Name: Instant Pot Jerk Ribs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Cuisine: Jamaican
Ingredients: 1 slab St. Louis Cut spareribs (about 3 pounds), membrane peeled off; 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt; 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (optional); 4 scotch bonnet (or habanero) peppers, stemmed and seeded; 4 cloves garlic, peeled; 4 scallions (green onions), root ends trimmed, cut into rough 2-inch pieces; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 1 tablespoon ground allspice; 1 tablespoon paprika (preferably Pimenton, smoked Spanish paprika); 1 tablespoon dried thyme; ¼ teaspoon cinnamon; ¼ cup vegetable oil; ¼ cup soy sauce; ¼ cup pineapple juice

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Instant Pot Jerk Ribs. Jamaican style pork ribs with a Scotch Bonnet and allspice marinade, fall-off-the-bone tender in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.

A plate of Instant Pot Jerk Ribs with green onions sprinkled on top

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/TKJUMPTO

No, *You're * a Jerk.
Ahem…sorry. Talking about "Jerk" makes my inner 8-year-old come out. Jamaican Jerk is derived from the same root word as jerky - it was originally meat dried over an open wood fire.
Jamaican Jerk is a justly famous spice blend. Made primarily of Scotch Bonnet peppers and allspice berries, it has a bunch of other flavors in it, including onions, garlic, thyme, and cinnamon. Soy sauce is a surprisingly common ingredient - I think Jamaican cooks, like cooks the world over, like the salty, umami depth that soy sauce adds.
Scotch Bonnet peppers (and their close relative, Habanero peppers) are not messing around. They should come with a biohazard warning. I once rubbed my nose after handling Habanero peppers, and it's not a mistake I'm going to repeat. I wear gloves while seeding these peppers, and even then, I wash my hands when I'm done handling them. I seed the peppers to reduce the heat, leaving their delicious fruity flavor as one of the main parts of the Jerk paste. That doesn't mean no heat - I'd rate these ribs a medium to medium-high heat level - but they're definitely not Atomic Death By Fire ribs. (Not that there's anything wrong with that - if you want extra heat, go ahead and leave the seeds in the peppers when you add them to the food processor.)
My big Jerk change is a liquid substitute: I replace the rum in the jerk paste with pineapple juice. (It's not traditional, but hey, the Jamaican flag has a pineapple right in the middle - it can't be that far off.)
Most marinades don't actually tenderize, but this one does, thanks to pineapple containing the enzyme Bromelain. Bromelain is a natural meat tenderizer that breaks down meat fibers. This is great in small doses, but don't over-marinate these ribs, or you'll have mushy meat. I go for 4 hours max of marinating.
Of course, my other big change is not cooking the ribs over a fire of pimento wood - the wood that allspice berries come from. I'm cooking the ribs in my Instant Pot, where they're pull-apart tender after a half hour at high pressure.
Looking for a taste of the Islands? Try these jerk ribs - you won't be disappointed.

Ingredient substitutions and suggestions

Want less heat? Substitute jalapeños for the Scotch bonnet peppers. (If you're making Jerk ribs, you have to have at least some heat, so jalapeños are my "less heat" suggestion, even if they're not authentic.)
Want more heat? Don't seed the peppers. Remove the stems and mince the peppers in the food processor, seeds and all. (I think of removing the stem like pulling the pin on a grenade, and I want to shout "fire in the hole!" when I toss them in the food processor.)
Which ribs? I like St. Louis Cut spareribs for this recipe; they're a trimmed version of a full slab of spareribs. Can't find St. Louis Cut Spareribs? Baby back ribs are a great substitute, and they cook the same, with no changes to the recipe. Full slabs of spareribs are also good, but they take a little longer to cook. Cook full slabs for 40 minutes at high pressure in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 36 minutes in a stovetop PC. Country-style ribs, both bone-in and boneless, are also good substitutes; they'll take 45 minutes at high pressure in an Instant Pot or 40 minutes in a stovetop PC.
Beef short ribs? Beef short ribs also work with this jerk seasoning; I get ½-inch thick, bone-in, cross-cut beef short ribs and cook them the same way as the pork ribs in this recipe.

How to make Instant Pot Jerk Ribs

Remove the membrane from the ribs

On the bone side of the slab of ribs, work a butter knife between the membrane and a bone, then grab the membrane with a paper towel and pull it off of the ribs. Pull gently but firmly; if the membrane tears while you're pulling, work the knife under the remaining pieces and pull them off as well. Trim the flap of meat from the bone side as well – either discard it or marinate it and add it to the pot with the ribs. (The rib flap makes a nice cook's snack.)

Make the Jerk Marinade

Put the seeded scotch bonnet peppers, garlic, and scallions in a food processor and pulse with 1-second pulses until finely chopped, about 5 pulses. Add the brown sugar, allspice, paprika, thyme, and cinnamon, and pulse a few times to mix. Add the vegetable oil, soy sauce, and pineapple juice, then run the food processor for 30 seconds to blend into a marinade.

Season the ribs

Cut the rack of ribs into 4 pieces, cutting between every 3rd bone. Sprinkle the ribs with 1½ teaspoons of sea salt. Put the ribs in a zip-top plastic bag, pour in the Jerk marinade, and seal, squeezing out any extra air from the bag. (Or, put the ribs in a baking dish, pour the Jerk marinade over the ribs, and cover with plastic wrap). Refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours, flipping the bag of ribs every now and then to redistribute the marinade.

Pressure cook the ribs for 30 minutes with a Natural Release

Pour ½ cup of water into the Instant Pot (or use the minimum liquid amount for your pressure cooker), and (optional) add 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke. Lift the ribs out of the marinade, letting any excess drip off, then stack the ribs loosely in the cooker, bone side down. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker (use "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" mode in an Instant Pot) or for 24 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 more minutes. If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.

Broil the ribs (optional)

Put the ribs, bone side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Put the baking sheet under a broiler set to high. Broil the ribs until they start to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the ribs from the broiler, serve, and enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

I don't use a rack - there isn't much water in the pot, and the ribs act as a natural rack. But if you want a rack to lift the ribs out of the water, go right ahead. It doesn't change the cooking time.
Liquid smoke is a natural product made by distilling the liquid from wood smoke. I add it to the water when I pressure cook ribs because I like the hint of flavor it adds to the pork. You can skip it if you want.