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Pork for the New Year's! Here's how I make Baby Back Ribs in about an hour in my pressure cooker.
And…this is where I have to put in all the disclaimers, to keep the Barbecue Fanatics from astroturfing me. I know this is not real barbecue. I love real barbecue, and cook it whenever I can. These are not real barbecue - but that's OK. The pressure cooker turns ribs into a weeknight meal, not just an all-day affair on a lazy summer weekend. These are just good ribs, tender and falling off the bone.
There aren't many tricks to this recipe. Season a slab of ribs, cut it into pieces so it will fit in the pressure cooker, add a half a cup of water, and pressure cook until tender. The only tricky part is peeling the membrane from the bony side of the ribs; you can skip this step, but the membrane will never get tender - it is a chewy piece of gristle. Once you've done it a few times, you'll get the hang of the gentle but firm pull that peels the membrane off instead of ripping it. Until then, just keep working at it, lifting it away from the bone with a dull butter knife, then grabbing it with a paper towel and pulling.
Also, if you're really in a hurry, you can skip the broiling step - the ribs are done and ready to eat straight out of the pressure cooker. But, I think it's worth the extra five minutes. A quick run under the broiler thickens up the sauce and gives it an extra layer of flavor.
One other opinion, then we'll get to the recipe - liquid smoke. A lot of pressure cooker ribs recipes include a splash or two in the cooking water. I've never liked the flavor of liquid smoke; I'll save wood smoke for my real deal ribs. Between the rich pork, the rub, and the barbecue sauce, these ribs are loaded with flavor, and don't need the extra help.
Recipe: Pressure Cooker Baby Back Ribs
Adapted from: Ribs in the Pressure Cooker [NPR.org]
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Pressure Cooker Baby Back Ribs
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 slab of ribs 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Baby Back Ribs recipe. Fall-off-the-bone-tender baby back ribs from the pressure cooker in about an hour.
Ingredients
- 1 meaty slab baby back ribs
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup water (or the minimum liquid amount needed for your pressure cooker)
Barbecue Rub (2 tablespoons of my Homemade Barbecue Rub), or use your favorite store bought rub
- ¾ tablespoon paprika
- ¾ tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
Barbecue sauce (1 cup of my Easy Barbecue Sauce), or use your favorite store bought sauce
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Franks Red Hot sauce
Instructions
- Remove the membrane from the ribs: On the bone side of the ribs, work a butter knife between the membrane and the bone, then grab with a paper towel and pull the membrane off of the ribs. (If it tears while you're pulling, work the knife under the remaining pieces and pull them off as well.)
- Make the rub and sauce: In a small bowl, stir the barbecue rub ingredients, breaking up any clumps of brown sugar with your fingers. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the barbecue sauce ingredients until smooth. Set aside.
- Season the ribs and put them in the pressure cooker: Sprinkle both sides of the ribs with the salt and rub. Cut the ribs into 4 pieces, cutting between every fourth bone.
- Pressure cook the ribs: Pour ½ cup of water into the pressure cooker pot (or use the minimum liquid amount for your pressure cooker). Stack the ribs in the pressure cooker bone side down. Lock the pressure cooker and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes in an electric PC or 24 minutes in a stovetop PC, then let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 more minutes.
- Sauce and broil the ribs: Put the ribs, bone side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the ribs with the barbecue sauce, then put under a broiler set to high. Broil the ribs until the sauce is bubbling and just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the ribs from the broiler, brush with another layer of sauce, and serve.
Notes
TOOLS
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my 6 quart Instant Pot)
- Butter knife and paper towels (for peeling the membrane)
- Rimmed baking sheet (for broiling the ribs)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Pressure Cooker
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 bones
- Calories: 575
- Sugar: 9.8 g
- Sodium: 1252.6 mg
- Fat: 29.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.5 g
- Protein: 64.5 g
- Cholesterol: 198.5 mg
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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Ryan & Courtney F. says
These are our go-to week night ribs (or any night that we aren’t grilling for a crowd). We even saw a man debating about whether or not to buy his wife an Instant pot for Mother’s Day at William’s Sonoma and talked him into it and gave him this link!! 😀 Love this site!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, and thanks for passing the word along to a new reader!
Grant Williams says
Mike . Your rub for these Ribs is amazing. Did the rub and pressure cooked. Then finished off on BBQ
I am so full, couldn't eat any more.
Thanks Grant.
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Cathy Pattengale says
Finally got around to leaving a comment! This recipe was awesome and so said our entire church FEAST group of about 80 people. Last spring we cooked 90 pounds of baby back ribs with this rub and sauce recipe. Thanks for the membrane info! We cooked about 30 slabs back to back and everyone thought my husband was "the man" for the great ribs. Cooked ribs tonight for just us at home and again so happy to have your recipe. Thank you for sharing!!
Cheryl Hutchinson says
never have made ribs, but OMG these were delicious. Will be making more of these. Finger licking good.
Tee says
Great recipe!! Love the ribs and have them at least twice a month. Only change is I rub my ribs with a little spicy brown mustard before the dry rub, and add a dash of Liquid Smoke to the water in the pot. Thanks for a great(and easy) recipe.
Heather says
Cooking the ribs for the second time tonight. Delicious. Big hit with the whole family. Membrane pointer was great too!
Krissy says
I followed your super-easy instructions -- even referred to the video a few times because I had never removed membrane (successfully) before and never cooked ribs in a pressure cooker. HAAAY-LO. Ridiculously good! I used my go-to dry rub and sauce and finished the ribs on the grill. Your advice gave me the confidence to learn some new techniques that I will continue to use whenever I cook ribs! Looking forward to exploring more of your site and recipes 🙂 P.S. I'm not a dad. Or a mom. But I have one happy hubby after dinner this evening!
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Laura (Kaempen) Nystrom says
Just made this last night for a school-night dinner, and it was a hit. The leftovers make great sandwiches too. I finished the ribs off on the BBQ. They were gone in minutes.
Dalayna Mullins says
Mmm mmm good! Our kids loved them and so did we! The only thing I did differently was I used our favorite bbq sauce (sweet baby rays ) and put them on our pellet grill to carmelize the sauce! Sooooooo good! My 10 year old daughter says to only do them this way from now on!
Janet Cleary says
Hi Mike - I inadvertently cut the slab into individual ribs. Can I still use this recipe, and if so, how will it affect the cook time and/or placement of the ribs? Thanks very much, love your recipes!
Janet says
No need to reply; I took a flyer and went with 19 minutes and they were perfect!
Leslie S says
Lazy dinner tonight, two racks made with store bought barbecue rub which I added extra smoked paprika and brown sugar to plus Sweet Baby Rays bbq sauce. It was divine. I cooked mine at 25 minutes on high pressure and finished off on the grill. Absolutely divine!!!
Jordan says
Amazing!... Fabulous!... Thanks for sharing this wonderful rib recipe! For those of you who love a bit of a bite to their bbq, toss 1-Tbsp of Old Bay Spice into the rub, and 1-tsp of OB into the sauce! Yeehaa!
Christina says
Holy Toledo. That was the best ribs EVER. I'm not a big bbq sauce fan until NOW. I will never use another recipe again. Amazing. Bravo. Dear Sir take a bow!
Jill says
This was AMAZING!! I followed the directions exactly and it turned out perfect. This was my first time doing ribs in the pressure cooker and surprised it turned out in 30 min. I will be using this recipe from now on. Thank you
Lara says
Amazing!!! MY husband loved them!!