15 minutes so the glaze can set slightly on the surface. Serve the ribs straight from the slow cooker, spooning extra caramelized sauce over each portion.

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