Optional: You can brown the ribs before adding them to the slow cooker. This adds a nice flavor profile to the ribs. To brown the ribs you can heat up a large cast iron skillet until very hot and add the ribs a few at a time allowing them to brown on each side OR you can broil them or grill them for 5 to 6 minutes per side.
Loosely place ribs in a 5 quart or larger slow cooker OR a 3.5 quart casserole slow cooker.
In a small bowl mix together the barbecue sauce, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and if using a dash of hot sauce.
Pour sauce mixture evenly over ribs in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 12 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours.
Notes
Freezer Meal Instructions:
Place all ingredients into a 1 gallon size zippered freezer bag OR FoodSaver bag.
Place bag on flat surface and seal bag closed while pressing out as much excess air as possible OR use your FoodSaver sealing system to vacuum seal the bag closed.
Label bag with date prepared, name of recipe, ingredients and cooking instructions.
Lay bag flat in freezer and allow to freeze for several hours. At that point you can stand the bags upright in your freezer if desired.
To Cook Freezer Meal:
Remove freezer meal bag from freezer and place either in refrigerator overnight OR in a clean kitchen sink filled with cool water for several hours just until the freezer meal is partially thawed enough to dump the contents of the bag into the slow cooker.
Cook according to the recipe directions adding 1 additional hour cooking time (in this case 9 to 13 hours on LOW or 5 to 7 hours on HIGH from the partially thawed state ).
Gluten Free Note - Look for brands of BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce that are gluten free. These are the ingredients listed that may contain hidden gluten. If you are on a GF diet it is always prudent to read the ingredients of any store bought ingredients.