so carol, thanks for the rib craving i got my heart set on making some. i did a bunch of errands today, mainly my annual last minute holiday shopping, so by the time i made it to the grocery store my head was spinning. i picked up all ingredients for the recipe below except the ribs! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> not going back out tonight but maybe tomorrow i'll be able to make this:

short beef ribs w/ chiles and beer, serves 10-14

2 12oz bottles of beer
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2tsp dry mustard
2tsp garlic powder
4 cups bbq sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup honey
1 orange, cut into 1/4" thick rounds
1 medium white onion, cut into 1/4" slices
4 pickled jalapeno, cut into 1/4" rings
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, drained and chopped
12lbs beef short ribs
salt and pepper to taste

combine beer, brown sugar, mustard, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. add bbq sauce, vinegar, mustard, and honey until smooth. put orange, onion, jalapenos, and chipotles in slow cooker. season ribs with salt and pepper and arrange on top. completely cover ribs with sauce. cover and cook on low 7-9hrs.

contessa- i didn't know that skipping the browning step made little or no difference. thanks for the tip. think i'll now skip that messy step!