Every time I make them, my Chinese Five Spice Pork Ribs fill the whole house for hours with their intensely sweet, pungent aroma. For this reason, they’ve earned the nickname of“Stank-a-Dank” ribs!
These aromatic, Asian-style crockpot pork spare ribs are easy to make, tender and juicy every time. They taste especially delicious served over stir-fry veggies, bok choi, cauliflower “rice” or a big salad. But be warned: The smell of them cooking might clear a room!
Preparing Fresh Pork
Whether cooking ground pork, chops, ribs, loins or roasts, it’s a good idea to prepare an acid marinade for your fresh pork. This could be as simple as a 12–24 hour soak in vinegar and water (2:1), plus some sea salt, or it could be a more elaborate marinade with seasonings and spices to make dinner extra special.
Similar to brining and drying nuts and seeds, or soaking grains in whey, marinating pork in an acid like vinegar, citrus or yogurt is a traditional preparation method used worldwide that tenderizes the meat, improves its digestibility, can potentially destroy certain parasites 1, and reduces its inflammatory properties 2.
Even in fine restaurants, many people count on acidic marinades to make their pork dishes really shine. This recipe follows that tradition.
Related:
Five Spice Pork Ribs for the Slow Cooker
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds pasture-raised pork ribs
- 2-4 cups white vinegar , or raw apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 cups filtered water
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, or raw apple cider vinegarÂ
- 3 Tbsp. coconut aminos, or wheat-free tamari
- sea salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- garlic powder, to taste
- Chinese 5-spice powder, to taste
Instructions
- Cover your ribs with vinegar and water in a 2:1 ratio. Mix in a teaspoon of sea salt and soak 12 hours or overnight. (Place container in the fridge.)
- In the morning, drain ribs thoroughly.
- Sprinkle each side of your ribs generously with sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- Heavily coat each side with Chinese 5-spice powder until most of the meat appears covered in dark orange powder.
- Gently rub the seasonings into the meat on both sides, then place the ribs upright on their ends into your slow cooker. (It’s OK if they lean!)
- Add the rice wine vinegar and coconut aminos or tamari to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Without much liquid in the pot, these ribs are roasting, not stewing, so keep your eye on them so they don’t dry out!
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Recommended for This Recipe
Sources
- Lopes SM, da Silva DC, Tondo EC. Bactericidal effect of marinades on meats against different pathogens: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2022;62(27):7650-7658. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1916734. Epub 2021 Apr 27. PMID: 33905272. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33905272/
- Rubik B (2009) Pilot Research Study: Live Blood Analysis of Adults Comparing the Weston A. Price Foundation Diet and the Conventional Modern Diet. Wise Traditions in Food, Farming, and the Healing Arts Vol 10(4): 35-43. https://www.westonaprice.org/cardiovascular-disease/how-does-pork-prepared-in-various-ways-affect-the-blood
