We’ve been missing eating out during lockdown, and I feel like I’ve been cooking so much. I try to mix it up a bit so we have a lot of variety and I’ve subjected the family to all sorts of new recipes. Some have worked brilliantly, and some consigned to the ‘never again, mum!’ bin. This is one of the former and frankly, I regret not trying to make this sooner, as it was so easy!

For the ribs, I bought 4 racks of ribs that had about 6-7 ribs on each, and one rack each was plenty for a main course with some sides. There are various recipes out there for smoky marinade, but I figured it’s pretty much the same as shop-bought BBQ sauce, so I just used a bit of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. I also use it for making pulled pork. These two dishes are the best things the slow cooker has ever produced.

Run a small amount of oil around your slow cooker pan, pop in the ribs one rack at a time, and brush a bit of sauce on each. I had to overlap the ribs in a bit of a stack. Then cook on low for 7-9 hours or high for 3-5 hours. The time might depend a bit on your slow cooker, but mine is reasonably new and comes to temperature quite fast (considering it’s a slow cooker!) so it generally takes the lower amount of time.

Once cooked, lift each rack carefully onto an oven tray, baste with more BBQ sauce and grill (or BBQ?) until they start to char a bit round the edges. 

For the smoky beans, I use a fairly quick vegan recipe:

• 1 shallot
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp celery salt (I’m not sure you’d notice if this wasn’t in it?)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 400g tin cannellini beans (or any beans)
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 100ml tomato passata

Soften the shallot in a bit of oil for 5 minutes. Add the spices and allow them to cook out for a minute before adding the tomato puree. Cook 2 more minutes then pop in the beans and the rest of the ingredients with some seasoning. Simmer until the sauce is the desired consistency. Add water if necessary.

The slaw is a barbeque staple in our house, just shredded cabbage and carrot with full fat mayonnaise and a bit of seasoning.

For the corn cobs, I like them best cooked on the BBQ but the weather wasn’t great, so we just cooked them in simmering water for ten minutes. 

Enjoy!