Sugar Free Low Carb Baby Back Ribs

Baby Back Ribs minus all the sugar. Great for a low carb diet!

• Ready In: 3 hrs
• Serves: 4-6
• Yields: 4-6

Ingredients

•  baby back ribs
•  salt
•  spices
• 12  ounces  diet cola

• sugar-free barbecue sauce

• 2  slices  of thick bacon, chopped fine
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped onion
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 6  ounces tomato paste
• 12  ounces  diet cola (sugar-free , Splenda-sweetened preferred)
• 1⁄4 cup  low-carb ketchup (sugar-free or see note)
• 3  tablespoons mustard
• 1  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1  pinch ground cloves
•  hot sauce

Directions

1. Sprinkle the ribs with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder. Pat the spices in, and put ribs in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
2. Wrap the ribs loosely in heavy-duty foil, sealing the sides. (If you are using the slow cooker/crock pot, skip this step.) Pour half a can of diet cola into the packet (or crock pot). (If you don't like any sweetness in your ribs, or if you just prefer not to use soda, white wine works well, or even white wine with a few drops of sweetener.).
3. Put the ribs in a covered grill with low heat (either charcoal or gas), or on a baking sheet in the oven. Cook at 250 F for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or at 350 F for 1 1/2 hours. In the crockpot, cook for 8 hours low. Check every 45-60 minutes, add liquid if necessary (it probably won't be, but the amount of juice in the ribs does vary), and turn the ribs over.
4. Open the foil, and brush the ribs with sugar-free BBQ sauce. Grill on medium to medium-high heat for 10 minutes on each side. Serve with sauce to dunk ribs inches.
5. Sugar Free BBQ Sauce.
6. Note: If you can't find low carb catsup, leave it out, but add about a tablespoon of vinegar and some sweetener, to taste.
7. Fry the bacon in a saucepan - a 2 qt pan works well.
8. Add the onion and cook over medium until soft - 3-5 minutes. Add garlic at this point if you're using fresh and stir it for half a minute or so.
9. Add the rest of the ingredients, plus about half a cup of water. Stir well.
10. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. It will cook down a bit and flavors will combine.
11. Adjust the seasonings so you have the balance you want - you can add vinegar, artificial sweetener (liquid preferred), or hot sauce. (If it's too hot, adding more sweetener will tone it down.).
12. The recipe makes approximately 10 servings of 1/4 cup each. Each serving has about 3.5 grams of carbohydrate plus 1 gram of fiber.