Spray the inside of Crockpot with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, ground cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and ground red pepper.
1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
Rub ribs with spice mixture.
3 pounds beef short ribs
Place ribs in Crockpot, fat side up.
Pour in barbecue sauce and water.
½ cup barbecue sauce, ¼ cup water
Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 4½ hours. Ribs are done when they are very tender and meat shreds easily.
Remove ribs to a large cutting board. Discard bones and remove meat to a large bowl. Shred meat using two forks pulling away from each other in opposite directions.. Discard any large pieces of fat or sinew. Stir in 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce and 2 tablespoons of liquid from the Crockpot.
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
Toast brioche buns and arrange bottom half of rolls on a platter. Top each with ¼ cup beef mixture and 1 tablespoon coleslaw. Place roll tops on each.
6 brioche rolls, ¾ cup coleslaw