Sauerkraut and Spareribs

This is a New Year's Day tradition for my hubby's family. It has German origins and is supposed to bring good luck in the New Year. Note: My MIL says that the spareribs must be country-style; baby back don't work for this one. The amount of sauerkraut used depends on how much you want to eat. We found 2 cans to be too much; next time, we'll scale it down to 1 1/2. *Note: In light of Charlotte J's review, I also want to suggest adding apples or onions if you feel that it needs more flavor. This is how hubby's family has done this one for years, and I would probably tinker with it if given the chance, but I better not mess with his tradition ;)

• Ready In: 6 hrs
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3 -4  lbs  country-style spareribs
• 2 (14 ounce) cans sauerkraut
• 3  teaspoons brown sugar, divided use

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Bake spareribs for 45-50 min, covered. This is to remove excess grease.
3. Drain sauerkraut and reserve the liquid.
4. Layer sauerkraut and ribs in crockpot. Add 1 tsp brown sugar to each layer of sauerkraut. (The end layers should be: sauerkraut layer on bottom, followed by 3 ribs, another layer of sauerkraut, 3 more ribs, and a final layer of sauerkraut).
5. Pour 1/2 cup of reserved sauerkraut liquid into crockpot.
6. Cook on low in crockpot for 4-5 hours. Check liquid levels occasionally and add more reserved liquid if necessary.