Modified slightly from A Year of Crockpotting, who modified her recipe from CityMama.

Ingredients:
2 pounds beef short ribs
2 cups soy sauce
2 cups sugar (we always use organic — it’s sort of midway between brown and white sugar)
1 cup water
5 whole jalapeno peppers (except that one had lots of holes poked in it by virtue of having been appropriated as a cat toy when it apparently fell, unnoticed, to the floor on the way to the refrigerator but we couldn’t find another and were desperate so we used it anyway after a REALLY GOOD WASHING)
A head of garlic, separated into peeled cloves
1 large onion, sliced in thin half rings (you can do this toward the end)
2 Japanese sweet potatoes, diced (ditto)

Directions:
Put beef ribs in crockpot. If they’re frozen, you’ll need to mash them down, separating them, after an hour or so of cooking.

Add soy sauce, water, sugar, garlic, and whole (NOT CUT UP) jalapenos. Put crockpot on high and cook for about an hour, then do the above-mentioned mashing down. Turn down to low and cook another 7 hours or so. Add onion and sweet potato, and stir it all up so as much as possible of everything is submerged in the tasty juice. Cook another hour or so, until the onion is candied-like and the sweet potato is fully cooked.

Serve with rice and a vegetable.

Verdict: DH really really liked this. The kids thought it was a bit too spicy, though DS #1 was more than willing to eat the meat (he drew the line at the potatoes and onions, though). DS#2 would only eat the rice, oh well. One of the comments on CityMama’s page suggested cooking already hard boiled eggs in with the ribs, which I bet would be really tasty too; I may try that next time. Definitely a keeper.