Pork ribs are a highly debated food. Depending on who you talk to they should be long, short, tender, firm, dry, juicy, or maybe smoked in a pit for 12 hours. So when you are looking at a rib recipe you should know what the writer thinks good ribs are before you start.
My father loves toting ribs that fall off the bone. He isn’t joking either, his ribs are incapable of adhering to the bone. They just pull right out. Professional BBQ pit-masters say ribs should stick to the bone and you should be able to bite through it without it falling apart. I think perfect ribs are somewhere between the two. My ribs are juicy, tender, and with a good tug will separate from the bone, but they still keep their structure and don’t turn into pulled pork when you eat them.
Making ribs in a pressure cooker has become more popular with the rise of Instant pot cookers. I have to admit I was skeptical at first but after a few iterations and adjustments I find I can make ribs that are 90% as good as BBQ made ribs. For the convenience of not setting up a fire box and constantly maintaining temp and smoke that 10% is hard to justify, especially on a work night or during cold weather. I’m not saying I won’t bust out the Oklahoma Joe in the summer, but if I just want ribs without the fuss this is a great alternative.
All good rib recipes start with a good rub. This is the foundation of the ribs flavor.
Mike’s All Out Rib Rub
Makes 2 St. Louis Style, 2 Baby Back or 1 Spare Rib Rack
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 4 Tsp Coarse Sea Salt
- 3 Tsp Black Pepper
- 3 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Tsp Onion Powder
- 2 Tsp Mustard Powder (ground mustard)
- 1 Tsp Cumin
- 1/2 Tsp White Pepper
- 1/2 Tsp Celery Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Chili Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 Tsp Turmeric
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them using a fork. Use the fork to break apart any clumps of brown sugar. When finished mixing there should be no clumps larger then a grain of rice.
Rib Selection
I recommend using St. Louis style ribs when using a pressure cooker. Full spare ribs are too tall to fit standing up in a pressure cooker, and baby back have too much un-supported meat not held to the bone and tend to become more like pulled pork.
Rib Prep
Stretch a large piece of butcher paper or freezer paper across your counter. If the paper has a waxed side make sure it is facing up. The paper should be about 6 inches longer on each end then the ribs.
If your ribs are wrapped in plastic rather than butcher paper you should rinse off the blood and fatty juices from the ribs then pat it down with a paper towel to remove any excess water. Lay the ribs on the paper bone side up.
Peel up the membrane from the ribs. I find this is easier if I start at the cut end and pull toward the meaty end. You will want to fold back the meat and try to get as much membrane off as possible.
Using a spoon sprinkle rub evenly across the entire back of the ribs. Pat the rub to make it stick to the ribs. Contrary to what the name suggests, do not rub the rub into the meat.
Flip the ribs over and do the same to the meat side. When finished sprinkle two lines along the top and bottom of the ribs on the paper then fold the paper around the ribs.
Repeat with each rack of ribs. Place the ribs in the refrigerator and let them set for 1 hour. This will allow the ribs to pull in the spices.
Cooking
Place the ribs bone side out in the pressure cooker. Pour 1 cup beef broth and 1 Tsp liquid smoke into the bottom of the pressure cooker. Set the pressure cooker to pressure cook for 30 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release. Do not release the pressure manually. (Total cook + pressure release is around 40 minutes)
Set oven to Broil setting. Follow your oven directions for using broil. Most electric ovens require the door be left cracked open when broiling.
Once the pressure has released open the pressure cooker. Place a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil (or two layers of standard aluminum foil) on a cookie sheet with raised edges. Carefully remove the ribs from the pressure cooker and place them bone side down on the foil. Pour a generous helping of your favorite BBQ sauce on top.
Set under the broiler for 4 minutes, watching constantly. Thicker BBQ sauce should bubble end to end on the ribs, thinner BBQ sauce might just darken. The goal is to caramelize the sugars in the BBQ sauce into a sticky, honey like consistency.
Let ribs sit 5 minutes then cut with a sharp knife between the ribs. I like to cut them into 3 rib sections, but you could cut them into individual ribs if you desire.