I am all about saving money on my food bills.  Pork and chicken tend to be the cheaper cuts of meat right now in our area.  So, we eat lots of pork and chicken.  I try to cook it a bit differently each time so my family does not realize they are eating the same meat 3-4 days in a row.

Normally I don’t buy boneless pork ribs but my kids have been asking for barbecue lately.  I wanted something that was easy to cook, yet flavorful that we could all eat.  I found this recipe for Easy Slow-baked Boneless BBQ Short Ribs at Once Upon A Chef.com. It had some of my favorite things – the word easy in the title, apple cider vinegar in the barbecue sauce, and I had all the ingredients on hand.

Having a mostly gluten-free son I tend to try to make as much gluten-free as possible but if it has pasta or flour in it I have to make two meals each night.  His meal is usually just like ours but made with gluten-free products.  I don’t cook for all of us with gluten-free products because they tend to be expensive.  So, I try to naturally make gluten-free meals.  Also, if you are cooking for someone who is completely gluten-free you must have dedicated cooking utensils, pans and be extremely careful of cross contamination.  Don’t stir a pot of regular noodles with a spoon and then use the same spoon on the gluten-free noodles.  It creates cross contamination.

Verdict:

This had a vinegar tang that we loved!  It was super easy to make and adding a few side dishes made this a simple meal to put together.  There was even enough leftover for my son to take some ribs and mashed potatoes for lunch the next day.

I served this dish with green beans, mashed potatoes and a green side salad.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. boneless pork ribs cut into 4″ sections
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Season the short ribs all over with salt and pepper, then arrange in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
3. Combine all of the ingredients for the barbecue sauce in a bowl and stir until well combined.  Taste and adjust spices as necessary for your taste.  I added more vinegar and garlic for my family.
4. Pour 1/4 of the sauce (about 1/3 cup) over the short ribs. Using tongs, flip the ribs over and spoon another 1/4 of the sauce over top. Reserve the remaining barbecue sauce to spoon over the cooked ribs. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast for 2-1/2 hours.
5. Remove the foil from the pan and drain off any fat or liquid from the pan.  Leaving a tiny bit in the bottom is okay. Coat ribs with another 1/3 cup of barbecue sauce.
6. Return pan, uncovered, to oven and cook for 30 minutes more until the meat is tender and browned.
7. Remove pan from oven and place ribs on serving platter.  Slather with remaining barbecue sauce and serve.