Barbeque Chicken Wings (in the Slow Cooker)

I've made these wings several times but always in the oven and/or grill.  This time it was 100 degrees outside and I said screw it I'm not going outside or turning on the oven for 2 hours.  I don't know where I saw these done.  I think I was watching a grilling special on TV and saw someone make it. 

These are always a hit and turned out great in the slow cooker!

Ingredients:

• Famous Dave's Rib Rub
• Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
• Fresh Chicken Wings
• Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce

Directions:

Preheat slow cooker on High.

Cut off strips of aluminum foil to make pockets.  Take 2-3 chicken wings at a time and coat with ranch dressing then sprinkle with rub.  Place in the aluminum pocket and seal.  Place in slow cooker.

Repeat until crock pot is filled with chicken wing pockets.

Cook on High for approximately 2 hours.

Take a tray and place wings on the tray meaty side up. 

Brush with BBQ sauce (I used my Bobby Flay basting brush!).  Stick under the broiler in the oven on High for aprox 5 mins.

Enjoy!

Bobby Flay's Silicone Basting Barbeque Brush

Just wanted to talk about one of my favorite new products this season.  My old cooking brushes were pretty beat up this year.  Early in the BBQ season I had some Kohl's cash and a 30% off coupon (if you get a 30% off coupon its like its begging you to use it!).  So I packed up both kids and went for an adventure to Kohl's.

I looked along the wall and found some brushes that were similar to my old ones.  But you see the thing is I hated those old ones...maybe I secretly plotted their demise so I could get something new :-)  The problem with the old ones I had was that for vinegar and things that had a runny texture it was hard to "slop" enough on the meat to coat it. 

So then I looked around some more and found my answer...The Bobby Flay Silicone Basting Brush!!!!  I love you little red brush!

It was $8.49 plus 30% off.  What's not to love about that!

I've used it soooo many times now.  For barbeque sauce...for vinegar onto pit beef...for ketchup on meatloafs...the uses of this thing go on and on.  But the best thing is that it picks up a lot of stuff so you can just slather on your marinade or sauce!  LOVE IT!

Slow Cooker/Grilled Baby Back Ribs Recipe and Experiment

In the off season from tailgating I like to experiment with new recipes.  A trial run so to speak for the big day.  On Sunday I decided to do baby back ribs in the slow cooker.  I'd seen a version of this on Taste of Home website but I decided to go with my own version.

Ingredients:

• Rack of Pork Loin Back Ribs
• Famous Dave's Rib Rub
• Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce

Directions:

First start out with the meat.  Safeway had a "big meat sale" last week so I bought a couple of racks of extra meaty pork back ribs to try it out with.

I took the ribs and cut them into chunks with two bones in between.  Then I took them and coated them with Famous Dave's Rib Rub.  (I'm sure you can make your own but I didn't have the time or the patience on Sunday to do it).

I took each section of rib that I'd cut and sprinkled some Rib Rub on the front and back and put in a ziplock bag for a couple hours.

Then I took my 6 quart crock pot and put the ribs in against the sides and along the bottom with the meaty side against the wall.  I took the BBQ sauce and drizzled over the tops. 

I let the ribs cook for 6 hours on low.  I then took them out to the grill which I preheated and grilled them for a minute or two on the meaty side.  Just enough to give them that smoky BBQ taste and the crispy outside.  I put them in a tray and used some of the BBQ sauce that I had left to brush a light coat on them. 

They turned out great!  Everyone at the birthday party loved them and the meat was so tender it fell off the bone!

For the tailgate I will cook in the slow cooker overnight and finish them off on the grill at the actual event.