Instant Pot Pork Ribs

At our house, we love barbecued ribs!  We use to order them from our favorite BBQ restaurant on a fairly regular basis up until just recently when it closed down.  We were able to find another local restaurant that we go to once in a while but the ribs can be hit or miss.  Out of nowhere, my daughter started requesting that we have ribs for dinner!  I was shocked- this is so far from pizza and chicken fingers!  Over the summer I make grilled ribs that I start in the oven.  Low and slow and then finished on the grill.  Yummm!!  That’s my favorite way to make them…but they take sooooooooo long!  Once again, the Instant Pot has come to the rescue!! Ribs in less than 30 minutes!??  It can’t be true!!  But it is!

I made 2 slabs of baby back ribs for this recipe- as seen in the video.  Note- the recipe below is for one slab of ribs.  I made an extra slab with no seasoning for my dad.  Unfortunately for him, we ate both slabs so he didn’t get any!

Tips for making Instant Pot Pork Ribs:

1. Be sure to remove the silverskin off the back of the ribs.  Doing so will allow the seasoning to absorb into all of the meat and you will have a more tender and juicy rib.
2. Get creative!  You can use beer, apple cider or broth in place of the water.
3. Use your favorite barbecue sauce and seasoning.  I used a the Jack Daniel’s Pork Rub and a combination of Sweet Baby Rays and Stubb’s BBQ sauces.  I like to change it up when each time I make ribs!  Add as much sauce and seasoning as your family likes.  Try different rubs too.  The seasoning can totally change the flavor of your ribs.
4. Broil the ribs.  This is an extra step but is soooo worth it.  I was skeptical about making ribs in the Instant Pot because I really love the charred goodness that you get from the grill.  Broiling helps the sauce caramelize and adds a great dimension to the ribs.

How to make Instant Pot Pork Ribs

1. Remove the tough silverskin connective tissue from the backside of the ribs
   1. It’s much easier to do than it looks!
   2. Place a knife right under the skin, and slice towards the end bone
   3. Once you have separated the skin on the end bone, pull the skin off the entire backside of the ribs
2. Season the ribs
   1. rub the ribs with the rib rub and then the brown sugar- Be sure to season both sides of the ribs
3. Place trivet in pot
4. Pour water in pot
5. Place seasoned ribs in pot
   1. Roll the ribs into a circle and place inside pot
   2. It makes no difference if the meat side or bone side is facing in or out
6. Close lid on instant pot
7. Cook on high pressure for 25-30 minutes
   1. If you like your ribs to be juicy but a little chewy- cook for 25 minutes
   2. For fall off the bone tender ribs- cook for 30 minutes
8. Natural release pressure for 10 minutes
9. Quick release remaining pressure and remove lid
10. Carefully remove ribs and place into a baking dish
    1. use a nonstick pan or cover pan with foil
11. Coat ribs with your favorite barbecue sauce
    1. be sure to flip ribs and coat both sides
12. Drizzle honey on top of ribs
13. Broil ribs
    1. At a minimum, you will need to broil for 5 minutes on each side.  If you like your ribs extra caramelized, broil for 10 minutes on each side.  Be sure to stay close to the oven.  The sugar in the sauce can burn quite fast if you don’t keep an eye on it.  If you broil on the top rock, your ribs will brown quickly but may not be caramalized throughout the sauce.  If you broil from the middle rack, the caramalization will be slower but more even.  I prefer to broil from the middle rack.
14. Remove ribs from oven, cut between bones and enjoy!!
15. Need a side to go with the Instant Pot Pork Ribs?  My Instant Pot Potato Salad is a great pairing!

Ingredients

• 1 Slab of baby back ribs
• 1 Cup of water
• 4 Tablespoons of pork rub
• ½ Cup of brown sugar
• 1 Cup of barbecue sauce
• 2 Tablespoons honey

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Recipe

Instant Pot Pork Ribs

5 from 2 votes

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Servings: 1 Slab of Ribs- 3-4 Servings

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 Slab of baby back ribs
• ▢ 1 Cup of water
• ▢ 4 Tablespoons of pork rub
• ▢ ½ Cup of brown sugar
• ▢ 1 Cup of barbecue sauce
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons honey

Instructions

• Remove the tough connective tissue from the backside of the ribs. It’s much easier to do than it looks! Place a knife right under the skin, and slice towards the end bone. Once you have separated the skin on the end bone, pull the skin off the entire backside of the ribs
• Season the ribs. Rub the ribs with the rib rub and then the brown sugar- Be sure to season both sides of the ribs.
• Place trivet in pot.
• Pour water in pot.
• Place seasoned ribs in pot. Roll the ribs into a circle and place inside pot. It makes no difference if the meat side or bone side is facing in or out.
• Close lid on instant pot.
• Cook on high pressure for 25-30 minutes. If you like your ribs to be juicy but a little chewy- cook for 25 minutes. For fall off the bone tender ribs- cook for 30 minutes.
• Natural release pressure for 10 minutes.
• Quick release remaining pressure and remove lid.
• Carefully remove ribs and place into a baking dish. Use a nonstick pan or cover pan with foil.
• Coat ribs with your favorite barbecue sauce. Be sure to flip ribs and coat both sides.
• Drizzle honey on top of ribs.
• Broil ribs. At a minimum, you will need to broil for 5 minutes on each side.  If you like your ribs extra caramelized, broil for 10 minutes on each side.  Be sure to stay close to the oven.  The sugar in the sauce can burn quite fast if you don’t keep an eye on it.  If you broil on the top rock, your ribs will brown quickly but may not be caramalized throughout the sauce.  If you broil from the middle rack, the caramalization will be slower but more even.  I prefer to broil from the middle rack.
• Remove ribs from oven, cut between bones and enjoy!!
• Need a side to go with the Instant Pot Pork Ribs?  My Instant Pot Potato Salad is a great pairing!

Notes

Tips for making Instant Pot Pork Ribs:
1. Be sure to remove the silverskin off the back of the ribs.  Doing so will allow the seasoning to absorb into all of the meat and you will have a more tender and juicy rib.

2. Get creative!  You can use beer, apple cider or broth in place of the water.

3. Use your favorite barbecue sauce and seasoning.  I used a the Jack Daniel’s Pork Rub and a combination of Sweet Baby Rays and Stubb’s BBQ sauces.  I like to change it up when each time I make ribs!  Add as much sauce and seasoning as your family likes.  Try different rubs too.  The seasoning can totally change the flavor of your ribs.

4. Broil the ribs.  This is an extra step but is soooo worth it.  I was skeptical about making ribs in the Instant Pot because I really love the charred goodness that you get from the grill.  Broiling helps the sauce caramelize and adds a great dimension to the ribs.

Nutrition

Serving: 3g

Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only.

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it turned out in a comment below!