EASY SLOW COOKER BABY BACK RIBS & OVEN-ROASTED FRENCH FRIES

I don’t own a grill. As a Full On Carnivore, I admit this with not a little shame. For a long time I thought I would be doomed to eating sad, pale looking meat. But then my sister introduced me to these ridiculously easy, mouth-watering baby back ribs. You’ll spend maybe three minutes throwing this together in your slow cooker and will be richly rewarded with fall-off-the-bone morsels of rib meat smothered in tangy barbecue sauce. Paired with a side of oven-roasted French fries and you’ll pretty much own summer.

EASY SLOW COOKER BABY BACK RIBS

•     1 rack of pork baby back ribs
•     1/2 cup your favorite BBQ sauce (we used Sweet Baby Rays)

Cut the rack of ribs in half with a large sharp knife (unless your slow cooker is big enough to handle the whole rack). Cook on low for eight hours. Do not, no matter how much you are tempted, add anything to the ribs. No salt, no sauce, no nothing. Salt, as my sister explained, will dry out the ribs and that is the very last thing you want to do.

When the meat is almost falling off the bone, transfer the ribs to a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Slather the ribs with barbecue sauce. Broil until charred and divine—about 5 minutes. Alternately, if you are indeed a glorious grill owner, go ahead and grill until charred. And that’s all, folks. Perfect, finger-licking, baby back ribs. Nothing more, nothing less. Serves 4.



OVEN-ROASTED FRENCH FRIES

•     4-6 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
•     large bowl of ice water mixed with 1/8 cup kosher or rock salt
•     4-5 tablespoons olive oil
•     kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Slice the russet potatoes into decent-sized fries. About a 1/4 inch thick. If they’re sliced too thin, they will burn in the oven.

This part of the method is what takes these fries to the next level, though if you're running short on time feel free to skip the ice bath. Soak the sliced potatoes in a big bowl of ice water loaded with about 1/8 cup kosher or rock salt. Warren, the fry-making expert in our home, swears by the ice bath. He says that it's the best way to get your fries perfectly crisp on the outside and feathery soft on the inside. Soak for up to an hour then drain and blot the excess water off the potatoes.

Dump the dried potatoes onto a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with kosher salt. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, shaking the pan about halfway through to prevent burning, until browned and crispy.

Looking for more summer meals? Check out Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas or Thai Turkey Burgers with Mango Sauce and Avocado.