Step 1

Spray the sides of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

Step 2

Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. To remove, use your fingers or a butter knife to get underneath the membrane, then use a dry paper towel to grip it and pull it off. Note that the membrane has already been removed from some racks of ribs.

Step 3

Cut the ribs into the appropriate size to fit your slow cooker. You can either lay them rib-side down or stand them up, meat side toward the crock. I cut the rack into two pieces, which fits my oval 6-quart crock pot perfectly.

Step 4

Combine the dry rub ingredients. Generously rub the mixture into the back side, then the front side of each rack of ribs.

Step 5

Place one rack in the Crock Pot and brush ½ cup of barbecue sauce on top. Lay the second rack on top of the first one and brush with ½ cup of barbecue sauce.

Step 6

Pour the Dr. Pepper around the ribs into the bottom of the slow cooker.

Step 7

Place the lid on and set the temperature to low. Cook for 5-6 hours or until the meat is soft and fork-tender and the internal temperature reaches 190-200 degrees. If you prefer fall-off-the-bone ribs, check the texture at 205 to make sure they don't get dry or mushy.

Step 8

Remove the ribs from the crock pot and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Step 9

Pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan or deep skillet and whisk in ½ cup of barbecue sauce. Boil the mixture over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes or until it reduces down to the consistency of barbecue sauce. As an alternative, you can use straight store-bought sauce. But I HIGHLY recommend making this Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce -- it's really delicious!

Step 10

Preheat the broiler. Brush the sauce over the top of the ribs and broil for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and caramelized. Serve with additional barbecue sauce on the side.