Perfect Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
To infuse the most flavor to your ribs, you are going to want to put a rub on them, wrap them in saran wrap and let them sit overnight. Reducing the amount of liquid so they aren't swimming in juice when you open the pot helps too. Adding some liquid smoke or your preferred flavoring to the liquid also helps.
Equipment
Ingredients
Ribs
- 2 racks baby back pork ribs raw and thawed
- 1 cup rib rub your own recipe or favorite storebought or use my recipe
- plastic foodservice wrap
- 1/2 cup water (you can also use beer, soda, juice, whatever you like)
- 2 tsp mesquite liquid smoke
- trivet with handles
- 1 bottle bbq sauce or make your own if you like
Rib Rub (or use your own favorite)
- 2 Tbsp granulated garlic
- 2 Tbsp granulated onion
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp cumin
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 3 Tbsp Sea Salt
- 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 2 tsp black pepper ground
Instructions
- Unpackage your ribs and lay them out on a lipped baking sheet. Inspect them for anything that needs trimming. Pat them dry with a paper towel.
- If you prefer to 'remove the membrane', feel free to turn the ribs over, grab a paper towel and find the membrane and peel it off. Sometimes you need a sharp knife to get it started. If you grab it with a paper towel it should come off pretty easily. Or you can leave the membrane. I have done it both ways. Either way is fine.
- If you have a favorite rib rub feel free to use what you love. Or buy a rib rub from the store. You want something with a lot of flavor. We experiment a lot and try different recipes and haven't found a bad one yet. Or you can make the recipe I have posted.
- Liberally coat both sides of the ribs with the rub. You may not need all of it, but you might. Save any left over for the next day.
- Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and place them on the baking tray in the refrigerator overnight. 24-36 hours is good. I would say a minimum of 10 hours.
- When you are ready to cook your ribs, remove the tray from the fridge. Carefully unwrap them. You can add more rib rub now if desired. Some of it will have absorbed into the meat. You want them covered well with seasoning.
- Put your trivet with handles in your 6 Qt pot. Add in 1/2 cup of water and 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke. A little goes a long way. Don't worry about the liquid. Your ribs will pressure cook and you are going to end up with about 2-3 cups of fat and liquid in the pot.
- Coil your seasoned ribs on the trivet.
- Place lid on pot and set to Manual or Pressure Cook for 25 minutes and 15-20 min NPR. If you prefer ribs that have a bite to them and they stay on the bone, cook for 20 min with a 15 NPR. When the NPR time is done, if the pin hasn't dropped, release the rest of the pressure manually.
- When the cooking complete open your pot. Your ribs will be cooked and coiled nicely.They will be pulling away from the bone.
- With some silicone oven mitts or grippers, grab the handles of your trivet and carefully lift out of the pot. You want them in one piece if you can. Let them sit and cool until you can handle them.
- As you can see, you will have plenty of liquid in the pot when you are finished. You don't need to add any more liquid than necessary. The pressure cooker will remove any excess liquid and fat from your rib meat. So, it is not a benefit to add more liquid than you need to pressurize the pot.
- When your ribs are cool enough to handle, lay them out flat on a foiled baking tray.
- Brush plenty of sauce on your ribs and get them ready for the broiler. Or use a grill if you choose. Up to you.
- Place ribs under broiler and let the sauce caramelize. Be careful not to let them burn. You just need a nice crust. You can also serve with extra sauce on the side.
- Your ribs are going to be tender a juicy!
- You can break them up by hand or slice them into serving portions.
- Make sure you have enough for everyone, these go FAST!
Notes
Tip: Any liquid you use will add some hint of flavor to the outide of your ribs. The liquid doesn't penetrate the meat during the cooking process. In fact, your pressure cooker will remove liquid from your meat during the cooking process and those natural juices will also steam in your pot and flavor your ribs. The best way to impart flavor to your ribs is to use a dry rub and let your meat sit overnight. I usually do 10-24 hours, but you can even leave them as long 48 hours with the rub on.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This is one of the easiest things to make in your pot. You are going to love them. They aren’t like smoked ribs if you are into that, but they are surely terrific, tender, and full of flavor!
