I personally love ribs that are cooked fall off the bone tender. They can take a really long time to reach that point depending on how you cook them. These Instant Pot BBQ Ribs cook in about 1/4 of the time of traditional cooking methods meaning you can enjoy them any day of the week with minimal effort!
The instant pot gets the ribs fully cooked and completely tender in just 30 minutes of pressure cooking. Then I throw them on the grill or under the broiler in the oven to crisp up and get ’em saucy letting them cool for about 15ish minutes to dry a little bit after they come out of the pressure cooker.
Then I sauce, allowing the sauce to dry a bit on the grill or under the broiler, then I sauce, dry, and repeat until I am happy with them and they are sufficiently sticky! I do 3-4 sauce applications. I know there is a great debate on whether or not to sauce or not to sauce, but I like sauce on ribs like this that haven’t been smoked.
Start with the bottom side up. When they have dried out enough for the sauce to stick, I sauce them at least twice and then flip. I then try to keep the grill or broiler on medium heat and sauce the tops 3-4 times.
Cooking your Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
Ok, I got a little ahead of myself there. Let’s back it up a little bit and talk about the initial cooking in the instant pot or electric pressure cooker. But that part is simple too, you just season, set it, and forget it!
If you have a favorite BBQ rub or seasoning, now is the time to employ it. I actually like the simplicity of salt and pepper and then saucing at the end. Sweet Baby Rays or Stubs make my family’s favorite store-bought sauce, so that’s what I usually end up using.
So to cook your ribs. Season them with salt and pepper or your favorite bbq rub, I love the coffee rub from Trader Joe’s for this.
Place them in the pressure cooker fitted with a rack and about an inch of water in the bottom. Add your ribs and cook on Manual High Pressure for 30 minutes.
The pressure cooking process will cook the meat thoroughly while making it super tender. It will also release much of the fat, making grilling better at the end with little to no flare-ups. I typically only cook baby back ribs because they are smaller, more tender, and just my favorite.
This is what they look like just out of the pressure cooker while I let them dry before adding the BBQ sauce and finishing cooking.
Types of Ribs I use…
You can use any type of rib you like, just know the cooking time may vary a bit from what I am sharing with you here. I also sometimes make my own BBQ sauce from the drippings, but not most of the time so I am sharing my quick version with you. Make it your own, that’s the fun part!
When they finish on the pressure cooker, refer to the grilling process above. Finishing on the grill, in my opinion, is what makes them great. You could also finish them under the broiler if you don’t have a grill, this is a great option if you don’t have a grill.
If you’re looking for the greatest side dish, my Crack Slaw goes great with this recipe and is super refreshing! I also loved it with my friend Kathryn’s Sugar Snap Pea Salad, it’s the PERFECT side salad for these sticky ribs. Or Lori’s Summer Salad with Avocado Cilantro Everything Dressing.
Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 racks Baby Back Ribs
- BBQ rub of Choice
- Salt
- Pepper
- Favorite BBQ Sauce or Homemade
Instructions
- For pressure cooking, cut rib racks in half.
- Season with BBQ Rub or Salt and Pepper.
- Place in pressure cooking pot fitted with a roasting rack and about an inch of water. Place the lid on with the pressure valve closed.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 30 minutes. You can manually release the pressure if you are in a hurry or let it release naturally.
- Remove to a pan and preheat your grill to high.
- On a hot grill, place the ribs bottom side up, close lid and let them cook until they have dried a little bit. Then start basting with BBQ Sauce. I usually thin the BBQ if it is store-bought, with a little of the drippings. Sauce the bottoms twice, then flip and sauce the tops, allowing the sauce to dry and cook into the ribs between brushings, two to three times until they are as saucy as you like them!
- Enjoy!
Notes
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MY FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOLS!
Here are a few links to some of my favorite kitchen tools! You get a car, YOu get a car, YOU ALL GET A CAR…in my best Oprah voice
These Rösle Silicone Tongs are a little pricey but they will last you the rest of your life and are the softest in your hand. This is important for someone like m that cooks so much. It reduces strain, I have 4 sets in my kitchen!
These are my FAVE Nordic Ware Sheet Pans, every kitchen should have at least 2 sets of these! I think I have at least 4 of each of these.
This is my favorite pressure cooker, the Fagor is the same concept as the “Instant Pot” but easier to use in my opinion, if you don’t have one you NEED one, it will be your best friend in the kitchen!
A sharp knife is the most important tool in the kitchen, these Japanese steel “Shun” knives are my favorite! And this is a great starter set to build on. Once you try them you will be in love so use this as a foundation you can build on for years to come.
This Scanpan 11″ skillet is just the right size for almost anything you will need to cook and my best friend and a real workhorse in my kitchen, it’s also a great deal at $99. Scanpan is the best in the world for healthy cooking. It is coated with a proprietary ceramic-titanium coating that is durable while allowing you to use fewer fats and oils when cooking. It is a coating only they use. I could talk all day about my love for these pans, message me if you want more info. Here are some other sizes that are available if you are looking to outfit your kitchen with some new goodies. 8″ & 10″ Skillet set or 8″ Skillet, I still need this one for my kitchen Also, I don’t really know how to cook small so the 12.5″ is my other fave!
This giant vat of olive oil is my favorite, I decant it into a smaller bottle for my counter. Or put this spigot on top of a wine bottle!
My favorite baking dish that is so easy to clean even burnt on cheese slides right off!
This Tovolo jar scraper has to be my single favorite kitchen tool, it is definitely the most used tool in my kitchen. If you are NOT a gadget person, this is the only necessity I say is a MUST beyond the wooden spoon.
A great wood spoon is essential, this Olive Wood one is my favorite, I have more than I can count. But can you really ever have too many?
A food scale can be a very important tool in your kitchen, this one is the one I use every day!
If you love Joanna Gaines as much as I do then the ‘Magnolia Table Cookbook’ is a must in your kitchen, get a copy HERE!
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