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Perfect Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
To infuse the most flavor to your ribs, you are going to want to put a rub on them, wrap them in saran wrap and let them sit overnight. Reducing the amount of liquid so they aren't swimming in juice when you open the pot helps too. Adding some liquid smoke or your preferred flavoring to the liquid also helps.
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
Ingredients
Ribs
- 2 racks baby back pork ribs raw and thawed
- 1 cup rib rub your own recipe or favorite storebought or use my recipe
- plastic foodservice wrap
- 1/2 cup water (you can also use beer, soda, juice, whatever you like)
- 2 tsp mesquite liquid smoke
- trivet with handles
- 1 bottle bbq sauce or make your own if you like
Rib Rub (or use your own favorite)
- 2 Tbsp granulated garlic
- 2 Tbsp granulated onion
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp cumin
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 3 Tbsp Sea Salt
- 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 2 tsp black pepper ground
Instructions
- Unpackage your ribs and lay them out on a lipped baking sheet. Inspect them for anything that needs trimming. Pat them dry with a paper towel.
- If you prefer to 'remove the membrane', feel free to turn the ribs over, grab a paper towel and find the membrane and peel it off. Sometimes you need a sharp knife to get it started. If you grab it with a paper towel it should come off pretty easily. Or you can leave the membrane. I have done it both ways. Either way is fine.
- If you have a favorite rib rub feel free to use what you love. Or buy a rib rub from the store. You want something with a lot of flavor. We experiment a lot and try different recipes and haven't found a bad one yet. Or you can make the recipe I have posted.
- Liberally coat both sides of the ribs with the rub. You may not need all of it, but you might. Save any left over for the next day.
- Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and place them on the baking tray in the refrigerator overnight. 24-36 hours is good. I would say a minimum of 10 hours.
- When you are ready to cook your ribs, remove the tray from the fridge. Carefully unwrap them. You can add more rib rub now if desired. Some of it will have absorbed into the meat. You want them covered well with seasoning.
- Put your trivet with handles in your 6 Qt pot. Add in 1/2 cup of water and 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke. A little goes a long way. Don't worry about the liquid. Your ribs will pressure cook and you are going to end up with about 2-3 cups of fat and liquid in the pot.
- Coil your seasoned ribs on the trivet.
- Place lid on pot and set to Manual or Pressure Cook for 25 minutes and 15-20 min NPR. If you prefer ribs that have a bite to them and they stay on the bone, cook for 20 min with a 15 NPR. When the NPR time is done, if the pin hasn't dropped, release the rest of the pressure manually.
- When the cooking complete open your pot. Your ribs will be cooked and coiled nicely.They will be pulling away from the bone.
- With some silicone oven mitts or grippers, grab the handles of your trivet and carefully lift out of the pot. You want them in one piece if you can. Let them sit and cool until you can handle them.
- As you can see, you will have plenty of liquid in the pot when you are finished. You don't need to add any more liquid than necessary. The pressure cooker will remove any excess liquid and fat from your rib meat. So, it is not a benefit to add more liquid than you need to pressurize the pot.
- When your ribs are cool enough to handle, lay them out flat on a foiled baking tray.
- Brush plenty of sauce on your ribs and get them ready for the broiler. Or use a grill if you choose. Up to you.
- Place ribs under broiler and let the sauce caramelize. Be careful not to let them burn. You just need a nice crust. You can also serve with extra sauce on the side.
- Your ribs are going to be tender a juicy!
- You can break them up by hand or slice them into serving portions.
- Make sure you have enough for everyone, these go FAST!
Notes
Tip: Any liquid you use will add some hint of flavor to the outide of your ribs. The liquid doesn't penetrate the meat during the cooking process. In fact, your pressure cooker will remove liquid from your meat during the cooking process and those natural juices will also steam in your pot and flavor your ribs. The best way to impart flavor to your ribs is to use a dry rub and let your meat sit overnight. I usually do 10-24 hours, but you can even leave them as long 48 hours with the rub on.
